ATHENS – Georgia and Alabama both played a draining, emotional game last week. Alabama won, Georgia did not.
Yet Georgia, determined not to enter the game with some kind of hangover, drank some water and took care of business. The Bulldogs won 31-13 against rival Auburn in a game the Bulldogs were never in danger of losing.
Alabama was still a little drunk from its big win over Georgia. It ended up passed out on the couch and stunningly lost to Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide gave up more points in the first quarter to Vanderbilt, 13, than it did in the entirety of Nick Saban’s tenure at Alabama against Vanderbilt.
While Alabama came away with the win in the head-to-head, Georgia was able to respond in a way Alabama could not.
“One thing I can say about this team is we don’t flinch,” running back Trevor Etienne said. “You know, even how last week started. You know, second half, we came back and, you know, played a good half of football, great half of football. So that’s kind of the best thing I say about this team is we don’t flinch. Last week didn’t go how we wanted it to, but that’s in the past.”
Georgia scored a touchdown on its first drive of the game. It scored a touchdown on its final drive of the first half. On the one drive where Georgia was given a short field, it scored a touchdown. The Bulldogs were 7-of-13 on third down and did not turn the ball over.
A week after four turnovers, there was crispness that Georgia played with. It wasn’t overwhelming Auburn at any point, but Kirby Smart’s team was always the better one.
“Yeah, well, we’re not worried about Alabama anymore,” quarterback Carson Beck said. “We’re 1-0 this week and, you know, we’ll focus on next week after we cover the film tomorrow and then move on.
“I thought we ran the ball really well today. I thought we had a really balanced attack, made a play on special teams, blocked a field goal, defense did a really good job as far as the field position battle and then obviously, Brett pinning them down there one time in the punting game. I thought just overall we were able to hit on all facets of the game.”
It was a complete game for a team that needed one. Consider Georgia had more touchdowns in the first half today, than it did in the previous three games against FBS teams combined.
And while Auburn is far from a juggernaut, this is still a team with SEC-caliber athletes.
Though the Tigers do now have a worse record than Vanderbilt.
“I think Vandy’s got a great program and does a great job,” Smart said. “I mean, it’s a lot of other people that don’t respect Vandy. I respect Clark Lea. I respect his team, his quarterback, what they’ve done. They beat Virginia Tech. I mean, somebody told me that six of eight games were decided by one score or less in our league. Nothing shocks me about our league.”
This was as much a culture win for Georgia as anything else. The Bulldogs have now won eight-straight games against Auburn and Smart is 9-1 in his career against the Tigers. Georgia has won 27 straight home games, the longest streak in the nation.
Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama team couldn’t even push its SEC winning streak to two before falling to Vanderbilt.
This result isn’t the end of the world for DeBoer nor Alabama. Smart lost to Vanderbilt in his first season at Georgia, with that game coming in Sanford Stadium.
Smart is in his ninth year at Georgia. There’s an insutitional knowledge in place that can’t exist at place like Alabama now, with DeBoer now running a ship once guided by Saban.
Smart has a deep understanding of this league. It’s a big reason he was able to get his team ready to play on Saturday and come away with a victory.
“Welcome to the SEC,” Smart said. “It’s hard every week, and I got a feeling that it’s not gonna stop. It’s a consistency in performance, and when you ride the wave of emotion, you get caught on the bottom of the wave sometimes. And we’re just trying to do this [moves hand in a flat motion], just trying to keep getting better and keep getting better.”
