Georgia may not be the juggernaut that captured back-to-back national championships.
There are flaws. There’s a running game that can disappear into the background. A passing game that has stayed afloat without star tight end Brock Bowers but may not be up for the challenge of carrying the entire load until Bowers’ return, which may not be until postseason play. There’s a defense that is still dominant at times but can give up yardage in chunks, including on the ground.
But the Bulldogs keep winning, and in doing so continue to resemble a group capable of running the table and making history as the first team in modern Bowl Subdivision history to threepeat. Saturday’s 30-21 victory against Missouri was the program’s 26th in a row and the first passed test of a November full of high-profile challenges.
It might be an extreme stretch to say that Georgia’s chances of pulling off the threepeat were left for dead after Bowers’ ankle injury, but the questions and concerns that stemmed from that loss were understandable: Bowers has been a huge piece of the puzzle behind back-to-back championships and had continued to bail out Georgia’s offense through the first two months of this season.
Through two games, though, the Bulldogs have managed to largely put those fears to rest. Behind another strong performance from quarterback Carson Beck, who had 254 yards and two touchdowns, and a balanced passing game that saw seven receivers make at least one catch, Georgia was able to find enough through the air to avoid a shattering upset. Beck and the Bowers-less passing game has picked up the slack to keep Georgia atop the SEC and FBS.
And that’s with the running game failing to gain traction against Missouri, putting up 131 yards on 33 carries. At the same time, the Tigers were able to chew up 151 yards on the ground, with most of the damage coming from running back Cody Schrader, who had 112 yards on 22 carries and a score.
Among other things, the past two Georgia teams were defined by individual excellence — at quarterback, tight end and every level of the defense, the Bulldogs were loaded with some of the top performers in program history.
This year’s team might be about more than the sum of its parts. That will be enough to get Georgia back to the College Football Playoff and potentially a place in college football history.
The Bulldogs and Tigers top this weekend’s biggest winners and losers:
Winners
Alabama
Nick Saban has won six national championships at Alabama and put together some of the best teams in program, SEC and college football history, most recently in the 2020 version that fought through the coronavirus pandemic to dominate the FBS. But after Alabama’s 42-28 win against LSU, it’s time to start talking about the 2023 season being the greatest coaching job of his obscenely successful tenure. Tossed aside and dismissed after losing to Texas and struggling with South Florida in September, the Crimson Tide have rallied into form at the exact right moment — painting the picture of a team that could make even more noticeable improvements before postseason play. While not surprising, given the state of LSU’s defense, the Tide put up 507 yards of offense and quarterback Jalen Milroe threw for 219 yards, ran for 155 yards and set an Alabama quarterback record with four rushing scores. If the offense finds confidence and momentum coming out of this win, look out: Alabama may find another gear this month.
Oklahoma State
The final scheduled meeting between rivals Oklahoma State and Oklahoma went to the Cowboys, who won 27-24 behind another strong game from running back Ollie Gordon and are suddenly in position to land a spot in the Big 12 championship game and play for a New Year’s Six berth. Given where things stood after losses to South Alabama and Iowa State, to even get Oklahoma State into this conversation in early November makes this one of the top coaching jobs of the Mike Gundy era. Easily one of the most productive skill players in the country, Gordon continued to surge up the Heisman Trophy pecking order with another 137 yards and two touchdowns. Combined with three Oklahoma turnovers, that was enough to score a memorable win that sends the Sooners out of this rivalry on a low note. And it gets worse: Oklahoma now has two losses and is out of playoff contention.
Texas
You won’t find any criticism of Kansas State’s fourth-down attempt near the end zone in overtime when a field goal would’ve sent the game to a second extra frame; along with some struggles from the Wildcats’ kicking game, as the underdog, it made more sense to try and lock down the game from three yards out than extend things into additional overtimes. That the attempt failed basically saves the Longhorns’ season: Texas would’ve been eliminated not only from the playoff with a second loss but would’ve struggled to get into the conference championship game without head-to-head tiebreakers against Oklahoma and Kansas State. Instead, the Longhorns remain perhaps the team to beat in the Big 12 after passing by far this month’s biggest test, even if by the skin of their teeth after the Wildcats’ comeback in the fourth quarter.
Clemson
Clemson entered the weekend as a program in utter disarray, with losses mounting, faith in the offense crumbling and even Dabo Swinney going on local-radio rants against members of the fan base curious how he planned to reverse a very troubling decline. Beyond being one of the most surprising results of the day, the Tigers’ 31-23 win against the Fighting Irish might spark a November turnaround that bleeds into the offseason and helps Clemson get back on its feet in 2024. With running back Will Shipley sidelined, the Tigers drew a career day from backup Phil Mafah, who ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
Kansas
Kansas had to play a different type of a game to pull down a seventh win, the Jayhawks’ most in a season since 2008. After weeks of up-and-down, up-tempo matchups against Texas, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, Kansas adapted with a more physical style to beat Iowa State 28-21, and in doing so really showed off how far the program has come under coach Lance Leipold. With the running game struggling to get going against one of the top defenses in the Big 12, Kansas looked to quarterback Jason Bean, who continued to play well in place of Jalon Daniels with 14 completions in 23 attempts for 287 yards and a touchdown. Nothing the Jayhawks do any more is surprising.
The newly bowl eligible
It’s that time of year. A handful of teams landed on bowl eligibility with wins on Saturday, several exceeding preseason or in-season expectations by nailing down a sixth win with weeks to spare until the end of the regular season. One is West Virginia, which has saved coach Neal Brown’s job after whipping Brigham Young 37-7. Back in August, Brown was picked as the likeliest Power Five coach to lose his job; a few months later, he’s on his way to an extension. Also locking down bowl eligibility: Arizona defeated No. 20 UCLA 27-10, Kentucky topped Mississippi State 24-3, North Carolina State outmuscled Miami to win 20-6, Coastal Carolina beat Old Dominion 28-24, Texas-San Antonio won 37-29 at North Texas and Texas State scored another impressive win in defeating Georgia Southern 45-24 to earn its first bowl bid in school history.
Losers
Notre Dame
Notre Dame met Clemson on a roll after beating up on Southern California and Pittsburgh, presenting the image of two national brands heading in opposite directions: the Irish up, the Tigers down. Eliminated weeks ago from the playoff chase, the third loss of this season basically ends Notre Dame’s hopes of reaching a New Year’s Six bowl and represents a major disappointment in coach Marcus Freeman’s second season. The Irish have improved under Freeman but his tenure continues to be defined by inexplicably bad losses.
Southern California
There is currently nothing sadder in college football than watching the USC defense. What makes it worse is the juxtaposition with Caleb Williams and this offense, which put up 42 points and 515 yards against Washington and often looked unstoppable, as Lincoln Riley’s offenses often do. But it was for naught: USC gave up 52 points and 573 yards to the Huskies, including a whopping 256 yards and four scores from running back Dillon Johnson, and suffered a loss that basically eliminates the Trojans from New Year’s Six contention and makes this an utterly lost season. Even after last year’s ugly bowl loss to Tulane, there was a sentiment around USC that this year would mark another step forward and the start of something great. Instead, what you’re seeing is a complete collapse on defense and a rudderless, lost program that has far more questions than answers more than midway through Riley’s second year.
Jimbo Fisher
The writing is on the wall, on the floor, the ceiling, the back of your hand and everywhere else when it comes to the Jimbo Fisher era, which could’ve been salvaged had Texas A&M managed to cobble together a Top 25 finish from one of the most talented rosters in the FBS. After losing 38-35 to Mississippi to fall to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the SEC, the Aggies will need to run the table against Mississippi State, Abilene Christian and LSU — possible, not probable — to earn eight wins during the regular season. Even then, there’s enough tape to come to a very solid conclusion: Fisher’s not going to get it done in College Station.
Florida
Arkansas’ 39-36 overtime win at Florida marked the program’s first win in the Swamp in six tries and successfully takes some pressure off coach Sam Pittman, who had come under increased scrutiny amid the Razorbacks’ winless start to SEC play. The loss is absolutely devastating for the Gators, who had taken care of business against the weak teams on this year’s schedule to reach the doorstep of bowl eligibility but could now fall short of six wins given what’s ahead: at LSU, at Missouri and home for Florida State. After going 6-7 in Billy Napier’s debut, to miss out on the postseason entirely in 2023 could be too much for his tenure to overcome.
Air Force
Air Force landed at No. 25 in the debut College Football Playoff rankings, one spot behind Tulane, despite being unbeaten. After losing 23-3 at home as heavy favorites against rival Army, the Falcons’ path to the New Year’s Six as the best team in the Group of Five demands a clean sweep through the regular season and some help. Shockingly, Army allowed just 155 yards on 40 carries, well below Air Force’s season average, while the Falcons had to make 24 pass attempts to make up a big deficit in the second half.
