Weekend Reflections: Kirby Smart’s Alabama bogeyman is back

What I think about some things I saw over the weekend …

Alabama held off Auburn’s comeback attempt Saturday night. The victory put the Crimson Tide in the SEC championship game against Georgia on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

You know what that means. It’s time for Kirby Smart to face his Alabama bogeyman again.

No other team gives Georgia’s coach so much trouble. No one but Bama makes Smart talk about his program like it’s any other. That’s what Smart did after the 24-21 loss to the Tide at Sanford Stadium.

It was Smart’s seventh loss in eight games against the Crimson Tide, and he didn’t seem to like a question about that record.

Smart: “I mean, what’s everybody else’s record against them? You’ve got it? I don’t, either. I don’t lose sleep over that because those games have been, like, championship-caliber games, right?”

It was a strange thing for Smart to say. He’s won two national championships and three SEC titles. Hardly any program has more resources. None pays its head coach a higher salary.

Smart is supposed to win championships even when Alabama is the opponent, like in 2021. But he’s lost four other championship games against the Tide (three SEC, one College Football Playoff).

Also, beating Bama isn’t as big a deal as it used to be. It’s one thing for Smart to be 1-5 against Nick Saban. It’s another thing for him to be 0-2 against Saban’s successor, Kalen DeBoer.

DeBoer is 0-2 versus Oklahoma, 1-1 versus Vanderbilt and Tennessee and 0-1 versus Florida State. Those teams have taken advantage of Alabama’s vulnerability without Saban. Smart couldn’t do it even while winning the SEC last season and making it back to the championship game this year.

Alabama ruined Georgia’s three-peat dream in 2023. A loss to the Crimson Tide in the SEC title game knocked Georgia out of the CFP field. The fourth-ranked Bulldogs (11-1) likely will make this year’s CFP even with a loss against No. 10 Alabama.

But it would be a psychological blow for Georgia to lose for the fourth consecutive time and 11th time in the past 12 meetings. If that happens, there also would be a chance Georgia sees Alabama again in the CFP.

It’s better for the Bulldogs if they get the Bama elephant off their backs this week. Some sportsbooks Sunday night pegged them as 1½-point favorites. The game in September probably has limited predictive value for the rematch in December.

“Seems like ages ago,” Smart said Sunday when asked how his team has changed since the first meeting.

DeBoer was feeling the heat before winning at Sanford Stadium. The Tide didn’t make the CFP during his first season, then lost their 2025 opener at unranked Florida State. Alabama’s victory at Georgia was part of an impressive six-game SEC win streak that also included victories over Vanderbilt, Missouri and Tennessee.

The Tide lost at home to Oklahoma three weeks ago. Once it held off Auburn’s comeback attempt Saturday, it set up another big game against the Bulldogs.

It’s time for Smart to face his Bama bogeyman again.

Lane Kiffin abandons Ole Miss before CFP

It is the nightmare scenario for college football fans and media who miss the days when players had less power.

Someday, a star player is going to chase NIL cash in the transfer portal instead of sticking with their team for the College Football Playoff. It would be a symptom of all that is wrong with college sports and kids these days. Something must be done about mercenary players who value money over winning and loyalty.

Predictably, a star player isn’t the first member of a team to pull that move. It’s a multimillionaire coach who is choosing money over loyalty, as usual.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin was hired as LSU’s coach a week before the Rebels will be selected for the CFP. ESPN reports Kiffin’s new contract is for a $12 million salary plus bonuses over seven seasons. Kiffin’s Ole Miss contact was for $7 million annually through 2030.

Kiffin guided Ole Miss to its most successful five-year run in decades. Now, promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding will lead the Rebels as they seek their first national title of the post-integration era.

Kiffin will be criticized more than most coaches for this move because of his job-hopping history, which includes staying only one season at Tennessee. But the reaction won’t be nearly as strong as if a player made the same move. Just imagine the furor if Ole Miss had to use a backup quarterback in the CFP because the starter found a better offer.

The scenario of a prominent member of a CFP team leaving came to pass. Predictably it was a coach, not a player, who bolted.

Special teams hurt Falcons again

The Falcons lost to the Jets by a field goal Sunday after special-teams miscues cost them 13 points. It’s the second time in the past three weeks special teams cost them in a close loss. Don’t forget Younghoe Koo’s missed field-goal attempt against the Bucs in the opener and Parker Romo’s botched extra-point attempt at New England.

That’s four losses for the Falcons (4-8) this season in which special-teams failures played a big role. After Sunday’s loss, AJC sports columnist Ken Sugiura asked coach Raheem Morris a fair question: Will he consider replacing special-teams coordinator Marquice Williams?

Morris responded, “We don’t make emotional decisions.” Well, franchise owner Arthur Blank will need to make a decision on Morris after this season inevitably ends with no playoff berth. Poor special-teams play could end up costing Morris his job.