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Question for UGA fans
Posted on 4/16/26 at 1:30 pm
Posted on 4/16/26 at 1:30 pm
If yall could have one game back, which are you picking
1982 Sugar Bowl: UGA vs Penn State
- If UGA wins this then Vince Dooley gets his second undefeated natty and is probably recognized as a top 5 coach in SEC history. UGA is possibly considered the national team of the 1980s and Herschel Walker is probably considered the greatest college player in history with 2 undefeated natties, 3 SEC titles, and a heisman.
2012 SEC Title: UGA vs Bama
- If UGA wins this game, then Mark Richt gets his 3rd SEC title, and UGA plays for the natty and almost definitely wins it. This would have given UGA the possibility to have a 4th different coach win a natty and move Mark Richt into a completely different category if a coach with 1 natty and 3 SEC titles.
2017 National Title: UGA vs Bama
- If UGA wins this game, then Kirby gets his first title 4 years earlier and would have 3 titles, possibly making him a top 10 coach in football history already. I would assume this game means less than the others because Kirby got his revenge in 2021.
What would the fans like to have back? Personally, if I were UGA, I would want the 2012 game back.
1982 Sugar Bowl: UGA vs Penn State
- If UGA wins this then Vince Dooley gets his second undefeated natty and is probably recognized as a top 5 coach in SEC history. UGA is possibly considered the national team of the 1980s and Herschel Walker is probably considered the greatest college player in history with 2 undefeated natties, 3 SEC titles, and a heisman.
2012 SEC Title: UGA vs Bama
- If UGA wins this game, then Mark Richt gets his 3rd SEC title, and UGA plays for the natty and almost definitely wins it. This would have given UGA the possibility to have a 4th different coach win a natty and move Mark Richt into a completely different category if a coach with 1 natty and 3 SEC titles.
2017 National Title: UGA vs Bama
- If UGA wins this game, then Kirby gets his first title 4 years earlier and would have 3 titles, possibly making him a top 10 coach in football history already. I would assume this game means less than the others because Kirby got his revenge in 2021.
What would the fans like to have back? Personally, if I were UGA, I would want the 2012 game back.
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Posted on 4/16/26 at 1:43 pm to VFL67
I would say 2012, but that would mean we do not get Kirby and he probably ends up at SC where he was headed before we got wind of it. No way we fire Richt three years after a title.
1982 would have been nice, but Dooley was a slightly above average coach without Walker. Would not have made an difference going forward.
So I have to say 2017. Our one big weakness was safety and Tua exploited it. If we win that game, perhaps Kirby gets a recruit or two that lets us go on a Bama type roll, but all of that is out the window now with NIL and the portal.
1982 would have been nice, but Dooley was a slightly above average coach without Walker. Would not have made an difference going forward.
So I have to say 2017. Our one big weakness was safety and Tua exploited it. If we win that game, perhaps Kirby gets a recruit or two that lets us go on a Bama type roll, but all of that is out the window now with NIL and the portal.
Posted on 4/16/26 at 2:05 pm to VFL67
At first glance someone might think this is an elaborate troll considering the games listed, and maybe it is, but it's surprisingly well researched and knowledgeable. So kudos for that anyway. My thoughts are mostly what the other UGA guy said but will say a few more:
-I disagree with the PSU win catapulting herschel into higher highs than he already was/is. He is the greatest CFB of all time whether we win that game or not. 2 natties in 3 years would have been great for our trophy case and it certainly would have taken dooley into a higher category of all-time coaches.
-2012 would not only have given us another SEC title but as you said we definitely would've won a national title. Few people "deserved" it more than richt. I think it's probably a given that if we win it all that year, richt isn't fired 3 years later. Pretty big butterfly effect game. On a separate note, I think this game is maybe the most painful loss in our history, or at the very least in the last ~40 years.
-2017 would give us another title and elevate kirby even higher than already.
based on everything taken into account I have to go with 2017. Winning in 2012 as crazy as it sounds would be devastating to our program in the long run knowing what we know now, and winning in 82 would have been a slight bump to vince's legacy but he still would've petered out later and instead of hearing the whole "40 years without a title" thing we only would've been subjected to "38 years without a title" instead which is basically the same.
-I disagree with the PSU win catapulting herschel into higher highs than he already was/is. He is the greatest CFB of all time whether we win that game or not. 2 natties in 3 years would have been great for our trophy case and it certainly would have taken dooley into a higher category of all-time coaches.
-2012 would not only have given us another SEC title but as you said we definitely would've won a national title. Few people "deserved" it more than richt. I think it's probably a given that if we win it all that year, richt isn't fired 3 years later. Pretty big butterfly effect game. On a separate note, I think this game is maybe the most painful loss in our history, or at the very least in the last ~40 years.
-2017 would give us another title and elevate kirby even higher than already.
based on everything taken into account I have to go with 2017. Winning in 2012 as crazy as it sounds would be devastating to our program in the long run knowing what we know now, and winning in 82 would have been a slight bump to vince's legacy but he still would've petered out later and instead of hearing the whole "40 years without a title" thing we only would've been subjected to "38 years without a title" instead which is basically the same.
This post was edited on 4/16/26 at 2:21 pm
Posted on 4/16/26 at 2:28 pm to WG_Dawg
I’m gonna give a weird answer:
1982 but by default.
And absolutely this comes with the benefit of hindsight but if we win in 2012, it emboldens a bad AD in McGarity to cling tight to Richt (and remember who our DC was…) for longer than need be. Kirby goes to Carolina or Auburn and we probably hire Bobo or Mullen to be Richt’s eventual successor and keep McGarity who would hve absolutely squandered the momentum of the national title in updating facilities and coaches across all sports. Any fundraising surge would have gone into a bank account somewhere and sat on as it would have proven to him we didn’t need an indoor facility or updated weight room or new Sanford stadium locker room to succeed.
If we win in 2017, I don’t know that we win a second title. It was year 2 of Kirby and that loss plus the close but no cigar seasons of 18 and 19 forced him to grow up and hire Monken as OC in 20, leading to the back to back titles in 21 and 22. Of Kirby becomes self assured in 2017 that his way is the best and only way, idk that he actually grows as a HC or program manager the way he had to to get us the two titles in 21 and 22. Hrs now having to reinvent his approach again but at least the program and the HC know what they’re capable of.
1982 but by default.
And absolutely this comes with the benefit of hindsight but if we win in 2012, it emboldens a bad AD in McGarity to cling tight to Richt (and remember who our DC was…) for longer than need be. Kirby goes to Carolina or Auburn and we probably hire Bobo or Mullen to be Richt’s eventual successor and keep McGarity who would hve absolutely squandered the momentum of the national title in updating facilities and coaches across all sports. Any fundraising surge would have gone into a bank account somewhere and sat on as it would have proven to him we didn’t need an indoor facility or updated weight room or new Sanford stadium locker room to succeed.
If we win in 2017, I don’t know that we win a second title. It was year 2 of Kirby and that loss plus the close but no cigar seasons of 18 and 19 forced him to grow up and hire Monken as OC in 20, leading to the back to back titles in 21 and 22. Of Kirby becomes self assured in 2017 that his way is the best and only way, idk that he actually grows as a HC or program manager the way he had to to get us the two titles in 21 and 22. Hrs now having to reinvent his approach again but at least the program and the HC know what they’re capable of.
This post was edited on 4/16/26 at 2:31 pm
Posted on 4/16/26 at 2:32 pm to VFL67
Not 2012 because of the repercussions.
Not 1982 because I dont remember it at a young age.
So 2017.
Not 1982 because I dont remember it at a young age.
So 2017.
Posted on 4/16/26 at 2:45 pm to VFL67
2017
Posted on 4/16/26 at 2:59 pm to VFL67
No question 2017. Good and interesting question, though. 
This post was edited on 4/16/26 at 3:59 pm
Posted on 4/16/26 at 3:10 pm to armtackledawg
As someone who remembers only 2 out of the 3, my rankings would be:
2012: Lots of UGA fans think this would have kept Kirby from coming which is true. However, I think Kirby would have shown later, probably by 2018, regardless, because Richt was getting older, and winning one would have probably set him up for a happy retirement. No world where Richt stays longer than 2018 at the latest, at which point UGA would always be able to call Kirby home, I think. Richt retired from coaching in 2018 and the only reason he coached that long was to try and make one last run. If he had a natty already I think he would have retired early like Dooley.
1982: This would have just been a trophy case addition with no consequences at all to program history. If yall won in 1982 its just a free natty cause no history changes for Dooley and what followed. Plus an undefeated season is hard to pass up.
2017: I think y'all needed to lose this game for Kirby to win in 2021, which also fueled 2022. In my opinion 2017 and 2021 were interchangeable because Saban was always gonna get one and so was Kirby. The difference is that winning in 2021 enabled the team to have confidence to run the table in 2022 in my opinion.
2012: Lots of UGA fans think this would have kept Kirby from coming which is true. However, I think Kirby would have shown later, probably by 2018, regardless, because Richt was getting older, and winning one would have probably set him up for a happy retirement. No world where Richt stays longer than 2018 at the latest, at which point UGA would always be able to call Kirby home, I think. Richt retired from coaching in 2018 and the only reason he coached that long was to try and make one last run. If he had a natty already I think he would have retired early like Dooley.
1982: This would have just been a trophy case addition with no consequences at all to program history. If yall won in 1982 its just a free natty cause no history changes for Dooley and what followed. Plus an undefeated season is hard to pass up.
2017: I think y'all needed to lose this game for Kirby to win in 2021, which also fueled 2022. In my opinion 2017 and 2021 were interchangeable because Saban was always gonna get one and so was Kirby. The difference is that winning in 2021 enabled the team to have confidence to run the table in 2022 in my opinion.
This post was edited on 4/16/26 at 3:12 pm
Posted on 4/16/26 at 3:16 pm to VFL67
1982 Sugar Bowl of the options in the OP.
If we won the 2012 SECCG and the title, Richt almost certainly isn't canned after 2015 and then we don't hire Kirby. Kirby still has plenty of time to get a 3rd title. Winning the '82 Sugar Bowl would have also meant Clemson not winning the title and it would put Dooley in an elite category of not just multiple titles, but back-to-back titles. Who knows how that would have shifted recruiting back then...
If we won the 2012 SECCG and the title, Richt almost certainly isn't canned after 2015 and then we don't hire Kirby. Kirby still has plenty of time to get a 3rd title. Winning the '82 Sugar Bowl would have also meant Clemson not winning the title and it would put Dooley in an elite category of not just multiple titles, but back-to-back titles. Who knows how that would have shifted recruiting back then...
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