As the fourth quarter fizzled out and Georgia flexed its muscles against Clemson in the biggest game of the opening weekend, reality set in again.

A lot has changed in college football since we last spoke. The greatest coach of all time, Nick Saban, put down his headset and grabbed a microphone. The SEC added two elite programs, while conferences across the country went through their own dramatic changes.

The College Football Playoff tripled in size, skipping an eight-team format in favor of something a little more robust. Oh, and the transfer portal and NIL continued to swarm the sport like an anaconda.

Things are different in so many ways now and it will take some getting used to. In the midst of an avalanche of change, however, Georgia is a striking constant.

The Bulldogs won their 40th straight regular-season game on Saturday, a performance that started off slow but became dominant in the second half as they took on the nation’s 14th-ranked team.

In time, we’ll know more about what Georgia’s 34-3 win over Clemson means. For now, though, when most top teams spend huge sums of money to play lesser opponents and get an easy win, the result feels significant.

The star of the show was undoubtedly the defense, which limited the Tigers to just two first downs in the first half. It’s a theme in Athens that has transcended into these 40 straight victories and multiple national championships.

All told, Georgia held Clemson to just 188 yards of offense. While it’s fair to question how good the Tigers will be on this side of the ball, the speed and talent jumped off the screen.

Kirby Smart has had his fair share of elite offensive players over the years, defense has been the calling card. By sending even more exceptional players on both sides of the ball, the Bulldogs have stayed true to a blueprint they took from Alabama and made their own.

Offensively, the Carson Beck show started off slow. One of the nation’s most talented QBs looked a little out of shape in the first 30 minutes, albeit against a defense brimming with future NFL players.

In the second half, Beck and all of Georgia found their rhythm, spreading the ball around on every drive. There was running back Nate Frazier, a tantalizing true freshman who got meaningful reps and made meaningful plays. There was sophomore wideout London Humphreys, who caught just two passes but made the most of them with 63 yards receiving and a touchdown.

And there was Beck, the centerpiece of it all. The QB, widely considered a favorite to win the Heisman, finished with a ho-hum 278 yards passing and two touchdowns against a defense that will likely dominate most weeks.

If this sounds familiar, it is. This is the Georgia formula, and it’s not always pretty to watch.

Sometimes ugly can be beautiful. In fact, ugly can be successful, remarkable and incredibly effective.

This was not a football masterpiece, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. In a way, that’s what makes this lopsided outcome so special. It led Alabama to multiple national titles; it’s done the same for this program, which no longer needs its A-game to smother opponents.

The Georgia Bulldogs live in a football universe that is exactly this, and it’s the perfect counterpoint to all the changes and adjustments currently taking place in the sport.

Adding Texas and Oklahoma has undeniably made the SEC tougher. While the path to the playoffs has increased, giving a team like Georgia a chance to avoid being shut out like they were last season, the path has become more challenging.

The competition, even with Saban’s departure, has elevated the assignment. And Georgia’s schedule, which includes road trips to Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss, has teeth.

Another national title is far from a given. In fact, one could argue, and this writer has done so in recent months, that Ohio State still has more talent on its roster. That’s not something we’ve said much in the past five years.

Yet, despite everything new, different and unfamiliar, this year begins with the sport’s most familiar entity. And to conquer this first season in this dramatically different era of the sport, you don’t have to look long and hard for the biggest obstacle.

On Saturday, that obstacle became clear again. Until further notice, it starts and ends in Georgia.