ATLANTA — Its invincibility shredded and the College Football Playoff bracket haunted by the presence of its nemesis, Georgia faces a massive reckoning and regrouping between now and Dec. 31. The Bulldogs certainly should remain in the field, but they have gone from heavy national title favorite to heavily doubted in the span of a single miserable Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“The outside noise begins now,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said, and he’s right about that. Let the shrieking begin.
The team that had every answer for 12 games was thumped 41–24 by Alabama—its second loss in two seasons to the Crimson Tide by that score—and now faces the old questions all over again:
Can Georgia ever win the big one?