I could tell you I was worried, but I’d be lying.
To be fair, there is a time in most Georgia games, or at least in the buildup to them, where I get a feeling of unease. The Munson in me is strong. It wasn’t like that for the Orange Bowl against Florida State, and for good reason. The Dawgs beat the living hell out of the ‘Noles, 63-3. If I wanted to list my favorite stats and describe the biggest highlights, I’d run out of space. It’s the largest margin of victory in bowl history, eclipsing our 65-7 win over TCU in the National Championship Game last season.
To simplify: THEM. DAWGS. IS. HELL.
But it wasn’t just a win. It was a message from Kirby Smart—or, rather, a number of messages. I think he wanted the college football world to know that even though we weren’t in the College Football Playoff, we were unequivocally one of the best four teams. And he wanted to send a message to the coaches in the playoff that they were lucky Old Man Saban got another over on him, or that three-peat would’ve been ours for the taking.
But mostly, I think he wanted to send a message to his own team. When that ball is spotted, it’s go time. It doesn’t matter if everyone calls the game a meaningless exhibition. There is a standard that’s nonnegotiable, and that standard is playing your hardest to beat the dog out of the other team.
There’s a stark contrast between the cultures of the UGA and FSU programs that’s highlighted by the number of players missing from each roster for the Orange Bowl. The ‘Noles fielded just 29 scholarship players through a mix of injuries, transfers and NFL opt-outs. Georgia, however, was at relative full strength, with most of our transfers being reserve players and the only players who’d declared for the draft to sit being Brock Bowers and Amarius Mims.
It’s probably not as simple as their roster was built more through the transfer portal and ours was built through high school recruiting, but our guys have been together for years and have built a bond. Many of them wanted to go out together with a win.
I’m not trying to denigrate FSU. I think they had an awesome season, got jobbed and belonged in the CFP. And I don’t begrudge any player from any program for transferring for a better opportunity or sitting out the bowl game to avoid a chance of injury before the NFL Draft. Get that money.
But it still feels good when the players on the team seem to care about this place and these people—our place and our people—as much as we do. As corny as this may be, I do think it sets Georgia apart from other programs in college football. That culture will be the bedrock as we enter not only a new era of college football, with a new 12-team playoff and conference expansion, but a new era of Georgia football as well.
The last three seasons have felt something like a continuum. We broke through and got our first title in 40 years in 2020, then ran it back a year later. We drove for the elusive three-peat this season, but fell just short. For most of that spell, we had a similar cast of characters: Stetson Bennett, Brock Bowers, Jordan Davis, Kelee Ringo, Nakobe Dean, Ladd McConkey, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Nolan Smith, Jamaree Salyer, Kendall Milton, Darnell Washington and Jalen Carter, to name just a few of the key contributors from those two titles. They’re all gone now, along with many other important players.
The Orange Bowl may have been a meaningless scrimmage, but it sure got me fired up for the next era of Georgia football. Carson Beck quietly set the school record for completion percentage this year (72.4%). Dillon Bell and Anthony Evans III look like dudes-in-the-making at receiver. C.J. Allen could be a Nakobe Dean/Roquan Smith-esque player at inside linebacker. Malaki Starks is one of the best defensive backs in the country. Former Florida running back Trevor Etienne—brother of Clemson and Jacksonville Jags star Travis—is bringing his talents to Athens to shore up the running back room. And we just signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. Again. The future is bright, and the present ain’t too bad either.
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