Kirk Herbstreit didn’t take the bait. He didn’t want to compare Georgia to Alabama, despite being asked numerous times how the current Georgia program stacks up to that of what Nick Saban has built at Alabama.

As well as things are going right now, Herbstreit acknowledges Georgia still has a ways to go to get to those heights, with Alabama having six championships since Saban arrived in 2007.

But while Alabama might be the past goliath, the ESPN commentator who will call Monday’s championship game sees the Bulldogs as being the current lead dog in the sport.

“If they win Monday night, game day travels all around the country and these teams always say, ‘We want Bama, we want Bama,’” Herbstreit said in a Zoom teleconference on Thursday. “They’re going to have to update that to, ‘We want Georgia.’”

Georgia is 14-0 this season after going 14-1 and winning the national championship in 2021. Georgia finally knocked off Alabama and hasn’t looked back since.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart will be coaching in his third national championship game in just his seventh season on the job. Recruiting well has always been a big part of Georgia’s success under Smart, as the Bulldogs consistently sign some of the top high school talent in the country.

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But what has recently changed for Georgia is that the development track record is catching up to that recruiting reputation.

“Most importantly, they’re developing players as well as anybody,” Herbstreit said.” To his credit, I think he learned a lot of this when he was a young coordinator. He’s found a way to not take your foot off the gas.

“He’s found a way to keep the motivation and find a way to get a chip on your shoulder and get pissed off at the world the way teams that win all the time. It’s unique to try to do that. It’s hard.”

Related: National championship game hasn’t been kind to teams, like Georgia, looking to repeat in College Football Playoff era

To Herbstreit’s point, defending champions are 0-3 in national championship games in the College Football Playoff era. Just last year, Alabama lost to Georgia in the championship game as Smart finally got one over on Saban.

While Smart may never duck the comparisons to Saban — Smart served as the defensive coordinator at Alabama from 2008 through 2015 when Alabama won four of its six championships — it’s clear that those in the national media see Smart as his own coach, rather than Saban 2.0.

If Georgia is to win on Monday, it will give Smart as many national championships as Saban since Smart left the Alabama program.

“Kirby is doing an amazing job, and I think most people that follow the sport on a national level would recognize that,” Herbstreit said. “Definitely put him either equal to Bama, or if he wins Monday, yeah, like you said, he’s the new standard in the sport.”

Herbstreit will call the game against TCU on Monday night along with Chris Fowler, Holly Rowe and Molly McGrath. ESPN will broadcast the game, with it kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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