Kirby Smart seeks his breakthrough moment at Georgia
Can the Bulldogs finally knock off Alabama and claim that elusive national title?
Two SEC stalwarts will meet in the final game of the 2021-22 season when No. 3 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama compete for the College Football Playoff national championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday night (8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The last time these teams met for the biggest team prize in the sport, Tua Tagovailoa connected with DeVonta Smith for a 41-yard game-winning TD in OT on second-and-26 to deliver the Crimson Tide yet another national title, breaking the hearts of Georgia fans thirsting to reach the pinnacle of the sport once again.
Four years later, Kirby Smart has his team back in the natty against a familiar foe. And, simply put, it’s the biggest game of his coaching career.
Fresh off a 34-11 CFP semifinal win over Michigan in the Orange Bowl, the Bulldogs look like the best team in the country as it was throughout the 2021 campaign—that is, until they ran up against a Tide team that had nearly lost to Auburn in the Iron Bowl. If there is a year for UGA to claim its first national championship since the 1980 season, this is it. Remember, this was supposed to be a “rebuilding” year in Tuscaloosa. While, of course, there is no such thing under Saban, UGA’s best chance to break its seven-game skid against ‘Bama will be Monday night in the Hoosier State.
Saban’s crew easily handled Smart’s bunch in this season’s SEC title game, which was quite the surprise based on how nasty the Bulldogs’ defense had been all year. The UGA coaching staff, however, did a fantastic job of re-instilling some lost confidence ahead of the matchup with Michigan. But, the fact is that the road to a national championship goes through Alabama, which has peaked at the perfect time. ‘Bama put up 41 points and 536 total yards against a Georgia defense that was historically dominant (it hadn’t allowed more than 17 points in a game during the regular season), and its own defense was extra stingy against Cincinnati—the nation’s last unbeaten—in the Cotton Bowl.
While both teams have clearly shown that they are the two best in the country, it’s hard not to think back to how well the Tide played on that first Saturday in December. But, if Georgia can’t get it done this season with this team, exactly when will it happen for Smart?
Dabo Swinney’s status among the head-coaching elite was significantly raised when his Clemson Tigers finally broke through against the Tide. Saban, who has won a record seven national titles (six at Alabama) is 7-2 in title games—with both losses coming to Swinney.
Back in 2017, Clemson entered the CFP title game coming off of a dominating shutout victory over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. That came one season after Alabama outlasted the Tigers in a classic national title game, 45-40. The loss served as a source of motivation throughout that offseason and into the fall, and the Tigers did get their rematch with ‘Bama following a 31-0 throttling of the Buckeyes—the first shutout loss of Urban Meyer’s career, which had spanned 194 games at the time. Swinney had built an elite program at Clemson, but it was missing one thing—the same thing that has escaped Smart thus far.
In their revenge tilt with the Tide, the Tigers dethroned the defending champs and became the first team to beat Saban’s Alabama dynasty in a national title game, ending a 35-year title drought and making them national champs for the first time since 1981.
Smart and Georgia have an eerily similar chance to break through in a few nights.
While Smart has made huge strides at his alma mater since taking over the program following his stint as Alabama’s DC, compiling a 65-15 record with four SEC East division titles over the past five seasons, at some point he needs to beat Saban—the standard in the sport. Smart is 0-4 against the Tide since arriving in Athens after serving as an Alabama assistant from 2007 to 2015.
Jimbo Fisher became the first Saban assistant to beat his old boss. Smart needs to be the next, and Monday night provides the ideal opportunity, as UGA was clearly the best team in the country while Alabama showed some warts along the way this season. However, the Tide looked like a much more complete outfit in Atlanta, potentially casting doubt into the collective mindset of a Georgia team that doesn’t have history on its side. Remember, UGA collapsed over the final three quarters after being up 10-0 on the Tide.
Saban’s crew will have its hands full, as beating a team with the Bulldogs’ makeup for a second time in a short span will be a tough task. But all of the pressure will be on Smart and Co. The same could be said of Swinney ahead of his first win against Saban, but his team rallied in the fourth quarter when their collective backs were against the wall.
Will Smart and the ‘Dawgs enjoy the same fate?
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