Kirby Smart defends costly fourth-down decision, explains why UGA went tempo

“I’d do that 10 out of 10 times in terms of going for it. The decision is whether you go for it with tempo or not. We felt like tempo had been really good for us throughout the year.”

The decision to go tempo proved costly for Georgia, as the Bulldogs handed the ball to Cash Jones on a fourth and one with 13:20 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Gunner Stockton picked up three yards on a scramble. A field goal would’ve tied the game for Georgia at 24. But the Bulldogs were a yard away from first and goal and eight away from taking the lead.

“We had decided previous to that if we gained anything, we were going for it,” Smart said. “We were going to probably kick the field goal if we didn’t get anything. So, there’s a thing called sequencing where you sequence plays to try to set up and know that you’re going to go for it. So, we felt we were going to go for it if we got anything, and we did.”

But instead of subbing in Georgia’s short-yardage running back Josh McCray, Georgia elected to go to the line and get set quickly. The hope was that Georgia would be able to get the play off quickly and take advantage of a worn-out Alabama defense.

The Bulldogs ran for 227 yards against Alabama, a new high-water mark against the Crimson Tide in Smart’s tenure.

But when Georgia needed a yard, it could not get it. The 24-21 defeat gave the Bulldogs another loss to Alabama and their first home loss since 2019.

“That play has been really successful for us,” Smart said. “I think we hit Tennessee on it three times for a conversion. We’d run it earlier in the night and run it for a conversion. We missed a block that we got to make and they ran through and made a great play to stop it.”

Stockton is a strong runner, having picked up a third down conversion earlier in the game by ripping off a 21-yard run. He punctuated the third-down run by putting his shoulder into the chest of an Alabama defender.

Stockton didn’t change the play at the line, electing to execute what was called.

“Coach (Mike) Bobo gets paid to call plays, and I have 1,000% confidence in Coach Bobo, and he made the right call,” Stockton said.

Smart was pressed in the postgame news conference why he didn’t turn to McCray. The Illinois transfer had 6 carries for 15 yards and a rushing touchdown that came in the redzone.

The Georgia coach pointed to the fact to go tempo.

“So, the decision is, do you stop, slow down, think about it, let them set the cleats in the ground, let them do everything they want, or do you try to hit them quickly,” Smart said. “And we have a philosophy. We believe in it.”

That decision proved costly for Georgia, though it was not the only reason Georgia lost once again to Alabama. Freshman Talyn Talyor dropped a would-be touchdown in the third quarter that would’ve given Georgia the lead.