Kirby Smart reacts to Vanderbilt upsetting Alabama

As Georgia was trying to shake off last week’s loss to Alabama, Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs took care of business against Auburn Saturday afternoon. At the same time, the Crimson Tide struggled against Vanderbilt – and eventually suffered the upset loss of the season to this point.

In his postgame press conference, Smart reacted to the Alabama-Vanderbilt result. He reiterated his high praise for Clark Lea and the Commodores while also pointing out the fun part about the SEC. Any given Saturday, any team can win.

Of course, Vanderbilt vs. Alabama wasn’t the only upset of the day in the SEC. Texas A&M also flew past Missouri, and Smart pointed out that game while making his point about the league’s difficulty.

“I think Vandy’s got a great program and does a great job,” Smart said. “It’s a lot of other people that don’t respect Vandy. I respect Clark Lea, I respect his team, his quarterback, what they’ve done. They beat Virginia Tech. Somebody told me six of eight games were decided by less than one score or less in our league. Nothing shocks me about our league. Texas A&M–Missouri, welcome to the SEC.

“It’s hard every week. And I’ve got a feeling, it’s not gonna stop. It’s a consistency in performance, and when you ride the wave of emotion, you get caught on the bottom of the wave sometimes. We’re just trying to do this. We’re just trying to keep getting better and keep getting better.”

Vanderbilt put together a complete performance to pull off the stunner on its home field. The Commodores totaled 418 yards of offense, but the defense made one of the biggest plays of the day when Randon Fontonette picked off Jalen Milroe and took it to the house for a touchdown. It was quite the day in Nashville, and the celebration was only just beginning.

Diego Pavia had a monster game with both his arm and his legs to lead the charge for Vanderbilt. He completed 16 of 20 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns in the air while also adding 56 rushing yards on the ground as Alabama had trouble stopping the option.

When the clock hit zeroes, the celebration began. The goalposts made their way to Broadway – and, shortly thereafter, the Cumberland.