29 In A Row: A New SEC Standard
December 01, 2023 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
The streak began in probably the best possible place for a long winning streak to begin: in the College Football Playoff. It was New Year's Eve 2021, in Miami, Fla., and Georgia was facing Michigan in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Could anyone have guessed what was to follow over the next two years? Probably not.
During the 2021 season, the Bulldogs dominated much of their competition on their way to a 12-0 regular season. In eight of those games, their opponents scored seven points or less against one of the best defenses in college football history. But then came Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
On Dec. 4, in Atlanta, No. 1 Georgia faced No. 3 Alabama at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — the same two teams will meet for the SEC title on Saturday. The Bulldogs started well back in 2021, jumping out to a 10-0 lead, and it was 17-17 late in the second quarter before the Crimson Tide scored with 26 seconds left to take a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Alabama went on to win, 41-24.
The Bulldogs haven't lost since, winning an SEC-record 29 games in a row after last week's win at Georgia Tech to close out a third straight undefeated regular season. Of course, the top-ranked Bulldogs aren't chasing winning streaks.. They're chasing championships.
"I think we're just focused on the next game," sophomore tight end Oscar Delp said. "We don't really think about that stuff, just take it one day at a time, really. You just focus on what's happening in that moment."
Back in 2021, fresh off the loss to Bama, Georgia was the No. 3 seed in the Playoff, Alabama was No. 1, Michigan No. 2 and Cincinnati was No. 4. The Bulldogs blasted Michigan in Miami, 34-11. It was a win, a huge one, but one win is not a streak. Then, on Jan. 10, 2022, inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Georgia captured its first national championship in 40 years, rallying with a huge fourth quarter to beat the Tide, 33-18.
Is two wins a streak? Does it matter? Twenty-seven wins in 27 games have followed. Here's a look back at the best run in SEC history:
No. 1 — No. 3 Georgia 34, No. 2 Michigan 11: Stetson Bennett threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns, the defense dominated, and the Bulldogs showed that the loss to Bama wasn't going to derail their chase for a championship.
No. 2 — No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18: We all remember Kelee Ringo's pick-six to seal the program's first national championship since 1980. It was a glitzy cherry on top to a hard-fought, grind-it-out win. Alabama led 18-13 with 10 minutes left, but down the stretch, the Bulldogs got two TD passes from Bennett, and the defense got stops the rest of the way.
No. 3 — No. 3 Georgia 49, No. 11 Oregon 3: How would the Bulldogs handle success? How would they handle losing defensive coordinator Dan Lanning to the Ducks? Quite well, it turned out.
Nos. 4-6 — No. 2 Georgia 33, Samford 0; No. 1 Georgia 48, South Carolina 7, No. 1 Georgia 39, Kent State 22: The Bulldogs kept rolling, even if the Kent State game wasn't a thing of beauty. It did feature a gorgeous 75-yard Brock Bowers touchdown run..
No. 7 — No. 1 Georgia 26, Missouri 22: A win's a win. A Mizzou field goal with 14:09 remaining put the Tigers up 22-12. The Bulldogs were in trouble, or so it seemed. After a largely stagnant first three quarters, which led to four field goals, the offense found its rhythm and put together two touchdown drives in the final 10 minutes for the win.
Nos. 8-10 — No. 2 Georgia 42, Auburn 10; No. 1 Georgia 55, Vanderbilt 0; No. 1 Georgia 42, Florida 20: Dominating two of your biggest conference rivals is fun.
No. 11 — No. 3 Georgia 27, No. 1 Tennessee 13: Both teams came in undefeated, with the resurgent Vols ranked No. 1 in the first CFP rankings and Georgia at No. 3. Sanford Stadium was as loud as it's ever been. Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, while the Bulldog defense largely shut down what had been the nation's most prolific offense.
No. 12 — No. 1 Georgia 45, Mississippi State 19: Ladd McConkey ran for a 70-yard touchdown and caught a 17-yarder from Bennett, who threw for two scores and ran in for another.
No. 13 — No. 1 Georgia 16, Kentucky 6: Sometimes you've got to win ugly, which is what the Bulldogs did. Kenny McIntosh ran for 143 yards, part of a 249-yard rushing day for UGA, while Bennett threw for just 116.
Nos. 14-15 — No. 1 Georgia 37, Georgia Tech 14; No. 1 Georgia 50, No. 14 LSU 30: Tech actually led 7-3 after the first quarter, but the rest of the game was all Georgia. In the SEC Championship Game, Georgia produced 529 yards of offense en route to its first conference title since 2017.
No. 16 — No. 1 Georgia 42, No. 4 Ohio State 41: It was an epic game — the teams combined for 1,000 yards of offense — with a dramatic finish to the CFP semifinal as the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve. Down by 14 in the fourth quarter of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Bulldogs rallied to take the lead. Then, they watched as Ohio State's 50-yard field goal attempt to win it in the closing seconds sailed wide.
No. 17 — No. 1 Georgia 65, No. 3 TCU 7: Complete domination en route to a second straight national championship. Bennett threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more, while the defense held the Frogs to just 188 yards of offense and 10 first downs.
Nos. 18-19 — No. 1 Georgia 48, UT Martin 7; No. 1 Georgia 45, Ball State 3: Carson Beck's first two games as Georgia's starting QB featured a combined 577 passing yards, three passing TDs, and he ran the ball in for another.
No. 20 — No. 1 Georgia 24, South Carolina 14: The Gamecocks came out hot, the Bulldogs not so much, and South Carolina led 14-3 at the half. Georgia scored 21 unanswered points in the second half.
No. 21 — No. 1 Georgia 49, UAB 21: Daijun Edwards ran for two scores and Bowers caught two of Beck's three TD passes.
No. 22 — No. 1 Georgia 27, Auburn 20: The Tigers went ahead 10-0 in the opening quarter, it was 10-10 at the half, and it was 20-20 late in the fourth quarter. Then, Beck hit Bowers for a 40-yard touchdown with 2:52 remaining. Malaki Starks sealed the win with an interception on Auburn's final drive.
No. 23 — No. 1 Georgia 51, No. 20 Kentucky 13: This Week 6 battle of unbeatens wasn't much of a battle. Georgia, facing its first ranked opponent of the season, throttled the previously undefeated Wildcats in every way possible. It was 34-7 by halftime.
No. 24 — No. 1 Georgia 37, Vanderbilt 20: Freshman kicker Peyton Woodring made kicks of 31, 44 and 30 yards to help the Bulldogs win when they weren't at their best. Woodring has gone on to make 20 of 23 field goal attempts this season.
No. 25 — No. 1 Georgia 43, Florida 20: The Gators scored first, and then the Bulldogs scored 36 straight to lead 36-7 at the end of three quarters. Beck threw for 315 yards and two TDs in his hometown, and McConkey had six catches for 135 yards and a touchdown.
No. 26 — No. 2 Georgia 30, No. 12 Missouri 21: The surprise team in the SEC this season, Mizzou cut the Bulldogs' lead to 24--21 early in the fourth quarter. Then Woodring came up clutch again, connecting from 30 and 48 yards to secure the victory.
No. 27 — No. 2 Georgia 52, No. 9 Ole Miss 17: This one was over pretty early. The Rebels scored on their first drive, but couldn't do much the rest of the way. Kendall Milton ran for a career-high 127 yards and two touchdowns.
No. 28 — No. 1 Georgia 38, No. 18 Tennessee 10: The Vols scored on their first play from scrimmage, and the Bulldog defense held them to a field goal over the final 59 minutes. Beck completed 24 of 30 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns, and wideout Dillon Bell threw a TD pass and caught one.
No. 29 — No. 1 Georgia 31, Georgia Tech 23: With several key receivers out, the Bulldogs relied on the ground attack to take care of business. Milton set a new career-high with 156 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
After the Tennessee win, coach Kirby Smart was asked about wrapping up the regular season against a Tech team that would like nothing more than to knock off the No. 1 team in the country.
"Who wouldn't? They are all coming for us; that is what it is," he said. "We're not concerned with who's coming after us. We are concerned with who we're coming after."
And it's maintaining that attitude, even while the wins pile up higher and higher, that goes a long way toward ensuring that the Bulldogs do keep winning. The more talented team usually wins games, but not always. Georgia has trailed at some point in about a third of the games during the streak — sometimes early, sometimes late. Regardless of the opponent, regardless of if the Bulldogs aren't playing their best, they've figured out a way to come out on top.
One day, maybe Saturday in Atlanta, maybe in the game after that, or maybe it's a year from now, Georgia will be on the losing end of a football game again. Maybe it's nowhere near the all-time FBS record of 47 straight wins set by Oklahoma from 1953-57, or maybe it's way past it. Regardless, as Smart also said after the Tennessee game, the streak is "going to end, and we're going to start a new one."
Staff Writer
The streak began in probably the best possible place for a long winning streak to begin: in the College Football Playoff. It was New Year's Eve 2021, in Miami, Fla., and Georgia was facing Michigan in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Could anyone have guessed what was to follow over the next two years? Probably not.
During the 2021 season, the Bulldogs dominated much of their competition on their way to a 12-0 regular season. In eight of those games, their opponents scored seven points or less against one of the best defenses in college football history. But then came Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
On Dec. 4, in Atlanta, No. 1 Georgia faced No. 3 Alabama at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — the same two teams will meet for the SEC title on Saturday. The Bulldogs started well back in 2021, jumping out to a 10-0 lead, and it was 17-17 late in the second quarter before the Crimson Tide scored with 26 seconds left to take a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Alabama went on to win, 41-24.
The Bulldogs haven't lost since, winning an SEC-record 29 games in a row after last week's win at Georgia Tech to close out a third straight undefeated regular season. Of course, the top-ranked Bulldogs aren't chasing winning streaks.. They're chasing championships.
"I think we're just focused on the next game," sophomore tight end Oscar Delp said. "We don't really think about that stuff, just take it one day at a time, really. You just focus on what's happening in that moment."
Back in 2021, fresh off the loss to Bama, Georgia was the No. 3 seed in the Playoff, Alabama was No. 1, Michigan No. 2 and Cincinnati was No. 4. The Bulldogs blasted Michigan in Miami, 34-11. It was a win, a huge one, but one win is not a streak. Then, on Jan. 10, 2022, inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Georgia captured its first national championship in 40 years, rallying with a huge fourth quarter to beat the Tide, 33-18.
Is two wins a streak? Does it matter? Twenty-seven wins in 27 games have followed. Here's a look back at the best run in SEC history:
No. 1 — No. 3 Georgia 34, No. 2 Michigan 11: Stetson Bennett threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns, the defense dominated, and the Bulldogs showed that the loss to Bama wasn't going to derail their chase for a championship.
No. 2 — No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18: We all remember Kelee Ringo's pick-six to seal the program's first national championship since 1980. It was a glitzy cherry on top to a hard-fought, grind-it-out win. Alabama led 18-13 with 10 minutes left, but down the stretch, the Bulldogs got two TD passes from Bennett, and the defense got stops the rest of the way.
No. 3 — No. 3 Georgia 49, No. 11 Oregon 3: How would the Bulldogs handle success? How would they handle losing defensive coordinator Dan Lanning to the Ducks? Quite well, it turned out.
Nos. 4-6 — No. 2 Georgia 33, Samford 0; No. 1 Georgia 48, South Carolina 7, No. 1 Georgia 39, Kent State 22: The Bulldogs kept rolling, even if the Kent State game wasn't a thing of beauty. It did feature a gorgeous 75-yard Brock Bowers touchdown run..
No. 7 — No. 1 Georgia 26, Missouri 22: A win's a win. A Mizzou field goal with 14:09 remaining put the Tigers up 22-12. The Bulldogs were in trouble, or so it seemed. After a largely stagnant first three quarters, which led to four field goals, the offense found its rhythm and put together two touchdown drives in the final 10 minutes for the win.
Nos. 8-10 — No. 2 Georgia 42, Auburn 10; No. 1 Georgia 55, Vanderbilt 0; No. 1 Georgia 42, Florida 20: Dominating two of your biggest conference rivals is fun.
No. 11 — No. 3 Georgia 27, No. 1 Tennessee 13: Both teams came in undefeated, with the resurgent Vols ranked No. 1 in the first CFP rankings and Georgia at No. 3. Sanford Stadium was as loud as it's ever been. Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, while the Bulldog defense largely shut down what had been the nation's most prolific offense.
No. 12 — No. 1 Georgia 45, Mississippi State 19: Ladd McConkey ran for a 70-yard touchdown and caught a 17-yarder from Bennett, who threw for two scores and ran in for another.
No. 13 — No. 1 Georgia 16, Kentucky 6: Sometimes you've got to win ugly, which is what the Bulldogs did. Kenny McIntosh ran for 143 yards, part of a 249-yard rushing day for UGA, while Bennett threw for just 116.
Nos. 14-15 — No. 1 Georgia 37, Georgia Tech 14; No. 1 Georgia 50, No. 14 LSU 30: Tech actually led 7-3 after the first quarter, but the rest of the game was all Georgia. In the SEC Championship Game, Georgia produced 529 yards of offense en route to its first conference title since 2017.
No. 16 — No. 1 Georgia 42, No. 4 Ohio State 41: It was an epic game — the teams combined for 1,000 yards of offense — with a dramatic finish to the CFP semifinal as the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve. Down by 14 in the fourth quarter of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Bulldogs rallied to take the lead. Then, they watched as Ohio State's 50-yard field goal attempt to win it in the closing seconds sailed wide.
No. 17 — No. 1 Georgia 65, No. 3 TCU 7: Complete domination en route to a second straight national championship. Bennett threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more, while the defense held the Frogs to just 188 yards of offense and 10 first downs.
Nos. 18-19 — No. 1 Georgia 48, UT Martin 7; No. 1 Georgia 45, Ball State 3: Carson Beck's first two games as Georgia's starting QB featured a combined 577 passing yards, three passing TDs, and he ran the ball in for another.
No. 20 — No. 1 Georgia 24, South Carolina 14: The Gamecocks came out hot, the Bulldogs not so much, and South Carolina led 14-3 at the half. Georgia scored 21 unanswered points in the second half.
No. 21 — No. 1 Georgia 49, UAB 21: Daijun Edwards ran for two scores and Bowers caught two of Beck's three TD passes.
No. 22 — No. 1 Georgia 27, Auburn 20: The Tigers went ahead 10-0 in the opening quarter, it was 10-10 at the half, and it was 20-20 late in the fourth quarter. Then, Beck hit Bowers for a 40-yard touchdown with 2:52 remaining. Malaki Starks sealed the win with an interception on Auburn's final drive.
No. 23 — No. 1 Georgia 51, No. 20 Kentucky 13: This Week 6 battle of unbeatens wasn't much of a battle. Georgia, facing its first ranked opponent of the season, throttled the previously undefeated Wildcats in every way possible. It was 34-7 by halftime.
No. 24 — No. 1 Georgia 37, Vanderbilt 20: Freshman kicker Peyton Woodring made kicks of 31, 44 and 30 yards to help the Bulldogs win when they weren't at their best. Woodring has gone on to make 20 of 23 field goal attempts this season.
No. 25 — No. 1 Georgia 43, Florida 20: The Gators scored first, and then the Bulldogs scored 36 straight to lead 36-7 at the end of three quarters. Beck threw for 315 yards and two TDs in his hometown, and McConkey had six catches for 135 yards and a touchdown.
No. 26 — No. 2 Georgia 30, No. 12 Missouri 21: The surprise team in the SEC this season, Mizzou cut the Bulldogs' lead to 24--21 early in the fourth quarter. Then Woodring came up clutch again, connecting from 30 and 48 yards to secure the victory.
No. 27 — No. 2 Georgia 52, No. 9 Ole Miss 17: This one was over pretty early. The Rebels scored on their first drive, but couldn't do much the rest of the way. Kendall Milton ran for a career-high 127 yards and two touchdowns.
No. 28 — No. 1 Georgia 38, No. 18 Tennessee 10: The Vols scored on their first play from scrimmage, and the Bulldog defense held them to a field goal over the final 59 minutes. Beck completed 24 of 30 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns, and wideout Dillon Bell threw a TD pass and caught one.
No. 29 — No. 1 Georgia 31, Georgia Tech 23: With several key receivers out, the Bulldogs relied on the ground attack to take care of business. Milton set a new career-high with 156 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
After the Tennessee win, coach Kirby Smart was asked about wrapping up the regular season against a Tech team that would like nothing more than to knock off the No. 1 team in the country.
"Who wouldn't? They are all coming for us; that is what it is," he said. "We're not concerned with who's coming after us. We are concerned with who we're coming after."
And it's maintaining that attitude, even while the wins pile up higher and higher, that goes a long way toward ensuring that the Bulldogs do keep winning. The more talented team usually wins games, but not always. Georgia has trailed at some point in about a third of the games during the streak — sometimes early, sometimes late. Regardless of the opponent, regardless of if the Bulldogs aren't playing their best, they've figured out a way to come out on top.
One day, maybe Saturday in Atlanta, maybe in the game after that, or maybe it's a year from now, Georgia will be on the losing end of a football game again. Maybe it's nowhere near the all-time FBS record of 47 straight wins set by Oklahoma from 1953-57, or maybe it's way past it. Regardless, as Smart also said after the Tennessee game, the streak is "going to end, and we're going to start a new one."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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