ATLANTA — After failing to conquer the Crimson Tide in the 2021 SEC Championship, it would be hard for many to believe the Georgia Bulldogs would then go on to never lose a game since.
But that is just what they have done. It was a game that many UGA fans believed would be the one where the Bulldogs would overcome their kryptonite, having never beat Alabama in the SEC Championship before. The Dawgs actually came into the game favored.
Georgia fans were desperate to beat Alabama as they were still in search of their first national championship since 1980. The Stetson Bennett-led Bulldogs jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and it was looking like UGA, behind their record-setting defense, was going to roll.
That changed quickly. Heisman Trophy-winning Alabama QB Bryce Young helped lead the Tide to 24 second-quarter points and Alabama led Georgia by a touchdown at halftime. They would shut the Dawgs' offense down in the second half and go on to win 41-24.
It appeared that all Georgia needed to do was get over the Alabama hump in order to never lose again. A few weeks later, No. 3 Georgia beat No. 2 Michigan in the Orange Bowl, and No. 1 Alabama defeated No. 4 Cincinnati to set up a rematch in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Georgia came into the CFP title game as slight favorites once again, but Georgia fans remained much more cautious this go-around. After Alabama took the lead late in the 4th quarter, UGA fans began feeling the pit in their stomachs -- ones they were well used to.
But then the hero of Stetson Bennett and Kelee Ringo was born, as the Dawgs scored back-to-back-to-back unanswered touchdowns to deliver the knock-out punch to Alabama. A 40-yard touchdown from Bennett to AD Mitchell gave Georgia the lead, and they followed it up with a 15-yard score from Bennett to current UGA star Brock Bowers.
As Alabama had the ball on the final drive, looking to tie the game and send it to overtime, Young threw an interception that Ringo returned 79 yards for a touchdown -- a signature moment in the game that made Georgia fans realize they were once again champions.
In the ensuing two seasons since that win, Georgia hasn't lost one game. The Bulldogs broke an SEC record last week with their 29th straight win when they beat rival Georgia Tech. They capped off a perfect 15-0 season in 2022 with a national championship win over TCU 65-7.
This season, they are a perfect 12-0. Interestingly enough, they really haven't had many close calls. There have just been two games in which the Dawgs were on the verge of losing but managed to come back and win -- their comeback win against Missouri on the road in 2022 and the incredible 2022 Peach Bowl semifinal vs. Ohio State in which UGA scored late and survived a missed game-winning field goal at the stroke of midnight.
But they now head into a game in which they have never beaten Alabama win -- the SEC title game. Georgia is 0-3 all-time against the Tide, with losses coming in 2012, 2018 and 2021. They came oh-so-close to beating them in 2012 and 2018, losing the leads late.
With a 29-game winning streak on the line, can this be the year Georgia beats Alabama in the SEC title game for the first time ever? For Georgia fans, 30 in a row has a nice ring to it. But for Alabama fans, at 11-1, it's a must-win in order to get into the College Football Playoff.
