Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart suffered his first regular season loss in four years in UGA’s 41-34 loss at the Alabama Crimson Tide. Smart has a lot of reasons to be proud of Georgia, but ultimately the Bulldogs did not get the job done and Smart takes ownership of that.
“It was one hell of a game. Tale of two halves,” said Smart. “Obviously, we were not really prepared and that falls on me. In the first half we didn’t do a great job, especially defensively.”
Alabama outscored Georgia 30-7 in the first half. The Bulldogs threw a pair of first half interceptions, which helped fuel the Crimson Tide’s hot start.
“But we also gave them short fields, and when you have a short field and a quarterback like (Jalen) Milroe, it creates a lot of tough times. I am extremely proud of our team,” said Smart. “At halftime, I thought our coaches made good adjustments, everybody was positive. And I talked to them… Came back to make it a game and had a chance to win the game and didn’t make more plays than Alabama, so a lot of credit to them.”
Alabama’s final major offensive play a 75-yard touchdown from quarterback Jalen Milroe to wide receiver Ryan Williams. It was the Crimson Tide’s best offensive play in the second half by a mile. How did Georgia defend Milroe and the Alabama offense differently in the second half?
“Well, we probably weren’t as aggressive,” said Smart. “We were more aggressive in the first half and took some chances.”
“In the second half, we played some tighter coverage, we made some stops, and we possessed the ball in offense,” continued Smart. “When you make stops, you give yourself a chance.”
Smart on what surprised him in the first half
“I was surprised we turned the ball over, I don’t know how many times, two or three in the short field, and they did a really good job in the red area,” said Smart. Georgia did not have a turnover all season, but Carson Beck had four against Alabama.
On Carson Beck’s performance
“I was really proud of the way he played,” said Smart. “Some of the, one of the interceptions was not his fault. He did what he was supposed to do. The fumble was probably the one that he’ll look back on and say, it’s first and 10, just throw it away.”
Smart is probably referring to Beck’s interception in the first half where he had a miscommunication with wide receiver Arian Smith.
Smart on his 1-6 record against Alabama
“I don’t know, what’s everybody else’s record against them, you know? Has anybody got one better than one and six, that’s played them six times? I don’t think so,” said Smart after the game.
Turnovers haunt UGA
“We can’t turn the ball over and win games,” said Smart after the game. Georgia also had a clumsy safety penalty in the first half that came back to bite the Bulldogs.
On Georgia fighting back down 28-0
“We fight too much each day out of practice to sit down and quit,” said Smart. “I mean, they had a great response at the end of halftime. I thought that was great the way they handled it.”
Georgia’s next game is at home against the Auburn Tigers at 3:30 p.m. ET.