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Murray had already committed to Georgia in 2008, but he hadn't been to a game at the stadium before the season opener against Alabama.
Murray was one of the top recruits in the country, and his priority was to convince other big names to join him. The game was the perfect opportunity to close the deal. Georgia was off to a great start in 2008 and was ranked as the top team in the nation. The game was on national TV. The day before, the school had announced they'd be wearing their all-black jerseys, which they'd worn to much fanfare during wins overAuburn and Hawai'i the year before. The environment was electric until about 20 minutes after the game ended.
Alabama led 31-0 at the half. Georgia's hopes for a national championship in 2008 were all but over as the Nick Saban era began.
"I remember at halftime, they're getting spanked," Murray said. All of the recruits said they thought Georgia was good. What is the deal? I said it must've been an off night but that the jerseys looked good.
That wasn't much of a selling point. The black jerseys were retired for the next eight years and only two appearances since, the most recent being a small-time game against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Georgia has become a horror story since that 2008 game. The narrative has been defined by the games against Alabama and Oklahoma since the beginning of the 14 years. The CFP National Championship presented by AT&T will be held on Monday. Georgia has another chance to rewrite the script and make the case that there is no spell preventing the Dawgs from beating Alabama.
That curse is real.
Smith said that the rational people think we can do it. "But we haven't done it, so until you do it, there's going to be all kinds of speculation that can be very negative."
Kirby Smart was the defensive coach at Alabama for the 2008 and 2012 wins over Georgia.
It would be foolish to call the Dawgs and Tide rivals. Georgia has a lot of heated rivalries, and Alabama probably wouldn't even crack the top five. Both teams were charter members of the SEC and played in 1895. In 1963, the Saturday Evening Post ran a story claiming that Alabama coach Bear Bryant and Georgia athletic director (and former coach) Wally Butts had plotted to fix the 1962 game. Both schools denied the claim, but it changed the rivalry and the two schools played just twice over the next decade. There was no fire that burned between them. Georgia won five of the eight times they played in the 30 years from 1978 to 2007.
Then he arrived.
Loran Smith said that things changed when Nick Saban came into the league.
Alabama has dominated college football for the past 15 years, winning six national titles, and no program has suffered more as a result than Georgia.
Georgia's upset bid against Alabama in the 2012 SEC championship game was ruined by a mistimed completion to Chris Conley.
Tua Tagovailoa came off the bench to lead the Tide to a 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia in the national championship game of the year.
Georgia had a chance to beat Alabama in the SEC title game the next year. This time it was Hurts who came off the bench to lead the Tide to a 35-28 win.
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Just a month ago, with Georgia the unquestioned No. 1 team in the country and Alabama fresh off a nearly disastrous Iron Bowl, the Tide once again quashed the Dawgs' hopes, dominating a seemingly impenetrable defense to win 41-24.
Nolan Smith said he cried after the SEC title game. I'm 20 years old. I've been playing football since I was young. That's 16 years since the last win. I haven't won a title. That is one thing that keeps me going. That's something in the back of my mind that keeps me going and I just want to win.
Murray is aware of the feeling.
He led Georgia on a potential game-winning drive in the 2012 SEC championship, as the Tide led 32-28. The clock was running and the Dawgs had the ball at the Alabama 8.
Mark Richt, the former Georgia coach, explained in a measured, matter-of-fact tone that he's told this story a million times before. You're going to get three plays if you throw into the end zone. You're going to get two if you clock it. It was not a bad thing.
The strategy backfired. Alabama advanced to the national championship game after Murray's first-down pass was tipped and caught by Conley, who couldn't get out of bounds before the clock expired.
"I would love to put it behind me, but I don't think that's ever going to happen," Murray said. I still have nightmares about that drive.
The result of that championship game would have been a ring for Murray, Richt and the rest. What might've happened there?
Play.
Gene Wojciechowski talks about Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett's mindset as he prepares to play Alabama in the title game of the CFP.
It's not a huge leap to suggest that Georgia might have two or more championship rings over the past decade and be recognized as the best team in the sport. Since 2008, Alabama has a perfect record against the Georgia.
He hopes to add a seventh championship and another ugly chapter to Georgia's ledger of misery on Monday.
Does Georgia coach Kirby Smart think Alabama has become his program's personal boogeyman?
Smart doesn't know what a boogeyman is.
"They've been a problem and a thorn for any team they've played besides ours," said Smart, who was the defensive coach at Alabama for the 2008 and 2012 wins over Georgia. None of those other teams are playing Alabama again, with another national championship on the line.
When Tagovailoa pulled Alabama from the precipice and cost Georgia another national title, it was a walk-on freshman named Stetson Bennett. He knows better than to say there's no monkey on the Dawgs' backs, as he's the starting quarterback and the guy tasked with putting an end to this miserable legacy.
Bennett said it means a lot to a lot of people. Is it just another game? I'm not silly. I don't think 20-year-old kids can put that kind of pressure on themselves because they might go crazy.
Murray said no sense ignoring the obvious. The Georgia players will go into the title game trying to ignore history.
The media is going to keep talking about how you haven't beaten Alabama and what happened four weeks ago. "You can look at the film and say Georgia is more talented, but every single day you hear that Georgia can't get over the hump." You want to walk into the stadium with the confidence of winning the game, but that's not in your head. Alabama has had a lot of success over the past 15 years. The team looks across the field and sees Nick Saban. The success. The first-rounders. The winner of the award. You ask how can we get through this.
How does Georgia forget about the ugly history and finally conquer Alabama?
When Georgia lost to Alabama in the title game, it was a walk-on freshman.
It was Florida that haunted Richt's dreams before Alabama became Georgia's boogeyman. The two programs have played each other since Georgia won in 2007, and the two teams have played about even since then. Richt said that the key to escaping Florida's long shadow isn't much different than what Smart is saying now.
He said that the most important thing in football is what your assignment is. It sounds boring, but it's the only thing that matters. What should I do with this play? As a coach, you focus on that.
There's no reason to think Georgia can't win when it comes to the X's and O's.
Murray is an analyst for CBS Sports. The defense made a dozen critical mistakes in the SEC championship game, mistakes that can be easily corrected. He thinks Georgia has more talent. Murray said that this might be Georgia's best team ever, and that it's one of the weakest teams at Alabama. Georgia will emerge as the nation's best on the biggest stage, thanks to all of that.
That's what should happen. There is a long path between what is expected and what actually happens, and that is what Murray has seen before.
"If Georgia wins this game, I think Kirby can go on a similar run to what Alabama has done," Murray said. Georgia will win three national championships over the next 10 years. If you don't win now, is it because you have to wait until the end? The narrative will be the same.
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