ATLANTA — From Jan. 2, 1981, through Jan. 9, 2022, Georgia went without a national championship. Over that span, 22 national titles were taken by schools based in states that share a border — or, in the case of the 1990 UPI titlist, share a state — with this one. It’s bad enough if your team can’t quite hit it big; it’s a hundred times worse if all your neighbors do.
For 41 years, Georgia was the program that had it all — some of the time, anyway — but couldn’t win it all. Incongruities abounded. From 2006-16, the Bulldogs went 9-2 against Auburn; the two years the Tigers won, they played for national championships. From 2002-12, Georgia won the SEC East five times and had eight 10-win seasons without playing for a BCS title; Florida won the East three times and had four 10-win seasons while winning two BCS titles.
From Jan. 2, 1981, though Jan. 9, 2022, Clemson won championships under two different coaches. So did Florida. So did Alabama. So did Florida State. Miami won five titles under four different coaches. The last Georgia coach to claim the crown was Vince Dooley, who worked his final game Jan. 1, 1989 — in the Gator Bowl.
