Morning, y’all!
What an absolutely crazy game we all witnessed Saturday.
Georgia got a 20-17 win against Alabama in Tuscaloosa and is your new No. 1 team in the country. The Bulldogs are also the last remaining undefeated team in the SEC.
The game came down to the wire and was not without controversial calls (or rather, no-calls) that are still being debated days later.
In my opinion, though, that debate doesn’t take away that the Bulldogs got a stellar performance from Dwight Phillips Jr., that quarterback Gunner Stockton threaded some truly impressive needles and that, zooming out, Georgia coach Kirby Smart has led this program to sustained success:
Smart called out a lot of winners on his team, but the biggest winner in the stadium on Saturday night was Smart himself.
Smart’s win at Bryant-Denny Stadium improved his career record to 123-21, a staggering .854 win percentage that ranks as the best by any coach in SEC history — this, in an era of parity like no other.
Smart improved his record against Alabama to 3-7, a common knock among some who don’t consider that the Tide’s wins over Georgia in 2017 and 2018 came with players Smart himself had helped recruit and develop while an assistant under Saban and Tuscaloosa.
More importantly, Smart has won the past two games versus the Tide (along with the most recent College Football Playoff championship matchup), beating Alabama 28-7 in the SEC championship game in December.
The wins provide momentum in what’s become a rivalry with the teams meeting 10 times in the past 10 years.
The Bulldogs’ head coach is too wise to make it about himself, but it’s safe to predict one day there will be a statue, and his feats will be more widely celebrated beyond the common and quickly spreading “King” Kirby nickname that color man and Bulldogs Live coaches’ show host Jeff Dantzler has recently been mentioning.
Winner: Stockton
It seems like a football forever ago that Stockton stepped in at halftime of Georgia’s 2024 SEC championship game against Texas with the team down 6-3 and 30 minutes of football ahead.
Stockton’s second half was more gritty than great, but reflecting back, it makes his growth all the more impressive, when one considers the accurate passes he delivered in clutch situations in a hostile road environment with a No. 1-ranking on the line.
Loser: RB room depth
Impact Kentucky transfer Dante Dowdell was finished before he officially got started after an offseason ATV accident, then starter Nate Frazier suffered a rib injury in the fourth game of the season against Oklahoma. Then, touchdown-leader Chauncey Bowens suffered an apparent ankle injury against Vanderbilt.
Winner: Glenn Schumann
The young Georgia coordinator has taken his lumps after his game plans against Ole Miss last season left much to be desired against the talented quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
Alabama’s Keelon Russell presented the same sort of challenges, and Georgia’s defense was more often textbook than not in keeping Russell in the “trap” of the pocket.
The gifted Russell scrambled away for yards on occasions, but he was also sacked four times and had a costly fumble on Alabama’s opening drive that turned early momentum in UGA’s favor.
Schumann won the play-calling battle against the more celebrated and accomplished Alabama offensive coordinator veteran Ryan Grubb, and in doing so added a page to the resume he’s building to one day become a head coach.
Read Mike’s full list of winners and losers here.
Phillips erupts for career night, shows how ‘special’ he can be
“Peanut” (the nickname assigned for Phillips Jr.), has patiently waited for his moment to erupt onto the scene.
The junior running back has shown glimpses of his dynamic abilities and explosive speed more this season than in years past. His 54-yard touchdown run against Oklahoma two weeks ago was an early warning to everyone.
Enter Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, with Georgia seeking its first win there since 2007.
For as good as the Bulldogs are offensively, they came in short-handed at the skill positions, including at running back.
Bowens was ruled out earlier in the week and Frazier, who tried to give it a go pregame, was ultimately ruled out with an ailing rib injury and later shown visibly in tears because of it.
With that, Georgia would now be down its top two backs and elevating Phillips Jr. to the No. 1 spot on the depth chart. After hearing the news, Smart made the strategy clear to offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.
“I said, ‘We’ve got to give it to Peanut.’ I said, ‘You remember that game when we were in Georgia and they gave a ball to Torin Kirtsey, who weighed about 175. I don’t know how many times Torin carried it, maybe 30,” Smart said. “I said, ‘If we gotta give it to Dwight that many times, he can do it.’”
It was the moment Phillips Jr. had been waiting on and he did not waste one second of it.
Phillips Jr. picked up 16 yards on the first two carries, setting the tone for what else was to come. Even when his then-touchdown run was called back due to a penalty, it was clear Alabama was having trouble stopping him.
Read Hunter DeLauder’s full story here.
Trivia time
How many yard did Phillips Jr. rush for against Alabama Saturday? Scroll to the bottom for the answer.
Here are some of our best photos from Georgia-Alabama:
DeBoer praises Stockton after loss
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer was proud of Russell, his young quarterback, but he gave proper credit where it was due after losing to Georgia on Saturday night.
“Yeah, I think Gunner Stockton was clutch,” said DeBoer, whose team drops to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the SEC with the loss. “You know, he moved the chains, and so many times his guys, you know, (were) making catches right down towards the ground there.
“You gotta give him credit for those plays that he made. He was in control, just extremely efficient. You know, that’s been the story of the season for him.”
Stockton was 18-of-22 passing for 249 yards with a touchdown and an interception and carried the ball eight times for 12 yards including a 14-yard touchdown run.
Russell, in his sixth career start, was 16-of-30 passing for 185 yards with a touchdown and had nine carries for 41 yards. He had a fumble on Alabama’s opening possession at the Georgia 39-yard line.
It was one of four sacks by the Bulldogs’ defense, which helped seal the win by sacking Russell on a third-and-10 at the UGA 34 with 3:20 remaining.
“You know you just can’t take a sack in that situation,” DeBoer said. “Not putting that all on (Russell) at this point, just thought he kept battling.”
Russell didn’t have much of a chance on the pivotal sack play, as safety KJ Bolden arrived first before UGA defenders Valdin Sone, Gabe Harris and Justin Williams swarmed Russell for a 9-yard loss to take Alabama out of field goal range and force a punt.
DeBoer acknowledged he felt like Georgia got away with what would have been a critical pass interference penalty in the end zone on the play before Russell was sacked.
“We can’t put the game in that situation where the officials, you know, come into play, and so we just got to control the things we can control,” DeBoer said. “I mean, just feel I guess, it was pass interference.”
The officiating aside — Georgia was whistled for seven penalties for 62 yards, including some holding calls Smart wasn’t happy about, while the Tide had five for 50 yards — UGA won the battle in the trenches.
Trivia answer
120
