Down goes Alabama. Everyone rejoices.

The Georgia Bulldogs finally broke the spell and won their first national championship since 1980.

So what does this mean for the future of college football? Is Georgia now the team to beat for years to come? Or are the Crimson Tide still the bar of the sport?

Let’s not overlook this win. Georgia had a great season and stayed the course even after being beaten down by Alabama in Atlanta for the SEC championship. Kirby Smart finally beat the boss, which is important for the Bulldogs, who will undoubtedly be one of the top forces on the gridiron for a long time.

But Georgia is not the first to dethrone the Crimson Tide.

In the last 10 years, there have been four teams other than Georgia that have climbed and conquered the Alabama mountain: Florida State, Ohio State, Clemson and LSU.

What has happened since those teams won? Florida State is in shambles, Ohio State hasn’t won the title since, Clemson lost three games in 2021, and LSU has a new coach and players transferring every which way.

Plenty of people have tried to call off the Crimson Tide dynasty over the years to no avail. What makes this time different? Alabama was shorthanded. 

The Crimson Tide played most of the season with two running backs on the roster after losing Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams. Linebacker Chris Allen played one half of football. Starting cornerbacks Josh Jobe and Jalyn Armour-Davis missed time, and both were out for the national championship.

The offensive line was moved around and switched up frequently. And in its final two games, Alabama lost its top two weapons on offense in John Metchie III and Jameson Williams.

Even before the injuries, this was a young Alabama team.  Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr., the most dynamic players in the country on both sides of the ball, will remain. 

There will be key departures, like Robinson, offensive lineman Evan Neal, and probably the likes of Williams and Metchie III, but there is plenty of reason to believe that Alabama will play in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship in Los Angeles.

Young will return in an attempt to win back-to-back Heisman trophies, the young wide receiving core will develop over the summer to become the next stars, and the defense will continue to strengthen. Most importantly, head coach Nick Saban won’t be going anywhere.

Sure, Ohio State and Clemson look to have strong teams next year. But Georgia is going to lose key pieces to the puzzle as well. Until other programs can prove that they can regroup from losing draft talent like the Crimson Tide does every year, the sport of college football will remain in the hands of Alabama.

As tough as the loss was, linebacker Henry To’oTo’o said that it’s “just about never losing that tension you’re feeling, remembering how this feels, coming back in the offseason and grinding harder than ever so we don’t feel this again.”

Defensive lineman DJ Dale, who’s undecided on the 2022 NFL Draft, said there’s no time to keep their heads down.

“We always work hard every offseason,” Dale said. “So it’s like the same. We’ve got a sour taste in our mouth coming off a loss the same way we always do, but just get back to work.”

The football team in Tuscaloosa is going to take this loss on the chin, regroup and come ready to play in 2022.