Athens was meant to be a fortress. Georgia had gone 33 games without losing at home, but that run came to an abrupt end on Saturday night when Alabama surprised the Sanford Stadium crowd with a 24–21 victory. Not only did the Tide defeat the Bulldogs at home for the first time since 2019, but they did so without allowing Georgia to take the lead. As Kalen DeBoer‘s team rejoiced over ending the run, coaches nationwide were focused on something else: Ryan Grubb‘s fingerprints throughout the Tide’s offense. With Grubb under contract through the 2026 season, that turns out to be a problem that Kirby Smart will not be able to solve anytime soon.

In a recent episode of Josh Pate’s College Football Show, Josh Pate talks about how fans and coaches from all over the country noticed Ryan Grubb’s fingerprints all over Alabama’s 24-21 win in Athens. “They talk about it all week amongst themselves,” he said. “I kid you not, during the game, I am getting texts from other coaches, just random across the country, talking about Ryan Grubb just putting Kirby and his staff in a blender.” The plays were not flashy trick shots, but rather the kind of minute details that make defenses miserable. “Little nuances, little intricacies” like motions, bunch sets, and timely checks caused Georgia to react rather than dictate.

And that’s the scary thing for Kirby Smart: this isn’t a single-game problem. “Part one of the Bama problem was Nick Saban. Then part two of the Bama problem is they bring a guy in that just gives you fits schematically,” Pate said. At Washington, he and Kalen DeBoer fit Dan Lanning’s Oregon defense, and since Lanning and Smart share a defensive tree, the blueprint seems strangely similar. “They really had no clue how to handle him… So it looks like that Alabama problem’s not going anywhere until you do something about it,” Pate added. Whether the games are close or not, it’s becoming obvious that Alabama has a second weapon with them.

The stats back it up. DeBoer has a record of 16-3 against the AP Top 25 and 7-1 against the Top-10, which only a few coaches in the nation can match. Smart is currently 1-7 against Alabama, and the defeat on Saturday served as yet another reminder of Alabama’s dominance. Grubb’s play-calling kept the chains moving even though Georgia’s defense held Alabama to 3.1 yards per carry.

Alabama started the game with eight consecutive third downs, including two 14-play touchdown drives that put the Bulldogs out of the game early. DeBoer stated, “That’s a credit to Ryan Grubb, just staying within, not getting greedy.” Kirby’s nightmare is that Alabama no longer needs to blow teams away. They simply need enough clever wrinkles to keep Alabama’s defense one step ahead as long as Grubb is calling plays until the 2026 season.

Kirby Smart is still haunted by the Alabama curse

Kirby Smart can’t seem to shake Alabama, no matter where the game is played. It was his first time losing to the Tide at home and his seventh loss in eight tries against them, as he was defeated 24–21 in Athens on Saturday. Smart is only 1–7 against his former boss’s program, despite his impressive 107–13 record against the rest of college football. According to one recap, “Smart owes a greater debt to cornerback Kelee Ringo for his pick-six that sealed his only victory over Alabama for the 2021 national championship.”

This one stung even more because it felt so familiar. Similar to previous encounters, Georgia was buried early, trailing 14–0 before the Dawgs had even had a chance to settle in. Over the previous three meetings, Alabama has outscored Georgia 71–28 in the first half, and Saturday was no exception. Ty Simpson, who destroyed Smart’s defense with poise and accuracy, didn’t look like a first-year starter.

Simpson spread the ball to seven different receivers and even threw a bubble screen to 366-pound Kadyn Proctor for a huge 11-yard gain as the Tide converted nine of their first 11 third downs. The famous defensive line of Georgia? Throughout the game, it only managed four tackles for loss and one sack.

The bigger story is how Ryan Grubb out-scheduled Georgia early, even though Smart’s fourth-down gamble at the Tide’s 8-yard line in the fourth quarter will always be in the “what-if” file. Alabama used Grubb’s strength to keep the Bulldogs off balance while putting together consecutive 14-play touchdown drives. One report said, “Credit Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb for out-scheming Smart and Schumann early,” and it’s pretty difficult to argue with that. Not only was Georgia’s 33-game home winning streak ended by a single slip-up, but Alabama also found ways in where Georgia was unable to. The Alabama curse hasn’t been broken for Smart, and Grubb has now given the impression that it won’t be resolved anytime soon.