Kirby Smart’s Georgia team left Tuscaloosa with a 20-17 win over Alabama, and the result said plenty about where the Bulldogs stand right now. They walked into Bryant-Denny Stadium, took the first Georgia victory there since 2007, and did it without their top two running backs, Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens.
That mattered. So did the way they handled the noise.
Georgia had to answer every time Alabama made a push, and Gunner Stockton kept doing it. The senior quarterback wasn’t flawless, but he was steady when the stadium got loud and the game tightened.
After Alabama finished a sharp two-minute drill to grab a 14-10 halftime lead, Stockton opened the second half by driving Georgia 75 yards in eight plays, finishing the march himself on a 14-yard run. He ended 18 of 22 for 249 passing yards, two total touchdowns and one interception.
Afterward, Stockton pointed to the way Georgia stayed composed.
"It's been many years since we won here," said quarterback Gunner Stockton. "We did what it took and kept responding and attacking the moments."
Smart, for his part, sounded like a coach who knew exactly what the night meant and exactly what it didn’t. He celebrated with Georgia’s traveling fans near the end zone and then addressed the larger conversation around his record against Alabama. Before Saturday, he had never beaten the Crimson Tide in a regular-season game, and his all-time mark against them had sat at 2-7 despite everything he has already accomplished.
Still, Smart downplayed the idea that Alabama had any special hold over him.
"It's a hard place to play," Smart said. "I don't judge my happiness or success on how we play 'Bama.
I have a lot of respect for this place. Nick taught me a lot.
Watching that (Saban) show the other night, I have so much respect for him. We run our program a lot like that.
I tell those kids you need to tune in and watch the show. Stuff going on on that show is going on in Athens right now.
It's discipline, toughness, accountability. That's what he taught me, and that's what we're trying to do."
That edge showed up in how Georgia approached the week. Smart had the Bulldogs in pads Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before the trip, a clear sign he expected a physical game. He got one.
And while the SEC keeps chewing up teams from week to week, Georgia keeps looking like the one that can absorb it better than anybody else. Ole Miss came off a win over former head coach Lane Kiffin and then got drilled 52-28 at Florida.
Florida surged into the top 10 and then dropped its next two games in blowout losses to Missouri and South Carolina. Texas carried the nation’s best resume until Oklahoma finally caught up to it in the Red River Rivalry.
LSU, with CFP expectations and a roster sources believe cost upwards of $50 million, lost at unranked Kentucky after Will Stein successfully went for two in overtime.
That kind of chaos has become the league’s reality in a nine-game SEC schedule. Maybe there are no truly great teams. Maybe there are just a lot of good ones making every Saturday a trap.
Georgia still looks like the exception.
Full stop.
That doesn’t mean the Bulldogs are flawless, and it doesn’t mean no one else can make a case. Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State and even Alabama can all be argued into the national championship picture.
But on Saturday night, Georgia looked like the best team in the country. It had a veteran quarterback who kept answering, a defense that held firm when it mattered, and a head coach who had his team ready for the kind of road game that usually exposes everybody.
Alabama, meanwhile, is still very much in this thing. The Crimson Tide are not going away, and with Keelon Russell controlling the offense, they should be a problem for every opponent left on the schedule.
So yes, Smart was right about humility being a week away. In the SEC, it usually is.
And if Georgia keeps playing like this, it may be the one handing that lesson out to everybody else.
In Other News...
Georgia Heads To Alabama With A New Problem On Both Sides
Georgias trip to Alabama comes with another layer of concern after the latest SEC injury report showed wide receiver Isiah Canion will miss the matchup, his third straight game out with a leg injury. He is among a group of Georgia players ruled out, and the list also includes Thomas Blackshear and Chauncey Bowens, thinning the Bulldogs depth for one of the biggest games on the schedule.
For a team heading into a hostile road setting, the issue is not just one absence but the accumulation of them. Georgia has to sort through multiple unavailable pieces on both sides of the ball while preparing for an Alabama team that will surely press every weakness, leaving the Bulldogs with little margin for error before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Just Got Extra Fuel Before Its Biggest Alabama Test
The buildup around Georgias meeting with Alabama got a little more pointed this week when the College GameDay crew made its picks for the SEC heavyweight showdown. Three of the four panelists, including Nick Saban and Bryce Young, leaned toward Alabama, adding another layer of outside doubt to a game that already carries major weight in the SEC Championship race and the College Football Playoff picture.
Saturday nights kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST gives Georgia the chance to answer all of that on the field. A win would give the Bulldogs a major edge in both races, while also offering the kind of resume boost that can define the rest of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Must Now Prepare For An Alabama Twist They Didn't Expect
Georgias preparation for Saturday night just got a little more complicated. Alabama tight end Josh Ford, who broke his arm last week against Mississippi State, is expected to be available against the Bulldogs, adding another layer to a matchup already heavy with SEC stakes. Ford has been an important blocker in Alabamas offense this season, and hes also shown he can matter as a receiver after catching a touchdown against South Carolina.
For Georgia, the timing of that update matters because Alabamas tight end usage can change the feel of a game at the line of scrimmage and in the red zone. The Bulldogs will have to account for Ford at Bryant-Denny Stadium when the teams kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and any late twist like this can force a defense to adjust its plan on the fly. [Read more 🡒]