Nick Saban discusses losing national championship to former assistant in Kirby Smart

Nick Saban entered the 2021 season having never lost to one of his former assistant coaches, but thanks to Jimbo Fisher and Kirby Smart, he’ll enter the 2022 season with two — including one critical national championship loss to Georgia.

Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs, previously ranked No. 1 after a perfect regular-season record, entered the SEC Championship game against the same Alabama team as 6.5-point underdogs. However, Georgia fell short in the SEC Championship, as Alabama had its way in a 41-24 win. The script was flipped on Monday night, and while Saban failed to win his seventh national title with the Crimson Tide, he’s glad that it was a former assistant coach — one that did so much to help the Alabama program — that managed to pull it off.

“I love Kirby,” Saban said in the postgame press conference. “I think Kirby has a lot of respect for us.”

Smart spent nine years with the Alabama Crimson Tide, coaching the 2007 season as an assistant head coach and defensive backs coach, before his promotion to defensive coordinator in 2008. Smart stayed in that role until 2015, when he eventually left Alabama to take the head coaching job at Georgia, his alma mater.

“If we had to lose a national championship, I’d rather lose to one of the former assistants who did a great job for us and has done a great job with his program and his team, and they deserve it,” Saban said after the loss. “They played great all year. We were the only team to beat them in the SEC Championship game. And we just couldn’t finish the game tonight like we wanted to.

“I think Kirby has done a really really good job there,” Saban continued. “I congratulated him on the win. I’m really proud of him. And I’m proud of the way he’s been able to coach his team and the consistency that they’ve played with all year.”

Smart defense powers Georgia past Saban, Alabama

For the entire regular season, Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs defense was the talk of college football. Week after week, Georgia would notch sack after sack, creating turnovers when it mattered most and hardly allowing any SEC opponent to score. Georgia allowed more than 15 points in just one SEC game all year — against Tennessee — and the Bulldogs still managed to pull away with a 41-17 rout.

However, Georgia’s defense was humbled by Alabama quarterback Bryce Young in the SEC Championship game. Young locked up his Heisman Trophy award in that game completing 26 of his 44 passing attempts for 421 yards and three touchdowns. All the while, Young ran for 40 yards and another score against Georgia. As the Bulldogs’ defense was carved up by the Crimson Tide, many thought the story would be the same in the national championship.

Needless to say, that wasn’t the case. Alabama managed just 18 points — scoring just one touchdown the entire game — and the Crimson Tide did not find the end zone until the fourth quarter. Not only did Georgia’s defense pick off Young twice, but it also tallied four sacks and nine tackles for loss. And, of course, the game was finally sealed late in the fourth quarter thanks to Smart’s defense.

Alabama, trailing 28-18, had one last drive to try and bring the game within striking distance. Young managed to carry the Crimson Tide’s drive all the way to the Georgia 44-yard line, but a Keele Ringo 79-yard pick-six sealed the deal for the Bulldogs, putting the game out of reach.