Paul Finebaum: This feels like a hangover year for Georgia

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is of the mind that Georgia is in the midst of a hangover year after winning two straight national championships.

The Bulldogs are 5-0 and still ranked No. 1 in the latest AP Poll, but something’s off. At least that’s what Finebaum sees by the latest results.

So is a three-peat out of the question? Not necessarily, but it’s going to be difficult.

“It just very much feels like a hangover a year,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic. “Reminds me a little bit of FSU, not a good, not a direct comparison in 2014, Jameis Winston’s final year when they just seemed flat. I’ve seen it with Alabama a little bit over the years. It just seems like there’s a talent drop off. I think there’s a couple of key injuries.

“That game Saturday should not have come down to one drive where if Carson Beck made a costly error, they could actually lose the game. I mean that should not be in the cards.” 

The close win over Auburn was concerning to Finebaum only because the talent gap is what it is. Georgia has way too much and it seems like it’s going to waste.

But then again, 5-0 is 5-0.

“Georgia has too much talent,” Finebaum said. “But they don’t have the talent, I think fully blossomed or in bloom as they have in the past and that’s going to be really a serious challenge for Kirby Smart. He’s fortunate that he’s not going to have to go to Ole Miss in November. They’re coming to him. He’s got Kentucky this week as opposed to going to Kroger field. So I mean, I think there are a lot of breaks on that schedule. 

“But the biggest break may have been not having to go to Norman, Oklahoma and I know everybody has said oh man that was too bad, Georgia would have shown everybody how good they are. They may have shown everybody how average they are.”

Regardless of how it’s done, Kirby Smart was still proud of his team. A win is a win.

“I’m proud of ’em,” Smart said postgame. “Resilient as hell, competed. You know, the leadership of this team has shown up twice, and you don’t know how many times you’re going to be able to do that when you turn the ball over and you give people extra possessions. You just can’t do that. Good football teams don’t do that, and good football teams don’t let people run the ball for over 200 yards. 

“That’s one of the things that we knew they could do well. I thought they really ran the ball well and used the quarterback and rushed the ball on us. We can’t do that. We’ve got to be able to run the ball, too, but I’m proud of the way the guys fought.”