By Tyler Brand

Monday, Jan. 10: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana. It’s 3rd down and 10, with 1:09 left on the game clock. The University of Alabama Crimson Tide, led by Heisman-winning quarterback Bryce Young, is down by 8, and the college football national championship is on the line. 

The ball is snapped with 4 seconds remaining on the play clock. Young drops back in the pocket, looks left, and then fires the ball 30 yards down the field towards his receiver, Traeshon Holden, running down the left sideline.

Kelee Ringo of the Georgia Bulldogs intercepts a pass from Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and returns it for a touchdown to seal the game. Photo credit: Andy Lyons of Getty Images.

From my seat, in the first row of section 525, behind the Georgia endzone, my eyes track the ball as it sails through the air toward the heavily covered Alabama wide receiver. My jaw drops as I realize the ball is underthrown and headed straight towards the University of Georgia Bulldogs’ cornerback Kelee Ringo. 

Ringo jumps up and snatches the ball out of the air. The stadium erupts into an ear-shattering cheer as Ringo begins to return the intercepted ball. Ringo continues down the sideline with a convoy of blockers ahead of him. As he reaches Alabama’s 20-yard line, nothing stands between him and the end zone other than Young and a few Georgia blockers. Georgia safety Christopher Smith throws an effective block on Young, and Ringo strides into the end zone untouched.

The sheer volume of the cheers and screams was beyond anything I’ve ever experienced and showed me how much this win meant to Georgia fans. This win’s significance was far more complex than simply winning a national championship. The 41-year drought between National Championships was a motivating factor for the Georgia Bulldogs; however, the recent history between Alabama and Georgia made this particular matchup much more personal.

The recent rivalry between Alabama and Georgia began in 2007 with the hire of Nick Saban as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. After winning a national championship with the LSU Tigers and then trying his hand for two seasons in the NFL as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Saban found himself as the head coach of Alabama. He quickly rebuilt Alabama into a dominant powerhouse in college football, leading Alabama to a perfect 14-0 season in just his third season as the head coach in 2009. Alabama capitalized on the perfect season by beating the Texas Longhorns for the championship that year. Over the following 13 years, Alabama would remain the most dominant college football program, winning a remarkable six national championships, including back-to-back championships in 2011 and 2012. However, Saban did not establish dominance on his own. He had tremendous aid, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

After assistant coaching roles with several colleges and one brief year with the Miami Dolphins, Kirby Smart was hired as the assistant head coach for Alabama by Nick Saban in 2007. In 2008, Smart became the defensive coordinator, a position he would hold until his departure in 2015. During Smart’s time at Alabama, he and Saban led some of the most dominant football teams in college football history. Then, in 2015, the head coaching position at Smart’s alma mater, the University of Georgia, opened up.

Smart pounced on the opportunity to be the head coach at Georgia. His first year was mediocre, posting an 8-5 record and leading Georgia to their 20th consecutive bowl game appearance. However, in Smart’s second year, he led the Bulldogs to an 11-1 regular season. He capitalized on the season with a win in the SEC championship: a 28-7 win over the Auburn Tigers, their only regular-season loss. The Bulldogs secured a spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP) and beat the Oklahoma Sooners in the Rose Bowl to proceed onto the national championship game, where they faced none other than Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2017. The Bulldogs led throughout the entire game until the Tide surged back and won in heartbreaking fashion in overtime. Although it was still a remarkable season, given the fact that it was just Smart’s second year, Georgia fans were grief-stricken but determined to be back.

Georgia and Alabama met again in 2018 in the SEC championship with the same result. Georgia led throughout the entire game until Alabama, led by current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, sparked a comeback. Georgia fans were disappointed once again. For two straight years, Smart and Georgia had blown their lead to Saban and the Tide. Georgia would not get another chance for two years, at which point the Tide bested them again in a back-and-forth game on October 17th, 2020 in which the Tide pulled away in the second half. Georgia fans began to doubt Smart’s coaching ability against his former superior. 

This season, the dominant Georgia Bulldogs, led by their historic defense, held the number one ranking nearly all season and were the clear favorites when Georgia and Alabama met in the SEC championship in Atlanta, Georgia on December 4, 2021. However, if one hadn’t watched either team all season, they would have thought Alabama was the clear favorite based on the game. The Tide won in runaway fashion, with a final score of 41-24. Georgia looked like an entirely different team to the one that had been competing all season—dull and unlike their usual dominant selves. The Bulldogs were embarrassed, yet they still managed to hold the number three seed in the CFP.

After a month to regroup and prepare, the Bulldogs faced the Michigan Wolverines in the Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida on December 31. The Bulldogs, determined to prove themselves, crushed Michigan 34-11. Georgia looked like a completely different team from the one that had shown up in Atlanta for the SEC championship. They would get one more shot at Alabama in the National Championship, where they could truly prove themselves and make up for the beatdown in the SEC championship. They could prove that the SEC championship was a fluke and that they could finally beat Alabama. Smart could finally prove to the world that he was capable of beating Saban.

So, after a hard-fought game between Georgia and Alabama in Indianapolis, Ringo and the Bulldogs sealed the game with the pick-six and delivered a national championship to the patient and faithful Georgia Bulldog fans.

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennet holds the 2022 National Championship trophy after beating Alabama 33-18. Photo credit: Darron Cummings of the AP.