Kirby Smart addresses damage caused to Georgia following loss to Alabama
Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs saw their perfect season come crashing to a halt in the SEC Championship Game, as Georgia, the 6.5-point favorite, fell in a 41-24 beatdown to Alabama.
Alabama proved that some things don’t change, and Nick Saban’s dynasty appears to be one. Saban’s Crimson Tide team, which was arguably on the brink of the College Football Playoff, desperately needed to win the SEC Championship to avoid its second loss of the year and keep itself in the race for the national title.
It did just that, thanks to Bryce Young’s spectacular performance, totaling 26 completions in 44 attempts for 421 passing yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a rushing score. In the process, Alabama moved up to No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, with an upcoming matchup against No. 4 Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl. Georgia, however, moved down to No. 3 and will face Michigan in the Orange Bowl.
Smart is doing everything in his power to use Georgia’s heartbreaking loss as a building block, not an obstacle. After all, Georgia is still in the running for the grand prize, and two more wins would make the Bulldogs national champions.
“It didn’t do any damage,” Smart said of Georgia’s loss to Alabama. “What it did is reinvigorated our energy. It recenters you, right? Their greatest thing is when they (Alabama) lost their game against Texas A&M, they garnered some focus and some attention. To me, that’s an opportunity for a wake-up call, if anything.”
Alabama, as Smart noted, lost to Texas A&M in Week 6, after Seth Small hit a game-winning field goal for the Aggies. Many thought the stunning loss could end Alabama’s hopes for playoff contention, but the Crimson Tide instead followed it up with eight consecutive wins, including one in the SEC Championship game, to revitalize their season. Smart hopes Georgia can do the same. To accomplish that, the Bulldogs will have to bring more pressure against Michigan, as Georgia’s previously top-ranked defense failed to tally a single sack against Alabama.
“Unfortunate that (the loss) comes in a setting like this (the SEC Championship game), but (Alabama is) a really good football team,” Smart said. “And the narrative out there was, well, they just went to Auburn, and they really struggled. Some of the sacks they gave up, their attackers didn’t even get out of stance. The crowd noise was a major impact there. Auburn played man of their downs almost every single play, and they won a lot of the battles we didn’t win tonight.
“We knew the narrative coming in, these guys can throw the ball, and they’ve got a really good quarterback. They gave them the opportunity to make plays, and they made a lot of really good plays, along with their wideouts.”