ATHENS – Georgia coach Kirby Smart said at his postgame press conference at Bobby Dodd Stadium Saturday that he didn’t get to watch one second of Alabama’s Iron Bowl matchup against Auburn.
However, he said somebody told him on the field during pregame warmups the Tigers were about to pull off the upset.
“They said Auburn had won, that it was 4th-and-whatever,” Smart said shortly after the Bulldogs’ 31-23 win over Georgia Tech was official. “I didn’t think about it again until we were coming in, and somebody said they ended up converting that and winning it. So, I never saw it, just heard about it.”
On Sunday, Smart will learn much more about what in Tuscaloosa they’re calling “the Milroe Miracle.” Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe connected with receiver Isaiah Bond on a 31-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal with 32 seconds remaining for a 27-24 victory. Auburn led 24-20 inside the final five minutes when Keionte Scott muffed a punt return. Jihaad Campbell recovered for the Crimson Tide, setting up the fateful final possession at the Auburn 30.
It could be argued that the final should have been 33-24 as Bama appeared to have returned an interception for a touchdown on the last play of the game. But the play was waived off.
Georgia and Alabama meet in the SEC Championship game on Saturday.
What surely will be concerning for the Bulldogs is seeing how well Milroe played for the Crimson Tide. He had 259 yards and two touchdowns on 16 of 24 passing and added another 107 yards rushing on 18 carries. Bama rushed for 192 yards overall.
Of course, that’s exactly how Tech was able to exploit Georgia’s defense on Saturday. Jackets quarterback Haynes King was sacked twice but otherwise had 43 yards on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns against the Bulldogs on keepers.
“Their run scheme is really good,” Smart said of Tech. “They’re running a form of the triple option from the gun. He has multiple options on each play and he made good decisions. We looked like we misfit some things. I don’t know, I got to go back and watch it. They might have just whipped us.”
Here’s five more things we learned Saturday:
Walking wounded
Georgia’s injury situation ended up being much worse than Smart let on heading into the game. The Bulldogs played without four offensive starters. Two of them – tight end Brock Bowers (ankle) and right guard Tate Ratledge (knee) – dressed out but did not play. Receivers Ladd McConkey (ankle) and Rara Thomas (foot) were in street clothes.
After the game, Smart revealed that linebacker Smael Mondon was playing “banged up.” That meant the majority of inside-linebacker snaps were logged by true freshmen CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson. Mondon and Allen led the Bulldogs with eight tackles apiece.
Smart didn’t take kindly to insinuations that Georgia was holding out its best offensive players so they could rest up and heal for the SEC Championship.
“If they could play, they would have played, 100 percent,” Smart snapped. “I don’t think you measure (by if) it was a championship game. It was a state championship game. They wanted to play; all of them wanted to play. But guys, we’re beat up. We’ve got two freshman linebackers out there playing, I don’t know, 50 percent of the snaps. Smael’s out there fighting his tail off, he’s hurt and beat up.
“Everybody (has injuries). We’re not going to whine and cry about it. We’ve just got to get the next man up and got to continue to make plays with the other guys.”
On Saturday, Georgia started senior Xavier Truss at Ratledge’s right guard position and kept Dylan Fairchild and Micah Morris at left guard.
Walking out of Bobby Dodd Stadium without any noticeable limp, Ratledge said he’s “gonna try” to play in the SEC Championship game.
With Bowers and McConkey out, Dominic Lovett was the Bulldogs’ leading receiver with 5 for 68. Dillon Bell had 3 for 37.
Quarterback Carson Beck attempted a season-low 20 passes, completing 13 for 175 yards with a TD and an interception. That stopped Beck’s streak of 250-plus-yard passing games at 11.
Immaculate deflection
Georgia was the victim of some tough calls by the Atlantic Coast Conference game officials who worked Saturday’s game. But they also benefited twice from video reviews that resulted in correct calls that went the Bulldogs’ way.
One of the biggest was on a fourth down late in the third quarter in which Georgia was flagged for interference. Had it stood, the call would have given Tech a first down at the Bulldogs’ 30. But video review proved defensive tackle Zion Logue had gotten a finger on the ball delivered by quarterback King. The deflection nullified the penalty.
Georgia took over on downs at its 45 and scored a touchdown just five plays later to go ahead 31-13.
“Huge play in the game,” Smart said. “Momentum is going to swing the other way with the P.I. call. That tipped ball is big. (Defensive line coach Tray Scott) stresses that and works on it all the time. We always kid ‘Z-Lo’ and he’s finally starting to get some of those tips in his latter years. It’s a big play for him.”
Flags flying
The worst call of the day came earlier on that drive. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins sacked King was was flagged for a personal foul for unnecessary roughness when he flung the quarterback to the ground at the end of the play. Instead of third-and-15 at Tech’s 30, the Jackets had first-and-10 at the Georgia 48.
Georgia, which entered as one of the least penalized teams in the country, was flagged six times for 60 yards, or twice as much as Tech (3-15).
“It’s one of those (things) where we go to a different conference and they have different standards,” Smart said. “We evaluate every crew that we get and their crew had more penalties than any SEC crew going into the game. So, we thought it was going to be a more penalized game. I guess they call it closer, more holdings, more personal fouls. They just have more fouls in their games than we average in the SEC. It just so happened that a lot of them went against us at inopportune times. But I don’t question officiating. I think those guys do a great job.”
Senior night
It was Senior Night for Georgia Tech’s seniors. In a way, though, it was for Georgia’s seniors, too.
With Saturday night’s victory, the Bulldogs’ seniors matched last year’s graduating class for most wins in a four-year period with 49. In fact, they’re 49-3 mark over the last four seasons represents a .942 winning percentage. That beats the .907 mark posted by the 2022 seniors, who were 49-5.
Obviously, it’s not over for the 2023 senior class. They have at least two more games remaining with next week’s SEC title tilt against Alabama and a bowl game.
More important to Smart, though, is Georgia’s seniors will leave undefeated against Georgia Tech and most the program’s rivals. Smart and senior receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint embraced on the field after the game with Rosemy-Jacksaint shouting, “I’m 4-0, Coach; I’m 4-and-Oh!”
With Saturday’s win, sixth-year senior Tramel Walthour improved to 5-0 vs. Tech. Georgia has won six in a row.
“It’s about these kids,” Smart said in the postgame press conference. “I want these kids to walk out of here with a zero in the loss column. There’s a group of seniors in there that got a chance to do that. That’s what it is about, dominating your rivalries -- SEC East, crossover opponent and in-state rivalry. You have to win those to have good years. Those kids have done that.”
If things continue to trend the way they have the last three years, look out for Georgia’s junior class next year. They’ve never lost a regular-season game and dropped just one the last three years. That was the 2021 SEC Championship loss to Bama.
Specialists come through
Once again, an edge in special-teams play helped the Bulldogs secure a victory.
For once, Georgia was able to return some kickoffs. Mekhi Mews and Dillon Bell combined on four for a total of 115 yards. Bell had the long return of the day with one of 39 yards.
Conversely, Georgia’s Jared Zirkel kicked off six times and had six touchbacks. Also, the only punt by Brett Thorson was not returned, meaning the Bulldogs completed an entire regular season without any recording even a single punt return.
“It was huge for field position,” Smart said. “Outside of our rushing offense and offensive line, that was the biggest win in the game. That third element, to be able to dominate the kickoff returns. Nobody gives the kid credit, but Zirkel didn’t give them a chance to return one. As much as we got to return it, they didn’t. It was probably the difference in the game. That, and recovering the onside kick.”
The freshman Allen recovered Tech’s onsides attempt in trailing by 8 with 3:45 to play. The Bulldogs managed to run out the clock and end the game in victory formation deep inside Tech territory.
Freshman Peyton Woodring continued his run of perfection by making his only field goal attempt, a 39-yarder in the third quarter. He’s now made his last 16 in a row and is 20 of 23 for the season. Tech’s Aidan Birr missed a 49-yard field goal but made three others, two from over 40 yards.
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