We are closing in on being a month removed from the Michigan Wolverines winning the national title and the legendary Nick Saban announcing his retirement from football. As we have learned over the years though, college football fans hold grudges and will stand by their teams till the end of time, and former players can be the same way.
Former Georgia running back and current Buffalo Bill James Cook explained to USA Today how the Bulldogs were robbed of winning three straight national titles. Cook was part of the 2021 national title team that went on to beat Alabama and end the 40-plus year championship drought for the program. Here is what Cook had to say:
"We were supposed to be in [the playoffs] this year. If Georgia is in the playoffs this year, we win it all. And I think they didn't want to see us go back-to-back-to-back... We lost one game to Alabama in the SEC Championship and haven't been beaten the whole season. It was like the same scenario my last year in college. We won every game and lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship but we still got in and went on and won it all. But I just feel like they knew Nick Saban was gonna retire so they tried to sneak him in one."
In some capacity, it's hard to argue with Cooks' logic. Especially when you factor in that it was announced Georgia would have been favored over both Michigan and Washington if they played in this year's national title game. Nonetheless, the Wolverines were the team who accomplished what was required to be crowned champions this year, not the Bulldogs. But everything is pointing toward 2024 being another great opportunity for head coach Kirby Smart and his program to make another push for a championship.
Cook is coming off of a stellar second year in the NFL as he placed his name into the Buffalo Bills history books. In 2023, Cook rushed for 1,122 yards, averaging 4.7 yards per carry and also racked up 445 receiving yards. He is the first Bill to reach the 1,000 rushing yard mark since LeSeason McCoy in 2017 and is the first to reach that mark within the first two years of his career since Marshawn Lynch in 2007.
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