Georgia boosted National Title expectations despite losing to Alabama

After Georgia’s 41-34 loss to Alabama in what was one of the most thrilling college football games in recent memory Saturday night, a reporter asked Kirby Smart about having a 1-6 record against the Crimson Tide. 

“I don’t know, what is everybody else’s record against them?” Smart quipped back. “Do you know? Does anybody got one better than 1-6 who has played them (seven) times? I don’t think so. I think they have really good players, a great program, I have an immense amount of respect for them. They do a great job. … It’s a tough battle.” 

Here’s my takeaway from that game: when two titans of the sport play, someone has to lose. Sometimes really good teams lose to really good teams. Sometimes the explanation found after sifting through the debris for why the loser lost really isn’t that deep. There isn’t some hidden coaching flaw you’ll find in Smart or something he’s not doing right. Alabama is elite and has been elite from quite some time. The Crimson Tide rarely lose, regardless of who is on the other sideline. 

If you’re a Georgia fan, you probably agree with that sentiment. Georgia has won way too much and Smart has built something far too impressive to start questioning whether he — who beat the Crimson Tide in the national championship game at the end of the 2021 season — has an Alabama problem.

But for a minute there, things felt dicey. The Monday takeaway from the game could have been much more about what is wrong with Georgia. Had things finished the way they started — with Alabama just blowing Georgia out — asking Smart about his record against Alabama may have been more appropriate. 

That alternate universe doesn’t exist so it doesn’t matter. Georgia didn’t get blown out. Georgia, incredibly, almost won the game after finding itself down 28-0 in the first half.

So if you feel better about Georgia’s odds of winning the national title now than you did on Friday, you’re not alone. I do.

Here’s a personal admission: heading into the season, I thought ranking Georgia No. 1 lacked critical analysis of the team. I thought it was the easy way out. It was natural leap to expect Georgia was deep, talented and would just run through everyone on the schedule. In reality, it really never made sense that the preseason discourse treated this Georgia team like it was the 2021 or 2022 version of itself. Georgia is really good and could win it all, but it never was an open-and-shut case.

Looking at the roster, there was a clear lack of proven explosiveness on offense. Yes, Georgia returned quarterback Carson Beck and brought in running back Trevor Etienne from Florida. But who were the receivers who were going to replace Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey? Beck is great, but he can’t be the entire offense much like Milroe can be for Alabama.

Was this Georgia offense going to be good enough to win in a College Football Playoff atmosphere? Could the Bulldogs win in a shootout or play from behind?

Against Kentucky, we saw some offensive woes that seemed possible — er, probable — heading into the year. Georgia is allowed to have a clunker just like everyone else, but the Bulldogs only had 160 yards passing and scored only one touchdown against the Wildcats. That’s not the Georgia we have come to expect, especially not the Georgia people blindly ranked No. 1 heading into the year. 

That’s the reason I picked Alabama to win this game going into it. Alabama has Jalen Milroe, Germie Bernard, and Ryan Williams, who became a star right before our eyes on Saturday night. Alabama has an excellent defense. I wasn’t sure if Georgia would be able to keep up.

Who were those offensive playmakers for Georgia? Who were the players who would go out and win the Bulldogs a game against a really good team?

We found out against Alabama. Georgia didn’t win, but it still managed to answer that question in a loss, and because that question is answered, it’s hard to envision a world where this Bulldogs team doesn’t make a deep run in the College Football Playoff.

In facing a four-touchdown deficit, Georgia became explosive during a time when it seemed overmatched and dominated. Arian Smith had six receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown. Dillon Bell had five receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. Dominic Lovett had 59 yards but is someone who has already proven Georgia can count on him. Beck, who finished with 439 yards and three touchdowns, found six different receivers for plays of 20 yards or more.

Before the game, it didn’t seem like Georgia was going to be capable of that against a team like Alabama.

“We were more explosive,” Smart said. “But so (was Alabama). They’re an extremely explosive team. They are going to be explosive all year because they have explosive playmakers. I know the team I got in that room. I didn’t learn anything tonight that I didn’t already know. They’re fighters.” 

Georgia fans are probably dreaming about what it would be like if Williams — the 17-year-old freshman who made the dazzling, game-winning play — was on their team. That’s natural after a loss.

So, yes, Alabama is really explosive and it won a closely-contested football game.

The reason Georgia lost this game was because of turnovers and mistakes, all things that Smart will surely clean up before facing Auburn this weekend. The good news is Georgia didn’t lose because of lack of explosiveness or an inability of making plays. You can’t fix personnel issues in the middle of the year.

There is no such thing as a moral victory for Georgia.

This team is too damn good for that.

But heading into the remainder of the schedule, Georgia proved it is one of the three best teams in college football. Come January, we’ll probably see the Bulldogs on the field when a really good team faces another really good team.

Maybe next time they’ll win.