Kirby Smart describes reaction, emotion to Kelee Ringo pick-six

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young had never thrown multiple interceptions in a game. That changed when Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo picked him off and ran it back for a game-sealing touchdown in Monday’s national championship.

Kirby Smart, like many Georgia fans, wanted Ringo to simply fall down instead of risking a fumble. Afterward, the Bulldogs coach explained why he reacted that way.

“I saw the receiver coming behind him, and pessimistic thought or whatever, I was worried about the guy stripping the ball from behind,” Smart told reporters. “Then I realized 11 wasn’t going to catch Kelee. And once I realized [he] wasn’t going to catch Kelee, I didn’t want to get a holding call on Channing, and all I could think about was, ‘Get down, get down, we can win this game, run the clock out.’

“If they don’t have timeouts there, the play is to get down. But they did have three timeouts, so they probably could have got the ball back. So going up two scores was the right move, and probably a little prematurely I felt like we had won the National Championship, but we still had to get a stop because they could score, two point and get an onside. I was a little concerned with that.”

Smart didn’t have much doubt that Ringo would come down with the pick. He said the Bulldogs defense has worked on interceptions all year, which is why he almost jumped out of Lucas Oil Stadium when Ringo made the play.

“All we’ve done this year is throw balls to our DBs,” Smart said. “You can ask Lewis. We’ve thrown millions of balls because of playing the ball in the air, and when that ball was in the air I said, he’s going to catch this thing and we’re going to win this game. And he did.”

Georgia defeats Alabama to win national championship

The play sealed Georgia’s first national championship in 41 years. The Bulldogs were led by Offensive Player of the Game Stetson Bennett, who shook a slow start to go 17 for 26 for 244 yards and two touchdowns.

It was sweet revenge for Georgia, which lost to Alabama in last month’s SEC Championship. The win also marks Smart’s first win over Nick Saban and Co. Heading in, he was 0-4 against his mentor and former boss.

Georgia also set a program record with its 14th win of the season and wound up No. 1 in the final AP Top 25 of the year.