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It was over before it even started.

And well before the first half was over, everyone watching knew it.

Georgia was the better team.

The college national championship football game was Monday night. It featured what was supposed to be the top two teams in major college football – the University of Georgia and Texas Christian University.

The NCAA came a long way to get to the point that two teams in a four-team team playoff go at it for the national championship. Remember the years of those bowl games that got certain teams because of their conference, and you never knew which one would be for the championship? It often turned into a controversial vote as to the best team.

Now, that controversial vote is those Top 4 teams to make the playoff. Picking those teams should be hard, and it was.

But TCU?

It was a feel-good story. A losing team without much promise coming into this season, they proved the pundits wrong. But unfortunately, they’re not yet to the caliber of a Georgia, or an Alabama, or a Tennessee, or some of the other teams in the Southeastern Conference. They’re just not there. Neither is Carolina or N.C. State, for that matter.

The ACC had its somewhat recent glory days with Clemson, but the Georgia’s and Alabama’s of the SEC have passed them. Clemson remains strong, they just got surpassed. Florida State is headed in the right direction and feeling some of that bravado it once had, and with the Tigers always on the edge of being a premier team, the ACC has a chance to rise near the top of the college football world again. But don’t expect the ACC to get to the top. There are roadblocks. Most come from the SEC. Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State fans would argue otherwise; I say those teams are just a scandal away from falling off the charts.

I turned the channel Monday night to check the score, just to see if I wanted to stay up and watch an exciting game. It wasn’t even halftime yet. Georgia was ahead 35-7. It seemed like they got a first down on every play. TCU players were obviously dejected. It was a sad sight.

Yes, strange things can happen in sports, especially college sports. The best teams can lose, too. I’ll never forget a saying I saw on a football coach’s shirt: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

Georgia is full of talent. And they work hard.

– Mike Barnharrdt