Even under the old system, Georgia ranked as the number two seed, would've been in the BCS championship game.
He didn't beat Bama, neither did Richt that time. I outlined what the effect was though of Smart's matchup. Everyone saw a game they looked like they were going to win and there's a bit more notoriety to being in the national championship versus the SEC game even if that's where a lot of champions have come from of late.
Bama most certainly looked awesome against Clemson, no doubt. Bowl games are always interesting in that there's a lot of variables with the added time. We can't say what Smart vs Dabo would've looked like. Smart's team came out guns a blazing with a shorter amount of time than a month. Just a minute ago, you credited that victory to Saban due to extra prep time. As the best coach, the same amount of time for them both (Saban and Smart) to prepare for one another, shouldn't he have that same edge? So what gives? Smart is familiar with Bama so use this as your out.
I was comparing perception. Smart still has a lot to prove. So does Richt as he had a good program when he was there, started off hot, and fizzled somewhat as the years went on eventually being fired. What Richt got when he came here, it doesn't matter and doesn't apply in the context of the situation. He signed up for this, so I don't want excuses, not that I feel he's giving them. That's just some fans here, with the excuses.