Kirby Smart reveals what Georgia matchup with Alabama means this season

Kirby Smart and Georgia know Alabama might have the Bulldogs’ number sometimes, including in last year’s SEC Championship Game.

But Smart and this year’s squad are focused on the present, that’s it. Yes, it’s No. 2 vs. No. 4, but you have to take it week to week.

That’s why Smart didn’t want to focus on last year’s game.

“We didn’t make it about them,” Smart said on College GameDay. “We don’t make it about Alabama beating us in that game. There’s things that we did, that we didn’t play well, and they did. They outperformed us. They out physicaled us. They really won the line of scrimmage. And that’s what you do in the SEC. If you can win the line of scrimmage, you got a great opportunity. So that game is last year. 

“I told the guys, that game is last year, and a lot of the people are different on our sideline and their sideline. So it’s a new game, but it is an incredible program, an incredible atmosphere for both teams.” 

With a win, it’ll showcase Georgia, again, to the entire country. Not that Smart needs to prove himself or his Bulldogs’ program, but it’ll put them back on top of Alabama for the time being.

“I mean, this is a showcase of recruiting kids all the way out in Cali and all over the country, want to come play in these kind of matchup,” Smart said. “So that’s the most important thing. The biggest difference is, it’s a regular season game. It has a bunch at stake to see who’s going to be in the lead and who’s going to start trying to secure one of those playoff spots. But in the SEC we got a ton of games after this one, they do, and we do.”

What will determine the game? Well, Smart kept it simple.

“Players making plays in critical moments,” Smart said. “You know, you can always go to turnovers, that’s as long as it is history, but at the end of the day, the teams that are explosive, and they’ve been very explosive, and defensively, we’ve done a good job stopping those explosives. 

“But the game comes down to how you respond to the momentum swings in the game. Crowd makes it a little tougher on the road, but who responds well to adversity is going to be a long way into determining who wins.”