Consider Saturday night a reminder.
A tap on the shoulder to the rest of college football.
Georgia isn’t going anywhere.
It may have stubbed its toe a few weeks ago at Alabama. It may have struggled with Kentucky and played a bit too loose last Saturday against Mississippi State.
But the No. 1 team in the country entering the season remains as good a bet as anyone to win it all.
The Bulldogs let their play do the talking in Austin by manhandling previously unbeaten and No. 1 Texas, 30-15.
By exposing the Longhorns up front on both sides of the ball. By holding them to seasons-lows of 259 total yards and 15 points in a commanding 15-point road victory. By producing seven sacks and forcing four turnovers.
Really, for the first time since that season-opening shellacking of Clemson – and that win looks even better now since the Tigers are undefeated otherwise – Georgia looked like Georgia.
Physically opposing on both lines. Loaded with next-level talent.
It wasn’t necessarily a perfect performance. Quarterback Carson Beck threw three interceptions, which allowed Texas to hang around.
But Georgia was clearly superior, having its way with both Texas quarterbacks, Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning (for a few possessions). If not for questionable officiating – a defensive pass interference flag that has negated a Texas interception was picked up following loud boos and fans throwing water bottles and other trash on the field – the final result wouldn’t have been this close.
Two plays later, Texas scored, making it a one-possession game at 23-15 with 2:12 left in the third quarter.
Georgia answered with an 11-play, 89-yard drive that put the game away, one of those physically dominating, we’re-better-than-you possessions that left little doubt who the winner would be.
This performance by the Bulldogs was the first normal thing to happen in the SEC in weeks.
Consider that since that win over Georgia, Alabama is 1-2 and the one win, a two-point victory over South Carolina, easily could’ve gone the other way. Texas A&M and LSU, who both lost in Week 1, are the only schools without a conference loss. Vanderbilt already has five wins, which it has accomplished just once since 2018. Preseason contenders Ole Miss and Oklahoma are much closer to the SEC basement than the penthouse.
Entering this showdown, there was uncertainty about Georgia. It had lost that game at Alabama when it found itself in a 23-point halftime hole, rallied and then couldn’t close out the comeback. It nearly lost to offensively challenged Kentucky and allowed 31 points to last-place Mississippi State.
Then came Saturday night. Against undefeated Texas on the road. For one night, Georgia erased the questions many of us had about them. The Bulldogs – not the Longhorns – looked like the No. 1 team in the country.
There isn’t a better story in all of college football than Indiana. With a new coach (Curt Cignetti, previously of James Madison) and quarterback (Kurtis Rourke of Ohio). Somehow, having the kind of season nobody could’ve expected, even the inhabitants of Bloomington.
After the Hoosiers’ 56-7 blistering of Nebraska on Saturday, they are 7-0 for the first time since 1967. They are second in the country in points scored (45.2) and 11th in points allowed (14.8). They are on pace for the first double-digit win season in program history after going 9-27 the last three seasons under Tom Allen and being picked a whopping 17th in the league’s preseason media poll.
Now, No. 16 Indiana hasn’t faced a ranked foe. Their seven opponents are a combined 22-27. Still, it has outscored them 341-96, which shouldn’t be minimized. The Hoosiers aren’t just getting by.
Don’t look for this run to end in the next few weeks, either. Indiana gets mediocre-at-best Washington and Michigan State the next two Saturdays and should be favored at home over fading Michigan on Nov. 9. The Hoosiers could be undefeated and firmly in the playoff mix heading into what would be a massive visit to powerhouse Ohio State on Nov. 23.
Week 9 lacks the blockbuster showdown of the previous two weeks. There are no top-five matchups next Saturday. But there is one fascinating game, and it will be played locally at MetLife Stadium.
That’s where No. 12 Notre Dame meets No. 25 Navy. The Irish have won five straight since that stunning loss at home to Northern Illinois. But this will be their best opponent in that span. Navy is undefeated, owns a scoring differential of plus-151 and is one of only two teams in the AAC – Army is the other – without a loss. A win here, and the Midshipmen (second in the country in rushing yards at 295.6 per game) can begin to dream about a berth in the expanded playoff.
