KIRBY SMART

Luke, 45, joined Kirby Smart's staff ahead of the 2020 season after spending eight seasons as head coach at Mississippi.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart told a near-capacity crowd at Sanford Stadium the Bulldogs don’t plan to wait another 41 years for their next national championship.

Georgia finally broke its 41-year national championship drought and Kirby Smart finally defeated his former boss, Alabama’s Nick Saban, on Monday night in the College Football Playoff title game.

Kirby Smart learned from his former boss that the time for celebrating is short in college football.

The Bulldogs defeated the Crimson Tide in a rematch of the SEC title game.

Georgia has become an elite program under Kirby Smart, but has not been able to chase down its Southeastern Conference rival until now.

Georgia is No. 1 in the final Associated Press college football poll of the season after winning its second national title by beating Alabama.

Alabama had plenty of chances in the College Football Playoff championship Monday — but rarely turned those opportunities into touchdowns.

The final blow came from Georgia's dominant defense. Kelee Ringo intercepted an underthrown deep ball and took off for a 79-yard touchdown.

Georgia won its long-awaited national championship the way it dominated during an undefeated regular season — by relying on its defense.

Georgia defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in a rematch of the SEC title game.

Stetson Bennett delivered the biggest throws of his storybook career and Georgia’s defense sealed the sweetest victory in program history, vanquishing rival Alabama 33-18 to win the College Football Playoff title game.

Kickoff is Monday night at 8 p.m. ET.

The Georgia Bulldogs defense has a chance at redemption.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart sees challenges everywhere for his defense — even with Alabama missing one of its top receivers.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart got an inside look at what it takes to build a college football juggernaut working for Nick Saban at Alabama for eight years.

A mere 37 days after they last played, Alabama faces Georgia again with a national football championship on the line.

By bringing the Bulldogs to another national title game, coach Kirby Smart has made Georgia a regular part of the championship picture.

The national championship game quarterbacks are a former five-star recruit already with a Heisman Trophy and a former walk-on ending a long journey with his home state team.

Stetson Bennett threw three touchdown passes, Nakobe Dean led an angry Georgia defense and the third-ranked Bulldogs returned to their dominant ways, beating No. 2 Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl to advance to the College Football Playoff championship.

Alabama has a chance to repeat.

USA TODAY Sports' Dan Wolken puts into perspective Georgia's win over Michigan and what it means for the program and Kirby Smart.

For years, college coaches have worried about players partying too much ahead of big games.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart says Stetson Bennett remains the starting quarterback going into Friday's CFP semifinal against Michigan.

Key Georgia football support staffer resigns amid university investigation

Texas A&M holds the lead in the race for the national recruiting title in college football.

Georgia's proud defense is seeking to redeem itself after the Bulldogs' ugly loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Alabama once again collected a Southeastern Conference title and two big league-wide individual awards.

A person familiar with negotiations says new Florida coach Billy Napier agreed to a seven-year, $51.8 million contract that makes him the fifth-highest-paid coach in the Southeastern Conference.

Bryce Young stunningly carved up the nation’s best defense, giving Nick Saban and Alabama a shot at another national championship.

Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide have faced sporadic challengers during their long reign over the Southeastern Conference.

It's rivalry week across the Southeastern Conference, with plenty of stakes beyond bragging rights.

Standout defensive tackle Jordan Davis scored his first career touchdown and No. 1 Georgia’s stout defense was again dominant in a 56-7 rout of Charleston Southern.

Alabama coach Nick Saban and Georgia’s Kirby Smart continue to make their ability to field elite defenses a big part of their formula for maintaining consistently elite programs in the Southeastern Conference.

Stetson Bennett ran for a touchdown and threw for another as top-ranked Georgia remained perfect, wrapping up its Southeastern Conference schedule by routing Tennessee 41-17.

Top-ranked Georgia and No. 3 Alabama appear headed for a showdown in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Stetson Bennett passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns before giving way to former starter JT Daniels, leading No. 1 Georgia to a 43-6 win over Missouri.

No_ 1 Georgia and its top-ranked defense dominated Florida in the annual rivalry known as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party."

No_ 1 Georgia is a two-touchdown favorite against rival Florida in the game known as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”.

Georgia's first game as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team since 2008 was a big success.

Georgia finds itself in a most unusual position.

Alabama and Georgia, the top-ranked teams in the country and the favorites to win their Southeastern Conference divisions, are preparing to face the league’s biggest early season surprises.

The Southeastern Conference is moving away from early season cupcakes.

Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari says he contracted COVID-19 after being vaccinated, but points out that he is relieved the shot did its job in leaving him with mild symptoms.

Christopher Smith returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown and No. 5 Georgia turned in a defensive effort for the ages, toppling third-ranked Clemson 10-3 on Saturday in the opener for both teams.

No team has lost its opening game and reached the Bowl Championship Series title game of the College Football Playoff.

Southeastern Conference officials are trying to get back to normal on football game days, with stadiums filled with fans and grills being fired up outside, even in a portion of the country where the states have among the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates.

The Southeastern Conference still has its usual array of potential national title contenders, even if the quarterbacks have changed.

Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll for fourth time in the past six seasons.

College coaches are trying to get a handle on the recruiting impact of athletes' ability to profit off their fame.

College football coaches around the country are spending much of the offseason urging their players to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Georgia went from a program with very little quarterback talent to a program with a lot of quarterback talent. This year, the Bulldogs are heading into the season with arguably the most talented quarterback in the entire SEC, JT Daniels, and that should just tell you where their expectations are for this Bulldogs offense this fall. They're pretty high.

The rich got even richer in the Southeastern Conference when the transfer floodgates opened wide.

Former Georgia and Miami football coach Mark Richt has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Smart said Wednesday that Muschamp, also a former Florida head coach, will focus on defense. He played at Georgia as a defensive back from 1991-94 and is a former defensive coordinator at Auburn, Louisiana State and Texas. “It's very valuable to have a guy who has been a head coach in two different places in our conference,” Smart said. “He’s going to be able to help coach the coaches.”Muschamp's role as analyst may be only a short-term situation. Another former Georgia player and assistant coach, Mike Bobo, served as South Carolina's interim coach after Muschamp was fired.

(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)Georgia will open up its season against Clemson and wrap things up with rival Georgia Tech as things get somewhat back to normal on the football field in 2021. The Bulldogs face Clemson on Sept. 4 in Charlotte, one of two neutral site games for Georgia. The Bulldogs face rival Florida in their annual showdown in Jacksonville on Oct. 30. The Bulldogs face Georgia Tech in their regular season finale in Athens. Georgia 2021 football scheduleSept. 4 vs. Clemson (in Charlotte)Sept. 11 vs. UABSept. 18 vs. South CarolinaSept. 25 at VanderbiltOct. 2 vs. ArkansasOct. 9 at AuburnOct. 16 vs. KentuckyOct. 23 BYEOct. 30 vs. Florida (in Jacksonville)Nov. 6 vs. MissouriNov. 13 at TennesseeNov. 20 vs. Charleston SouthernNov. 27 at Georgia Tech

(AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File)Steve Sarkisian is the latest Alabama coordinator to be drawing up game plans for a national title showdown before leaving for a new head coaching job. The Longhorns fired Tom Herman and hired Sarkisian eight days before the national championship game Monday night against No. The difference this time is the accelerated time frame from Sarkisian’s hiring to the title game. Alabama beat Oklahoma in the semifinals before a 44-16 loss to Clemson in the national title game. Nearly a month passed from his hiring to the January 2012 title game rematch against LSU, which ’Bama won 21-0.

Cincinnati quarterback Ben Bryant (6)makes the catch against Georgia during the second half of the Peach Bowl NCAA college football game, Friday, Jan. 1, 2021, in Atlanta. 6 Cincinnati its only loss of the season with a dramatic 24-21 victory in the Peach Bowl on Friday. Georgia trailed 21-10 in the fourth quarter, but its defense clamped down on Desmond Ridder and Cincinnati and JT Daniels helped rally the Bulldogs with his arm. Podlesny’s third field goal was his longest of the season and gave Georgia a 22-21 lead. Zamir White's 9-yard TD run trimmed Cincinnati's lead to 21-16, but Daniels' pass on the 2-point attempt was incomplete.