Georgia’s 6A title game could produce state’s first national champion since 2015

Buford and Carrollton, who boast a combined 21 state titles, both have a chance to claim their first national championship when they clash in the Class 6A final on Tuesday.

The Wolves and Trojans both enter the game at 14-0 with impressive wins along the way. Buford opened the season with four straight wins over No. 3 Milton, No. 2 Benedictine, No. 6 Roswell and No. 4 Douglas County before kicking off region play. Carrollton beat No. 3 Gainesville, No. 6 Douglas County, No. 10 Harrison, No. 1 Grayson and No. 8 North Gwinnett throughout the season.

Buford has won 14 state titles, three of which came under seventh-year coach Bryant Appling. The Wolves have also won five region championships since Appling took over.

Buford also boasts one of the most talented rosters in the country, headlined by AJC Super 11 selection Tyriq Green. The future University of Georgia safety leads a ferocious defense with Texas A&M defensive lineman signee Bryce Perry-Wright and Ohio State edge signee Dre Quinn. Three-star junior quarterback Dayton Raiola leads an offense stacked with future Power 4 players.

Carrollton has won seven titles, though its last came in 1998. The Trojans have made the state championship three of the past four years and beat Buford 30-17 last season to get there. Carrollton has won four consecutive region championships under fifth-year coach Joey King.

Two UGA signees headline Carrollton’s offense: 4-star receiver Ryan Mosley and 3-star offensive lineman Zykie Helton. Four-star Ole Miss cornerback signee Dorian Barney leads a defense full of future FBS players.

Both teams have won with enough dominance to be in contention for national championships from several media polls. Although there is no single national championship game in high school football, outlets that release rankings all season name the No. 1 team at the end of the season their “national champion.”

Many outlets rank Buford and Carrollton high enough that the winner of the Class 6A state championship could finish the season at No. 1, winning their first national championship.

Last season, Mater Dei (California) was named the national championship by USA Today, High School Football America, SBLive, MaxPreps and other polls. The Monarchs went 13-0 with wins over national powerhouses like Bishop Gorman (Nevada), Santa Margarita (California), Saint Frances Academy (Maryland), Saint John Bosco (California) and De La Salle (California).

Georgia’s 2024 Class 5A champion, Milton, did win High School Football America’s public school national title. Other recent Georgia national champions include 2015 Colquitt County (HSFA), 2011 Calhoun (MaxPreps Small School) and 2002 Parkview (USAHSF).

Georgia has not had a consensus No. 1 since 1991, when LaGrange was named national champion by USA Today.

Final top 25 polls won’t release until Texas finishes its playoffs Dec. 20. Most polls will announce a national champion in the following couple of days.

Contributors from USA Today, MaxPreps, High School Football America and SBLive all explained how Buford or Carrollton can win a national championship Tuesday.

USA Today is the longest-running active poll at 43 years. MaxPreps’ poll started in 2005, High School Football America started in 2012 and SBLive started in 2020.

USA Today: ‘Consistency is always key’

Rankings: No. 1 Buford, No. 2 Carrollton

Tuesday night’s game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a true national championship in the eyes of USA Today’s poll, which ranks Buford and Carrollton at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

Buford started the season in the top 10 and slowly made up ground. Carrollton started at No. 24 and had moved up only to No. 11 by late November.

Then the Trojans hammered Grayson 34-14, and they moved up to No. 4.

“With Buford and Carrollton, it’s like, these guys are clearly a class above others when it comes to being able to control the competition,” USA Today senior content strategist Rick Suter said.

Unexpected losses from annual national title contenders Mater Dei, Saint John Bosco, St. Frances Academy and Bishop Gorman opened the door for the undefeated Georgia teams.

“Consistency is always key to me,” Suter said. “When you’re looking at being able to have that sort of dominance week in and week out, showing that sort of growth. Obviously, they’ve got a really talented roster with both of those schools.

“Being able to show that kind of consistency that they did over those teams is what had us moving them forward.”

Suter doesn’t decide the rankings on his own, but he knows exactly where his national champion vote will go after Tuesday night.

“The winner of that game, to me, is the national champion,” Suter said. “From the body of work, showing the consistency … I don’t see any surprises coming.”

LaGrange (1991) and Valdosta (1986, 1984) are the only Georgia schools to win USA Today’s national title.

MaxPreps: Zeroing in on quality wins

Rankings: No. 1 Carrollton No. 6 Buford

A Carrollton win would likely make the Trojans the MaxPreps national champion. Buford does sit behind several other national title contenders, but the Wolves can certainly make their case to finish at No. 1 on Tuesday night.

National football editor Zachary Poff wants to see Carrollton and Buford differentiate themselves from one other undefeated contender, No. 3-ranked Southlake Carroll (Texas). Southlake Carroll is 14-0 and will face No. 64-ranked DeSoto in the UIL Class 6A Division 2 semifinals Saturday.

Southlake Carroll would advance to face either Vandergrift or King in the state championship. Vandergrift is ranked No. 95 nationally, and King is unranked.

So, a Buford win over the poll’s top-ranked team could be plenty strong enough to claim the No. 1 spot. But Poff said the way Buford would potentially beat Carrollton also matters.

“If Buford absolutely dominates Carrollton, that’s going to go a long way,” Poff said. “If Buford wins a close game, and it’s kind of Carrollton beating themselves a little bit, that might open the door a little more. It all depends on watching the games and how they play out.”

MaxPreps has already shown it has no issue bumping a team up several spots in its national poll. Carrollton went from No. 11 to No. 1 in one week after beating Grayson.

“Really what it comes down to is, have you played a tough enough schedule? Do you have enough quality wins?’” Poff said. “Because people say, ‘Oh, they’re undefeated, but they haven’t really played anybody,’ but you look at a Carrollton or Buford. If they finish undefeated, they’re playing in that Class 6A Georgia bracket, that’s going to go a long way.”

A Georgia team has never won the MaxPreps national title.

High School Football America: The long shot

Rankings: Buford 8, Carrollton 14

Buford and Carrollton’s chances at finishing No. 1 in High School Football America’s rankings are certainly slimmer than other polls. But HSFA co-owner Jeff Fisher didn’t rule out the possibility entirely.

That’s because HSFA’s poll is formed entirely by a computer. It’s the same algorithm that awarded one of Georgia high school football’s most recent national championships to Colquitt County in 2015.

The lack of human opinion in the poll could work in Buford or Carrollton’s favor, especially if either team wins by several scores. The algorithm also considers the rigor of the GHSA Class 6A bracket, which ranks as the second-toughest bracket in the country this season.

Winning that Class 6A bracket would offer Buford or Carrollton a hefty boost in the final Top 300 rankings.

Buford has a better shot at finishing No. 1, because it sits six spots ahead of Carrollton. But the Trojans have climbed the HSFA poll significantly throughout the season, working up from No. 96 to No. 14.

Fisher said Carrollton’s wins over Grayson and North Gwinnett the last couple weeks helped the Trojans skyrocket. Buford started at No. 12 and has climbed four spots since the start of the season.

“Mathematically, I would say there’s definitely a shot at it, but it’s a very slim margin,” he said.

Colquitt County (2015) is the only Georgia school to win the HSFA national title.

SBLive: Looking for ‘thorough performance’

Rankings: No. 2 Buford, No. 3 Carrollton

Buford and Carrollton have one game to prove they’re better than SBLive’s No. 1 team, St. Frances Academy. The national powerhouse is a private school that finished its season Wednesday with a 37-20 win over Corner Canyon (Utah) in the Overtime Nationals.

It was Saint Frances Academy’s first game since Nov. 1. The Panthers finished 9-1, with their only loss coming across the country at national blue blood Saint John Bosco.

SBLive writer Rene Ferran said Buford and Carrollton need to show his team why they are better than Saint Frances Academy, Southlake Carroll, Bishop Gorman and Edna Karr (Louisiana).