Sugar Bowl bound as Southeastern Conference champions. For so many years, that’s been music to the ears, to the schools of the toughest league in the land. As the sport has changed, with the College Football Playoff the focal point, playing in New Orleans, though no longer the end point, is an enormous opportunity in the quest for the ultimate goal of the national championship.

Back in the early 1980s, one of my favorite bumper stickers boasted, “You Can’t Spell Sugar Without UGA.” Indeed. Those phenomenal Bulldogs from 1980-1982 won the 1980 national championship, and went to New Orleans three consecutive times with three straight SEC titles.

For the record, I was eight, nine and ten back then, and kind of thought that was normal and it was the way it would always be.

It would be another 20 years until Georgia again won the SEC and earned a berth in the Sugar Bowl.

Those glory days of the early 80s, which went an extra year into 1983 as the 10-1-1 Cotton Bowl champions represented the ultimate Golden Era of Georgia Football. What the Bulldogs have done under the watch of Kirby Smart has showered the University of Georgia with the grandest of times, similar amazing success, but over a period twice as long, and then some.

Dating back to Smart’s second season at the helm of his beloved alma mater in 2017, Georgia has ascended to the highest of highs as one of college football’s elite programs. Smart has been the driving force, compiling a resume that rivals the most iconic coaches in the history of college football.

Leading Georgia to back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022, four SEC titles and nine straight seasons in major bowls with top ten rankings (even if Georgia gets beat worse than Cumberland College did against the enemy, the Bulldogs would still finish in the top ten), this Golden Era for the Red and Black is simply extraordinary.

To make the next step, the Bulldogs face a tremendous challenge against the hungry and determined Ole Miss Rebels. Lane Kiffin left, and it was hard to know what to expect. Well, clearly this team, under the watch of new head coach Pete Golding, has rallied, and not missed a beat. The Rebels dominated Tulane 41-10 in the first round of the College Football Playoff, and carry all kinds of momentum to New Orleans.

Anytime there is a tournament, like the CFP, you can look at the combatants, and ask questions like: who is just happy to be here, who are some teams that might make some noise, and then finally, who are the contenders fully capable of winning the whole thing?

Both Georgia and Ole Miss look like legitimate national championship contenders. Meaning, the winner of this rematch would then have to beat either Ohio State or Miami in Tempe and then win the finale, which will be played in Miami.

Amongst Smart’s most impressive accomplishments is the rematch record. Georgia is 4-0 all-time in Game No. 2 of a season, including SEC Championship Game victories over Auburn, Texas and Alabama, and the 2021 National Championship Game triumph over the Tide. Can the Dogs do it again?

Back to the premise of winning the SEC and playing in the Sugar Bowl, which used to be the championship prize with perhaps a shot at the national title. Now it’s a step along the way, and what a big one it is this year in this matchup of SEC titans in New Orleans.

Only three times in Georgia history have the Bulldogs both won the SEC and the Sugar Bowl in the same year – 1946, 1980 and 2002. That’s three of the greatest teams in Georgia football history. A victory over Ole Miss would check off that box as well, and move these resilient Bulldogs one step further.