This is an opinion column.

It’s coming, and we can’t wait. It’s the College Football National Championship Game and so much more. It’s Georgia, the reigning champion, the big dog back in the house, against TCU, the hypnotizing underfrog, the team no one saw coming. It’s the last dance for UGA quarterback Stetson Bennett IV, the most clutch player in the playoff era, against the doubters and haters who’ve yet to give the man his due.

It is his last dance, isn’t it? Bennett’s longevity has surpassed mockery, and his stature has grown into an inevitability when it’s win or go home.

There is one more compelling game within the game of particular importance around here, where it still takes getting used to when Alabama is absent from the festivities. This matchup is mythical, but it will have the locals taking it in and breaking it down long after the final blast of red or purple confetti.

It’s Kirby Smart vs. Nick Saban. The protege has an unprecedented opportunity Monday night. He can surpass his mentor without facing him and go where even the GOAT has not gone.

No one has won back-to-back national championships in the four-team playoff era. No one has survived two playoff games in each of two consecutive seasons. Georgia, with Smart fully in charge, can be that someone. Fun fact: If they get it done, the Dawgs will be the only ones – ever – because next season is the final year of the four-team playoff.