Kirby Smart reacts to falling to 1-7 against Alabama as Georgia head coach

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After losing to Alabama for the seventh time since his head coaching tenure at Georgia began in 2015, Kirby Smart was presented with the statistic that is lingering over the Georgia football program after Saturday’s loss to the Crimson Tide.

A reporter asked Smart about him being 1-7 against Alabama as Georgia’s head coach, and he gave a relatively testy response.

“I mean, what’s everybody else’s record against ’em?” Smart said. “You got it? I don’t either. I don’t lose sleep over that because those games have been championship-caliber games. Even when we play in the regular season, I just saw 25 scouts out there. They’re all there to watch these teams play. That’s not gonna affect me. I’m gonna be happy and go lucky if our team comes back and plays well. Next year won’t have anything to do with this year.”

Smart made sure to highlight his record against Alabama has nothing to do with this game, but this narrative will not fade away until he can beat the Crimson Tide again.

With a 24-21 victory, Alabama ended Georgia’s 33-game winning streak at home. It seems as if the home environment had little to no effect on quarterback Ty Simpson as he threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns.

Alabama has been Georgia’s kryptonite for nearly the last decade and a half as the Bulldogs have only beaten the Crimson Tide once under Smart. Georgia’s one win over the Tide came in the 2022 College Football National Championship game, but the argument can be made that Alabama would have won the game if receivers John Metchie III and Jameson Williams were healthy.

Next week, Alabama will get a rematch with Vanderbilt after losing to them last season, but this time, it will be contest on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.