Thursday Thought Provoker: Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda Won a Natty

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This should make for good conversation. Which former Georgia team should’ve won a National Championship the most?

To me, that’s a short ass list. Add to it:

  • 1981 Georgia
  • 1982 Georgia
  • 2017 Georgia
  • 2018 Georgia
  • 2023 Georgia

Now, we could all just make up a list of teams that shoulda, coulda, woulda, but that’s Auburn’s bag of tricks, not ours.

So, to make it easier on all of us, pick the one team you think should’ve won it the most.

What team would it be, and why?

32 thoughts on “Thursday Thought Provoker: Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda Won a Natty”

    • DL depth kept us from winning the SEC championship. The 4 guys playing 3 spots were gassed in the 4th.

  2. That 1992 team was really good, but that ’92 Bama natty defense was fantastic. We couldn’t beat Tennessee at home, and we couldn’t get the stop on Shane Matthews on a 4th and 11 QB draw in Jax. Florida players came back from the locker room to dance and taunt us after the game. If I didn’t hate FU before then, that was the moment that sealed it forever for me.

  4. My knee jerk reaction has usually been 2012, but I have to say 2017 now. Basically one play away despite all the missed calls against us that night. We always say (and should) Tyler Simmons was onsides, but the bigger missed/no call was the Bama receiver who was offsides on the TD play that either tied or gave Bama a lead where their QB ran around before hitting a receiver in the back of the end zone. That gets called and Bama settles for a field goal and the game likely never goes to OT.

    Ugh! I was sitting 3rd row in the end zone for Bama’s game winner in OT. Brutal.

    • This woulda, coulda, shoulda is borderline nerdfootball, cesspool type B.S….in mine Red n Black heart 2023 really stung, 1981, 1982 are always up there, which ever team won the 2012 seccg was the eventual title trophy winner, 2017 was iffy, but yes, coulda won the title…GO DAWGS!!

    • I’m pretty sure that TD tied it. If you google ‘D’andre Swift face masked by bama’ and go to images…isn’t that an automatic first down?
      I could be wrong, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over that damn game. Just robbed. Hell there’s enough bad calls in that game to almost give up on the Simmons call and still win.

      • The facemask on Swift was so obvious that I saw it from the upper deck of the Benz. It completely spun him around. Absolutely ridiculous no-call.

    • Don’t forget about the face mask on Swift or the block in the back/holding tackle on Roquan on 3rd and long.

  5. My thought has always been that we could have gone and likely won the natty all of those years and maybe a few more if it hadn’t been for one team each year usually named Florida or Alabama with a dash of LSU and Auburn here and there. We knocked on the door a long time and paid our dues. That’s why a team like Indiana that sucked forever pisses me off because they didn’t have to climb for their success, but kudos to them for getting lucky and finding the right coach I guess.

  6. 1982, 2012, 2017 all were literally 1 play away from adding a trophy. 2007 team was the best team at the end of the season but 2 typical don’t show up games earlier in the season doomed them as well as the Heibstreit doctrine.

    • Dawglicious gave a great explanation of the genesis for his Florida hated above. You just reminded me of the beginning of my disgust with Herbie. It’s grown over the years since then because he piles more logs on the fire every chance he gets. I don’t think he will ever say anything that benefits Georgia. He always does the opposite. He’s still mad we beat him and his team.

  7. Grantham,
    I totally agree, at the end of the year the 2007 team was dialed in. Would have loved to see them play Southern Cal.

  9. None of them! You are what the scoreboard says you are! The only Georgia team that should win a title kicks off on September Fif. Ain’t no dayum victory in a made up rearview mirror. Eyes on the prize Dawgs! Whip Tennessee State’s ass and then win 15 more and celebrate for 24 hours before getting back to work. Anything else is made up and flagellant.

  10. I’ll say 2007 because they were denied the shot by fucking Herbstreit’s lobbying when we should have been there following the system as it stood at that time. #4 on the last weekend, and #1 and #2 lose, we should move up to #2, no question. And we would’ve destroyed aOSU.

    All the other teams that were close (2012, 2017, the early ’80s) had their shot late and couldn’t close the deal. 2007 didn’t have the shot they deserved.

    And before you go on about losing to whoever early in the season, every other team in the country lost similar games. We were there at the end when it counted and it was taken away from us.

  12. Also surprised no one has mentioned the 2023 team. By my count, that team was 45-1 after the loss to Florida and lost to Bama by 3. That team, with time to get healthy, could easily have won a third title.

  13. 2002 was pretty strong. Win @ Bama. Rolled Arky in SEC title game and punked FSU/Bowden in SUGAR. Finished #3. Prob Richts deepest team. Had we only gotten past Fla.

    2012…meh. I witnessed SEC title game. Another wacky Murray moment @ end. “HAD” we beat Bama (Bama fan looked at my dad and I and said “yall got a good lil team” 🖕) , I envision a 2-3 pick game (41 career ints) for #11 v ND that would have killed us in the end. So 2012 not that high for me. ***Team had a lot of heart!

    • Murray moment? He ran what was called. Which I didn’t have a problem with the back shoulder throw there. If Gurley doesn’t make a freshman error by not going to meet the pass rusher that ball isn’t ripped at it goes to the intended receiver. Either a TD or incomplete back shoulder throw leaving time for one more play.

  14. 2nd & 26 shall forever live in infamy. We weren’t the best in ‘81 and flat got beat in ‘82. The Richt teams always carried the inexplicable losses. 2023 would have just been the crapshoot of the playoffs.

  15. 02, that team was on rails at the end.
    12, Notre Lame was not beating them Dawgs.
    23, A month off to heal, I like our chances.

  16. The ‘07 team. A BOGO on Mark Richt team bed shirtings against two bad teams. That South Carolina team didnt even make it to a bowl.

    We should have won it in ‘17. I still just about can’t believe that happened.

    • Good stuff. And yes, #11 should’ve spiked the ball 1st & goal 2012. Any competent QB would do without question!

  18. ‘23 for sure especially after time off to heal a couple of positions ( see Orange Bowl ask Seminoles) but, what really ticks me off is that we just lost our first game in over 2 plus years and got dropped 5 spots for playing in a close championship game! Never happens to Gumps or the capers.(buckeyes). Well that Ramey has been covered before. Definitely deserved ‘18 Natty but again it wasn’t meant to be. 2012 team would’ve rolled Notre Dame but, would our success now with Kirby have been altered? 1968 had Dooley picked the Orange Bowl team would’ve been sobered up by 8:00 kickoff. Good stories from that era!

  19. All those heartbreaks just made Ringo’s pick 6 that much sweeter.

  20. 2023.

    We were undefeated AGAIN.

    We would have had a three-peat and back to back undefeated nattys.

    Fucking Alabama. 🙁

    There would not be a single program in history that could touch that run.

    *sigh*

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