Another year, another failed Kirby Smart attempt to overturn his record against Alabama. Georgia lost 21-24 to Alabama in Athens this time in a game that ended their 33-game home winning streak. Georgia still sits 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the SEC. But they’ve got some more heavyweight contenders coming for their throne. This defeat ended the longest active FBS home game win streak in a game in which Georgia never led for a moment. But despite all these facts and statistics, Nick Saban, the beloved former Alabama coach, still believes Georgia is a team that would make the SEC championship game this season.

When Nick Saban attended the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in Birmingham, he was pressed to comment on what Kirby Smart should do differently to beat Alabama. Nick’s answer came with a hint of nonchalance and a lot of respect for Smart. “I think you ought to ask Kirby that,” adding, “I’m not here to judge Kirby. Kirby does a great job. They got a great team. I think they’re going to be a contender in the end, too.”

His comments do reflect what we have been seeing throughout this season. While Georgia is not as dominant as they are used to being, they are not exactly a team to write off either. Yes, they barely won against Tennessee, but this loss to Alabama was by the margin of a field goal. Saban further said, “I mean, what’s everybody else’s record against them? You’ve got it? I don’t [have it] either,” he said. “I don’t lose sleep over that because those games have been, like, championship-caliber games, right?” The Dawgs’ stumble has definitely knocked them down a couple of places in the AP Polls, but they’re not out, and they’re every bit of a contender for the SEC Championship this season.

Moreover, Nick Saban’s reasoning on the loss against Alabama leaned more toward chance and less toward actual errors. He said, “I think that the ball didn’t bounce their way this time, but if I were anybody in the SEC, I would be thinking that maybe I might have to play Georgia in the SEC championship game, because I think they got a really good team.” That’s a fair assessment because Georgia still ran for 227 yards against Alabama’s defense and had the ball in Bama’s 10 before that 4th and 1 flipped the game. Is this more of a skill issue or just a coin flip? You can argue for both, but Nick’s assessment leans towards the latter.

So, the bottom line is: it’s not that serious. Georgia got multiple top-15 opportunities in the latter half of the season. They’ve got Ole Miss and Texas to redeem themselves. Georgia Tech is playing surprisingly well, too, barring their crawling win against Wake Forest, and one loss in a packed SEC schedule won’t hamper a lot of decisions further down the line from AP Poll voters. So, according to us and Nick Saban, Georgia will do just fine and is perfectly capable of making the SEC Championship game if they polish some of the rough edges.

One Yard Short

Georgia vs. Alabama was a one-score classic this season, and the Dawgs were inches from a potential victory, but Kirby Smart decided to go with a touchdown instead of a chip field goal. And that questionable call had everyone going at it in the postgame conference. The Dawgs were down 3 early in the fourth quarter, they reached the 8-yard line and went for a fourth-and-1 outside zone to Cash Jones that was stopped by Bama. They could’ve tied the game with a field goal, but no, that wasn’t on Smart’s cards that night.

This sequence became a magnet for criticism. And Johnny Manziel did not hold back his frustration on the Nightcap podcast. He said, “It’s out of their character to rush to go hurry up… That’s not what they do, right? The play was close on third down, to where maybe it could get reviewed. Why not take your time? Let them see if they’re going to send it to the booth.” Georgia’s third-down spot was indeed really tight, and they had All-SEC kicker Peyton Woodring with the boots to level the score. But that quick snap eliminated any chance for the booth to look at it and decide what was the most optimal thing to do.

But all of this could only be said in hindsight. What if they’d have converted that 4th-and-1? People would’ve hailed Kirby as an offensive mastermind and whatnot. The criticism only lands because they could not convert that 4th down. Moreover, this is also a major disadvantage of high-tempo drives. It does not let the booth or the sideline, what is happening at the moment, and always plans one snap ahead.