This year college football fans may not have to hear “Roll Tide” on National Championship game day. Instead, University of Georgia fans hope they will be hearing “Go Dawgs” in January. On Saturday, Oct. 9 fans watched as the No. 1 ranked University of Alabama football team and Head Coach Nick Saban fell short to the unranked Texas A&M University Aggies 41-38.
The Alabama Crimson Tide had not lost a game since they lost to the Clemson Tigers in the National Championship and held a 19-game winning streak. Saban held a 24-0 record against his former assistant coaches and the Tide held 100 consecutive wins against unranked opponents.
“That’s what made it so surprising. In years past when we have lost to Clemson and Georgia, we knew we were playing good teams, so it was understandable. This loss was completely different,” said Sidney Shepherd a University of Alabama alumna.
Since the 2020 NFL draft, Alabama has lost Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and in the 2021 draft, Mac Jones. The current starting quarterback for the Tide is Bryce Young. While Young is a talented athlete with over 1,700 passing yards and 20 touchdowns on the season, he is only a sophomore. Young could live up to the names of Hurts, Tagovailoa, and Jones, but it will take time.
Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher said, “There ain’t no magical formula.”
The Aggies proved that on any given day, the underdog can win.
Sarah Melkerson, a student at the University of Montevallo in Alabama, said, “They needed to lose, it was a mental block for the team.”
For Alabama fans, Saturday’s game was a hard loss. For every other football fan, seeing Alabama lose was more exciting than seeing their own team win.
University of North Georgia student and UGA fan, Tessa Viscardi, said, “The day was already great with Georgia’s win over our big rival, Auburn. Having Alabama lose just made it even better.”
Many other college football fans were celebrating the loss of the former No. 1 team.
Jennifer Pinkerton, a Georgia fan, said, “I took great joy in seeing Alabama lose.”
Another fan, Candice McCall, used the words, “Giddy, elated, and ecstatic,” when talking about the Tide’s downfall.
The most recent AP polls have the Georgia Bulldogs ranked as the No. 1 team in college football. After Saturday’s game, Alabama dropped to No. 5. There has been a reoccurring battle between these two teams to win the Southeastern Conference Championship. Georgia may still have to play Alabama for the SEC Championship this season, but for now, Georgia fans are basking in the glory of Alabama’s loss.
“It was like waking up on Christmas morning.” – Tessa Viscardi
Ironically, on Friday, Oct. 8, Connor Smith released his new single, ‘I Hate Alabama’. The young country music singer and songwriter could not have made his single debut at a better time. The song had already become a hit on Tik Tok and was making its way on the charts. After Alabama’s loss Saturday, Smith’s song is going to be played at tailgates across the nation. Check out ‘I Hate Alabama’ on Spotify and Apple Music.
There are now only two undefeated teams in the SEC, Georgia No. 1 and Kentucky No. 11. They will face off Saturday, Oct. 16. Georgia is a 23.5 point favorite according to ESPN.
Alabama will try to redeem themselves as they play unranked Mississippi State this Saturday. ESPN favored Alabama by 17 points, but anything can happen, as the Tide was favored by 17.5 over the Aggies.
Saban said, “We can still accomplish everything we want to accomplish.”
