Throughout most of the 21st century, Georgia football has been a staple in college football's landscape.

onstantly in the top 25, highly ranked recruiting classes, and two SEC championships, UGA football was definitely a high-end program. However, it's the biggest downfall, especially in the eyes of its supporters, was not reaching its full potential and winning a national championship, something our biggest rivals seemed to be doing every other year.

For 15 years, the program was run by head coach Mark Richt. After many years during the 90's of subpar play and many losing seasons, UGA needed a revival. Richt delivered and in two seasons brought an SEC championship to Athens for the first time in 20 plus years. Richt followed up his opening act with a second SEC title in 2005, defeating the LSU Tigers in Atlanta. It was just a matter of time before UGA would be crowned kings of college football on a January night.

The years went by, terrific years filled with talent and promise went by, but UGA never reached the pinnacle of college football. There were so many opportunities to reach the promised land, but time-after-time, the Bulldogs just couldn't make it to the championship they so desperately craved.

After the 2015 season, which was a solid campaign for the Dawgs, going 10-3 and beating rivals Auburn and Georgia Tech, Richt was fired from the University of Georgia. The news came as a shock to many UGA fans, including myself, but many understood the severity of the situation. UGA continued to bring in top 10 recruiting classes and brought up several NFL greats including Todd Gurley, Geno Atkins, and AJ Green.

However, fans were tired of having so much talent and promise and never reaching a national championship, something that is a common trend in the Southeastern Conference. With teams in the SEC winning a combined nine national championships during Richt's tenure and UGA not winning any of those, it was time for a new savior. Someone who had seen the promised land and knew how to reach it. Enter Kirby Smart.

Kirby Smart played at Georgia during the 90's, an all-time defensive back who holds the career interceptions record at UGA still to this day. After his playing days, Smart began his coaching career, and eventually found himself working with Nick Saban at Alabama.

The dynamic duo won four national championships and are credited with resurrecting Alabama football from the basement of college football to the top of the mountain. After Richt's departure, UGA had one name in mind for its head coach and of course named Smart the head football coach for the 2016 season.

Despite a subpar 2016 season for the Dawgs, Smart had a clear vision for the program and it started to become a reality when he pulled in the number three recruiting class in 2017. He preached toughness and physicality and barked at his players to "keep choppin' wood."

UGA was finding it's identity and in 2017, UGA won the SEC title for the first time in 12 years, won the best college football game I've ever watched against Oklahoma to win the first leg of the College Football Playoff, and made its way to the national championship in only Smart's second season in charge.

This savior has only one goal in mind, championships. He brought his winning ways from the current dynasty of college football and implemented them to his own program. Many analysts even consider this to be a "mini Bama" with the potential to knock out the Tide once and for all.

The story brings us to this past Saturday in Athens. After another successful offseason for Smart and company which saw them bring in the number one recruiting class, UGA finally got it's mojo back. 92,000 fans packed Sanford Stadium for the season opener, and with the number of people in the stadium, you would've thought that the Dawgs were playing Alabama or Clemson to open the season.

Instead, the Dawgs pummeled Austin-Peay 45-0, showcasing their roster of studs and putting the country on high alert for the another Georgia run in 2018. The electricity in Athens last Saturday was unprecedented, people are excited and ready to pay big money to see the Dawgs finally reach the summit of college football.

I envy the younger generation that never had to suffer like I did during the Richt era. I loved Mark Richt, the teams were great, and some of my favorite memories come during his tenure. However, in two seasons under Kirby Smart, UGA has me feeling the way I use to envy the fans of Alabama, Florida, and Auburn. My school finally has the opportunity to bring home a national championship and while it's a feeling of uneasiness not knowing what the future exactly holds for the Dawgs, I can tell you one thing. Saturday's in Athens finally has it's mojo back.