The college football world might have a new dynasty on its hands.
It's been a dominant run for the Georgia Bulldogs under head coach Kirby Smart. The SEC program won back-to-back national titles before being left out of the College Football Playoff this past season.
Fortunately, the expanded 12-team bracket should put Georgia back into the running for a third national title in four seasons. ESPN's Paul Finebaum thinks that kind of run puts Smart in the same conversation as Nick Saban.
"[The Bulldogs] are what Alabama was about five or six years ago," Finebaum said on ESPN's "Get Up". "They have it because they have recruited at such a high level. Kirby Smart in his late 40’s is Nick Saban in the absolute prime of his career."
The comparison to Saban is a fitting one. After all, Smart served on Saban's staff as his defensive coordinator from 2008 through 2015. He left the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2016 for his first head coaching role with the Bulldogs, and immediately hit the ground running.
Smart has led Georgia to an absurd 42-2 record over the last three seasons. The team's most recent appearance in the national championship was a 65-7 obliteration of the TCU Horned Frogs. Meanwhile, the future of the team is bright with the Bulldogs boasting the third-ranked recruiting class for 2025.
Smart and the Bulldogs still have a ways to go before matching Saban's dominance with seven national championships and 11 SEC titles. However, the program is certainly on the right path to becoming the next undisputed powerhouse in college football.
