Orange Bowl
Notre Dame vs. Penn State
I know this isn’t going to be popular, but we need to root for Penn State. I know. I know. But hear me out:
1) If Notre Dame wins the title, Marcus Freeman’s 4th down substitution will go down in Irish lore forever. We’ll see and hear about that until the sun explodes. They will champion him as the next standard bearer and the guy who coached circles around Kirby Smart. I know we’re friendly with that fanbase, but they haven’t won a title since the 80s and they will be unbearable.
2) We don’t get credit (nor should we) for losing to the national champions. If anything, it will just add us to their highlight reel. I want memories of their Sugar Bowl to be bittersweet, knowing they didn’t win it all
3) If Penn State wins tonight, James Franklin will still have doubters. Marcus Freeman won’t. I want the uber elite coaching circle to be as small as possible.
4) I know most of us hate Penn State, but I don’t know that I’ve ever come across a PSU fan in real life. Not to mention most people would be disappointed if they won, likely chalking it up to having a cakewalk to the semifinals.
Cotton Bowl
Texas vs. Ohio State
Another hold your nose pick…go Buckeyes.
1) If Texas wins, I like them to win the whole thing which would not be good for Georgia. Right now, it’s been 19 years since they won a title and we need that number to keep going up.
2) “But we beat them twice, RightAway!” They do not care. Nobody cares. We need the 2024 SECCG to retain maximum importance - if they win the whole thing, they will not care that they lost to us in Austin and they will not care that they lost to us in Atlanta. It will become a footnote. There’s a reason why Alabama fans don’t boast to us that they won the 2021 SECCG - we won the higher prize that year so that game means less. They don’t celebrate it as much as their others for that same reason. It lost importance.
3) We need to be the best team in the SEC. If Texas wins the whole thing, they will get all the love and rightfully so. All the sudden it’s “Texas is back, Sark is on top, has Texas displaced Georgia?” If you want that, root for Texas.
4) I am not an SEC fan. I’m not a Southern football fan. I am a Georgia fan. We can make the 12 team playoffs on our own merits, the only teams who were harmed with the SEC’s performance in the CFP so far are teams like Alabama who always got the benefit of the doubt that we never got. If Georgia was 9-3, nobody would’ve been trumpeting us to be in the field like they did for Alabama. All that has done is level the playing field for the non-Tide teams.
5) Yes, it would be funny if Ohio State didn’t win the title. But not at the expense of the alternative which would be hurting our own reputation. Plus, with the Sark NFL talk this could accelerate that.
I know we all hate Ryan Day, but a win for them doesn’t impact Georgia at all. It would feel more like the Braves winning the 1995 title where the feeling was as much relief as it was celebration. Ohio State has acted like and has been treated like they’ve won one in the last few years, nothing changes for them.
Texas gets elevated to a status that we do not want to get crowded. The smaller the natty SEC circle, the better.
Notre Dame vs. Penn State
I know this isn’t going to be popular, but we need to root for Penn State. I know. I know. But hear me out:
1) If Notre Dame wins the title, Marcus Freeman’s 4th down substitution will go down in Irish lore forever. We’ll see and hear about that until the sun explodes. They will champion him as the next standard bearer and the guy who coached circles around Kirby Smart. I know we’re friendly with that fanbase, but they haven’t won a title since the 80s and they will be unbearable.
2) We don’t get credit (nor should we) for losing to the national champions. If anything, it will just add us to their highlight reel. I want memories of their Sugar Bowl to be bittersweet, knowing they didn’t win it all
3) If Penn State wins tonight, James Franklin will still have doubters. Marcus Freeman won’t. I want the uber elite coaching circle to be as small as possible.
4) I know most of us hate Penn State, but I don’t know that I’ve ever come across a PSU fan in real life. Not to mention most people would be disappointed if they won, likely chalking it up to having a cakewalk to the semifinals.
Cotton Bowl
Texas vs. Ohio State
Another hold your nose pick…go Buckeyes.
1) If Texas wins, I like them to win the whole thing which would not be good for Georgia. Right now, it’s been 19 years since they won a title and we need that number to keep going up.
2) “But we beat them twice, RightAway!” They do not care. Nobody cares. We need the 2024 SECCG to retain maximum importance - if they win the whole thing, they will not care that they lost to us in Austin and they will not care that they lost to us in Atlanta. It will become a footnote. There’s a reason why Alabama fans don’t boast to us that they won the 2021 SECCG - we won the higher prize that year so that game means less. They don’t celebrate it as much as their others for that same reason. It lost importance.
3) We need to be the best team in the SEC. If Texas wins the whole thing, they will get all the love and rightfully so. All the sudden it’s “Texas is back, Sark is on top, has Texas displaced Georgia?” If you want that, root for Texas.
4) I am not an SEC fan. I’m not a Southern football fan. I am a Georgia fan. We can make the 12 team playoffs on our own merits, the only teams who were harmed with the SEC’s performance in the CFP so far are teams like Alabama who always got the benefit of the doubt that we never got. If Georgia was 9-3, nobody would’ve been trumpeting us to be in the field like they did for Alabama. All that has done is level the playing field for the non-Tide teams.
5) Yes, it would be funny if Ohio State didn’t win the title. But not at the expense of the alternative which would be hurting our own reputation. Plus, with the Sark NFL talk this could accelerate that.
I know we all hate Ryan Day, but a win for them doesn’t impact Georgia at all. It would feel more like the Braves winning the 1995 title where the feeling was as much relief as it was celebration. Ohio State has acted like and has been treated like they’ve won one in the last few years, nothing changes for them.
Texas gets elevated to a status that we do not want to get crowded. The smaller the natty SEC circle, the better.
