College Football

Georgia's win over Alabama sparks debate on college dynasties

Published Jan. 11, 2022 3:38 p.m. ET

Georgia's victory in the CFP National Championship Game Monday night cemented the school's first title since 1980.

It also made the Bulldogs the fourth different team in the last four years to hoist the CFP trophy.

And in a decade that's been dominated by the 'Bamas and Clemsons of the world, seeing a new face atop the sport's throne is a deviation from recent norms.

Clemson won the crown in the 2018 season (its second championship in a three-year span), and 'Bama laid claim to the title two years later (its third win in a six-year stretch). But in between those seasons, Joe Burrow and LSU sprinkled their own Cajun flavor on the CFP with a great run in 2019, and now Georgia has sent Dawgs Nation into a collective frenzy.

The Bulldogs' story was one that many could appreciate. It had it all: underdog tales (game MVP Stetson Bennett was but a fledgling walk-on at the start of his career), redemption (Kirby Smart had never won a game against his former boss Nick Saban), and of course, a grueling 41-year title drought.

For Nick Wright, Georgia's momentous win is one that is invaluably impactful not only for the team, but for the sport in its entirety.

"In college sports, when you have a run of dominance the way that Alabama football has, there are no characters to attach ourselves to other than the coach," Wright surmised Tuesday on "First Things First."

'Alabama losing is good for all of us'

Nick Wright says the right team won the College Football Playoff National Championship.

"There are characters that you follow in pro sports, and you can get attached to them in one way or another. But Saban, as great of a coach as he is, goes to the same Bill Belichick coaching school of charisma that some of [Belichick's] coaching tree has gone to.

"I think that having a diverse group of national champions is good for the sport, and I think the fact that in the last four years, we've had now had four different national champions is good. … Alabama winning every year is not good for college football," Wright said.

Chris Broussard agreed.

"Nick Saban's dominance of college football hasn't been great for the game," Broussard said.

"It's not a criticism, it's actually a credit to him and his greatness. He's the issue. It's not even just college dynasties, because the legendary head coach in college football has been great for the sport. It was great to have a Bear Bryant, a Woody Hayes, a Joe Paterno, even an Urban Meyer. These coaches who become institutions to some degree are great for the game. The difference is, as great as they all were, none of them dominated like Nick Saban."

But not everyone was in agreement that Saban's run has done more harm than good to college football.

"The money, the attendance, the ratings are all up in college football," Kevin Wildes said.

"This is all while the SEC is dominating, it's won 11 of the last 15 championships. You know what sport is not doing totally awesome? College basketball. You know why? Cause Duke's been OK, Kentucky's been OK. But what about Gonzaga? Gonzaga is a little school that popped up, and guess what: You guys don't love it. I understand you don't want the rich to get richer, and all the money and recruiting is heading to the SEC. But I like dynasties, and I think that they're actually good."

For Saban and Alabama, their dynastic run is all but over.

Despite dropping this season's championship, the Crimson Tide are already favored to be among the last teams standing at the close of next season.

Georgia's win may have been good for the sport in the eyes of many, but don't tell Saban that. Love it or hate it, he's still the head coach to beat in college football.