Georgia will be facing Alabama on Saturday for the SEC Championship, but the Georgia head coach has revenge on his mind. Alabama defeated Kirby Smart and Georgia at the end of September, 24-21. With a possible first-round bye in the College Football Playoff and the SEC title on the line, it is time for Smart to get his revenge.
Georgia has been stellar since losing to Alabama. They have won eight straight games, including a win over Ole Miss and a 25-point victory over Texas. It has not been without some struggle. Georgia defeated rival Florida by just four points, while also struggling to score against Georgia Tech last week, winning 16-9.
While Georgia struggled last week on offense, the team is still 22nd in the nation in points per game. The defense is also still elite. Georgia is 12th in the country in opponent yards per game and points per game, while boasting the seventh-best run defense and 46th-best pass defense in the nation. If Smart is going to get a second win over Alabama, it will be with this team.
Kirby has struggled against Alabama
It is no secret that Smart has struggled against Alabama. Since leaving Alabama as the defensive coordinator to take the head job at Georgia, Smart is just 1-7 against his former employer. The first meeting for Smart against Alabama was the 2017 season CFP National Championship, where the Crimson Tide won 26-23 in overtime. In 2018, Georgia lost again, this time in the SEC Championship, 35-28.
The first regular-season game between the two came in 2020, and again, Alabama won the game, winning 41-24. In the 2021 season, there would be two meetings between the Tide and Bulldogs. The Crimson Tide took the first one in the SEC Championship, but Smart and the Bulldogs won the rematch, winning the National Championship 33-18.
The 2023 match-up between the two was also for the SEC Championship, and it was once again a tight one, but Alabama took the 27-24 victory. Then, in 2024, Georgia fell to Alabama again, and in the regular season, losing 41-34.
Overall, Smart has never beaten Alabama in the regular season or in the SEC Championship. He is 0-3 against Alabama in the SEC title game, but 3-1 in SEC Championships when not playing Alabama. Still, Smart has never lost to Alabama twice in one season. Smart has also never lost to the same team twice in one season.
Georgia is peaking at the right time
Many players for Georgia are peaking at the right time. They had two warm-up games before a struggle on the road against Tennessee and then the loss to Alabama. Nate Frazier is a prime example of peaking at the right time. In the first six games of the season, he scored just twice, had two fumbles, and ran over 70 yards just once. In the last six games, he has three touchdowns, four games over 70 yards, including two over 100 yards, and has not fumbled once.
Another player who has been much better in the second half of the season has been top receiver Zachariah Branch. He had just 291 yards in the first six games of the season, with much of that coming against Marshall in the first game. Since then, he has 400 yards and has scored twice.
The defense as a whole has also been much better in the second half of the season. After giving up 41 points to Tennessee and then another 24 to Alabama, Georgia has given up over 21 points just once, a 43-35 victory over Ole Miss. Meanwhile, the defense has given up just 22 points over the last three weeks, while scoring 86. It was not a perfect game against Georgia Tech in the last week of the season, but Alabama struggled against Auburn as well. If Georgia is going to get the win, they are in the perfect situation.
Can Kirby Smart get the win?
Georgia is looking to become the first team to win back-to-back SEC Championships since Alabama did it in 2020 and 2021. Since Nick Saban took over Alabama in 2007, the Crimson Tide have made it to the SEC Championship ten other times. They have not lost in the game since 2008 and have won nine straight. That includes four wins over Georgia.
In the same time frame, Georgia has gone to the SEC Championship nine times, but has just three wins. Georgia has also never won in the SEC Championship over Alabama in the previous four tries.
Regardless, one trend is going to break in this game. Georgia and Kirby Smart have been bad against Alabama. Meanwhile, Smart has never lost to the same team twice in one season. Georgia and Alabama are nearly perfectly matched for this game. If there is ever a chance for Smart to win the SEC Championship over Alabama, this is the year. It will be a tight game, but he will finally get the win.
