Many of this year’s championship teams, including the Braves, Bulldogs, & Rams, had to defeat last year’s championship teams multiple times in their journeys to become champions. Shoot, the Dawgs even had to defeat the defending CFB champs (Alabama) in the ’21 title game! Championship teams often have a target on their back the year after they win it all; opposing teams usually give their best shot in defeating the reigning champs, and winning against the champs provides these unheralded teams a huge morale boost going forward. Think about it this way, teams that beat the defending champs are playing with “house money” the rest of the year. They’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain going forward, with all of the momentum too. Let’s take a look back at last year’s series history between defending champs & current champs.
Braves vs. Dodgers (June 2021)
Our first matchup of champions is a three-game regular season series between the home team Braves & the visiting Dodgers. The Dodgers put the pressure on the Braves early, with a 9-5 win in Game 1 of the series. The Braves responded by winning the series outright with 6-4 & 4-2 score wins in Games 2 & 3 respectively. This was an important series for the Braves as the Dodgers always had the Braves number for the past several years, particularly in the playoffs. Let’s see how the Braves fared when the roles of home & away team were reversed in August.
Dodgers vs. Braves (August 2021)
Unfortunately, the Braves did not play very well at all on the west coast in late August. They were swept in this series, though all of the games were close with scores of 3-5, 2-3, & 3-4 in games one through three respectively. Let’s do a quick recap here, the Braves were 2-4 against the Dodgers at this point in the season, with the Dodgers narrowly outscoring the Braves 27-23. All of this drama set the stage for a key matchup in the National League Championship Series.
Braves vs. Dodgers (National League Championship Series)
Atlanta set the tone early in this one with 3-2 & 5-4 wins in Games 1 & 2 respectively. Eddie Rosario, the eventual NLCS MVP, began his legendary performance with a walk-off single in Game 2. Then, they had to take the show on the road & play the champs on their turf. Again, it didn’t go very well for the Bravos as they lost two out of the three west coast games. Rosario was magnificent again in Game 4 though, going 4-5 with 2 HR, 4 RBI, & 3 runs in the team’s 9-2 win. After an embarrassing 11-2 loss in Game 5, the stage was set for a memorable Game 6 in Atlanta. Tyler Matzek game Rosario some help in this one by overcoming a runners on 2nd & 3rd with nobody out situation in the 7th inning. Matzek neutralized the threat by striking out the side & not allowing any inherited runners to score, and he pitched the 8th afterwards too! At long last, the Braves got the monkey off their back by beating baseball’s defending champs. This team of destiny would later go on to defeat the Houston Astros in the 2021 World Series.
Georgia vs. Alabama (SEC Championship Game)
Georgia came into this game ranked as the No. 1 team in the country with a 13-0 record. Unfortunately, they had yet to play Alabama who seemed to always have their number each year. The team’s embarrassing 41-24 loss in the SEC Championship meant that Georgia was 0-7 in their last 7 head-to-head matchups against Alabama, with many of those losses in the playoffs. Fortunately, they beat Michigan in the Orange Bowl, and this event set the stage for a rematch.
Georgia vs. Alabama (CFP National Championship Game)
Déjà vu for Georgia as they previously played Alabama in the 2018 championship game. They battled hard & took the game into overtime, but sadly they lost in heartbreaking fashion. This time around, Georgia’s team featured a historic defense that was ready to make an impact. The team also displayed an explosive rushing attack & clutch receivers who made pivotal plays. After an early defensive battle, Georgia’s offense stepped up & the team clung to a 26-18 lead late in the fourth quarter. Alabama had the ball at midfield with 1:09 remaining & they had an opportunity to tie the game & send it to overtime, but Georgia’s historic defense had other plans. DB Kelee Ringo intercepted QB Bryce Young & took it to the house to give Georgia the title!
Rams vs. Bucs (September 2021)
Funny enough, the Rams kind of copied the Bucs formula from the previous year by bringing in a veteran QB (Matt Stafford) whom they believed could get the team over the hump. Similar to the 2020 Bucs, the Rams would play Super Bowl LVI at home if they could get there. Before getting to the big game though, the Rams had a tough test in playing the Bucs at home. They passed their first test of the season in beating the defending champions 34-24 in September. An efficient & balanced offense plus a stout defensive unit was the recipe for success in this tilt.
Bucs vs. Rams (NFC Divisional Round)
Tom Brady almost led another miraculous comeback, rallying his team from a 27-3 deficit in the third quarter to tying the game at 27-27 with 42 seconds left to play in regulation. That left Matt Stafford just enough time in regulation to quickly respond, and boy did he ever. WR Cooper Kupp, who finished with 9 catches for 183 yards & a TD, was the MVP of the game. He was really clutch on the game’s final drive, catching two passes for 64 yards to ice the game. Kupp & Stafford would later connect on a game-winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl LVI.
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