With back-to-back national championships, Georgia football has joined Alabama football on the top tier of programs in the sport. Georgia football coach Kirby Smart knows that his success was made possible in large part because of what Nick Saban has done at Alabama.
Before taking over the Georgia football program in 2016, Kirby Smart saw firsthand how Nick Saban made the SEC the premiere conference in college football. While Smart was a defensive assistant for Saban from 2007-2015, the Crimson Tide won four national championships. Smart was also a defensive backs coach for LSU in 2004, the year after Saban led the Tigers to a national title.
“Nick has been tremendous for our sport. Nobody has moved the college football game more than he has,” Smart said on “The Paul Finebaum Show.” The SEC is the premier place primarily because he started bringing national championships there when he was at LSU. He’s done a lot for this game.”
It didn't take long for Smart to turn Georgia back into a national powerhouse. After going 8-5 as a rookie head coach, Smart led the Bulldogs to a 13-2 record. Alabama defeated Georgia in the 2017-2018 College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Four years later, Smart got revenge against his former boss. Georgia defeated Alabama in the 2021-2022 CFP national championship game.
The SEC has won each of college football's last four national titles. Before Alabama won it all in the 2020-2021 season, Joe Burrow led LSU to the championship game with one of the all-time great college football seasons.
Georgia is the favorite to win next year's title. Alabama is considered to be the Bulldogs' biggest threat for a 3-peat.
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