After one of the wildest weeks in the history of the college football coaching carousel, it’s time to get back to the things that matter most: the games those coaches coach. While Georgia has all but locked up a College Football Playoff bid, three more bids, 10 FBS conference titles, a Celebration Bowl bid and spots in the FCS quarterfinals and Division II and III semifinals are all on the line. The action starts on Friday evening.
Here’s everything you need to know about a loaded, and likely thrilling, Championship Weekend.
Here’s where the script writers let Georgia finally vanquish Alabama … right?
SEC championship: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 3 Alabama (4 p.m., CBS)
Title defenses usually fail. Nick Saban’s Alabama has won six of the past 12 national titles but repeated as champion only once, in 2011-12. In the past 40 years, USC (2003-04) and Nebraska (1994-95) are the only other teams to pull it off. The U never did, nor did Bobby Bowden’s Florida State Seminoles.
Some title defenses fall flat quickly, but champions often make it pretty far down the road before succumbing. Florida State (2014), Alabama (2016 and 2018) and Clemson (2017 and 2019) all made it back to the CFP, for instance. But when the end comes, it can be pretty harsh. Think Oregon 59, FSU 20 (in 2014), or Clemson 42, Bama 13 (in 2018).
