ATLANTA — Even after back-to-back national championships and a 29-game win streak, Smael Mondon sported the same look that past Georgia greats have worn in the moments following a loss to Alabama.
Nick Chubb had it as confetti rained down in the 2018 National Championship Game. Richard LeCounte displayed the same 1,000-yard stare in the 2018 SEC Championship Game.
As Mondon listened to Kirby Smart and Carson Beck answer questions about the latest shortcoming to Alabama in Atlanta, he simply sat there as he contemplated a mind-numbing defeat.
“It’s tough. You know, it’s tough,” Mondon said. “I’m proud of the way the guys played tonight. A lot of guys had to step up, and then them guys stepped up. I’m just proud of the guys.”
Alabama won 27-24 on Saturday, winning the SEC championship yet again. For Georgia, it was its first loss of the season. It could not have come at a worse time, as the Bulldogs surely won’t be one of the four teams selected to play in the College Football Playoff on Saturday.
Georgia could point to the refs as to why. There was a botched call by the officials on a fourth-down catch from Isaiah Bond that led to an Alabama touchdown. The Bulldogs were also dealing with injuries all over the offense. Amarius Mims left the game after the second drive to an ankle injury, while Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey spent most of the game limping on and off the field.
That they were two of Georgia’s leading pass catchers says a lot about them as individuals, but also the lack of support from the rest of Georgia’s skill players.
But for those not in the excuse-making business, Alabama just made the winning plays on Saturday. The ones Georgia made so often over its magical two-year run atop the sport.
Georgia made its share of losing plays. A false start penalty on a field goal attempt forced Peyton Woodring to attempt a 50-yard field goal. He doinked it off the upright. Those three points would’ve been huge in a game Georgia lost by three.
In the third quarter, Georgia attempted to run a reverse to Dillon Bell, a play it had run plenty of times with McConkey when healthy. But Bell and Beck weren’t on the same page, and Alabama recovered the fumble. The Crimson Tide kicked a field goal thanks to the short field, and those three points were critical in a game Georgia lost by three.
“We’ve obviously practiced that play a ton. It’s just a simple flick back, and I’m not really sure exactly what happened,” Beck said. “I’ll have to go see it on film. I wasn’t able to see the replay, but, you know, I flipped it, and then the next thing I knew all the guys were running and the ball’s on the ground. I really don’t know what happened on that. Just go back and obviously we’ll have to fix it if we ever run that play again.”
Then there were the short-yardage struggles. Georgia had six different third-and-two or less attempts on Saturday. The Bulldogs converted only two of them.
“The only thing I can say is they whipped us front,” Smart said. “Even late during that two-minute drive, we had a third and 1 and they whipped us... I was pleased with the run game, not the conversions. That was probably the difference in the game.”
Much like Mondon’s look, Georgia finds itself in a place it has been before. The loss to Alabama is similar to the 2018 game, where Georgia showed it was clearly one of the four best teams in the country.
But this sport doesn’t reward the best team, despite what the College Football Playoff committee will try to say on Sunday. And that’s why Georgia won’t find itself in either the Rose Bowl or the Sugar Bowl.
Smart had some strong comments as to why Georgia should be in the playoff. In a larger sense, he’s right.
“If you’re going to tell me somebody sitting in that committee room and doesn’t think that Georgia team is one of the best four teams, I don’t know if they’re in the right profession because it’s a really good football team,” Smart said. “It’s a really talented football team. It’s a really balanced football team. So, they have to make that decision, but it’s the best four teams, and that’s critical.”
The Georgia head coach would not need to talk with such bluster or praise the resiliency of his team if Georgia had gone out and beaten Alabama. The Bulldogs were able to do that the last time they played the Crimson Tide, with Stetson Bennett making key throws and Kelee Ringo intercepting Bryce Young late.
Georgia is going to have a long offseason to try and find some answers for what happened on Saturday. The Bulldogs will bring in their usual slew of elite recruits — Georgia football has the No. 1 ranked recruiting class for the 2024 cycle — and will mine the transfer portal for more talent. It already has a coach to replace in Fran Brown, who will now be the head coach at Syracuse.
Smart and the Bulldogs have been here before. Mondon’s glassy-eyed look is still a familiar sight to those who remember the pain of past losses to Alabama. Georgia found the answers and reached the pinnacle of the sport. Even Saturday’s result can’t take that away.
The Bulldogs though have to get better. Smart made that point time and time again this season. He often quipped how Georgia could take a punch and give a punch.
Georgia got knocked down on Saturday. It got beat by a better, tougher fighter. We’ll see if Georgia is able to pull itself up off the mat and resume being a championship winner. Georgia will get another crack at Alabama next September. We’ll learn soon if this team can win those fractional margins that define games like Saturday.
Or if Mondon’s look is to once again become a regular appearance after a two-year hiatus.
