This is what No. 1 Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Bulldogs players had to say after losing to No. 8 Alabama 27-24 in Saturday’s SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium:
“Bill Hancock said it’s not the most deserving (teams), he said, simply it’s the best four teams. So you’re going to tell me somebody sitting in that committee room and doesn’t think that Georgia team is not one of the best four teams, I don’t know if they’re in the right profession because it’s a really good football team. It’s a really talented football team. It’s a really balanced football team. They have to make that decision, but it’s the best four teams. That’s critical.” – Smart
“We didn’t have quite as much continuity as maybe we’ve had out there. Look, it’s tough, guys. When Brock Bowers doesn’t practice for 15 days, and Ladd (McConkey) doesn’t practice for 15 days, they go out in the game, timing and rhythm is critical. But give Alabama some credit. They played good defense, did a good job. I thought we ran the ball well and did some good things.” – Smart on the struggles of the offense in the first half
“The first staple of any review is they review it up top, they go quick. For me to ask for a review, it costs me a timeout. They get to watch it. I was not aware of it being called or not called. I guess you’re saying the replay showed he didn’t catch it. That was an extremely critical play in the game because they go on to score there.” – Smart on a fourth-down catch by Alabama’s Isaiah Bond to keep a drive alive. Replays showed the ball hit the ground
“I love ‘em. I mean, I love ‘em. Guys in there, two classes of guys in that room that have not lost a game. You’re looking at, I don’t know, 10, 15 NFL players who lose it feels like every other week. There’s two classes of our kids that have not lost a game. Just they’re resilient, they’re fighters. In life, a lot of times you really can’t get better until you lose sometimes because you have to find out what you can do better. It was a sad ... really upset guys. Guys really care about this team. The culture is really good on this team. They were hurt in there, rightfully so. The message doesn’t change. Looking inward and figuring out what we can do.” – Smart on the end of the 29-game win streak
“Yeah, I mean, to go through an SEC schedule, 12 games, and to win each and every one, it’s not something easy to do. It’s not easy, but super proud of these guys. Obviously to come into this game and not finish the way that we wanted to and kind of leave the destiny of our team in someone else’s hands rather than ourselves, that’s hard.” – quarterback Carson Beck
“We’ve obviously practiced that play a ton. It’s a simple flip back. I’m not exactly sure what happened. I’ll have to go see it on film. I wasn’t able to see the replay. I flipped it. Next thing I knew all the guys were running, the ball’s on the ground. I really don’t know what happened on that.” – Beck on a fumbled pitch in the third quarter on a first-and-15 at Georgia’s 17-yard line
“It’s tough. It’s tough. I’m proud of the way the guys played tonight. A lot of guys had to step up. Them guys stepped up. Just proud of the guys.” – linebacker Smael Mondon Jr.
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