Kirby Smart Refuses to Change Stance After Accepting ‘Frustration’ with Unwanted Alabama Trigger

After facing weeks of firing alerts, Kalen DeBoer needed this win against Georgia more than anyone. After taking a massive hit from FSU in their season opener, this 24-21 victory proved their dominance. Look, after winning 6 national championships under Nick Saban, a defeat that would have dropped them to a 2-2 SEC record since 2003 is not something fans would have wanted. All thanks to Kirby Smart‘s defense, rookie mistakes, and a lackluster run game that turned in Bama’s favor. But Smart could get in peace with teams falling even after they stepped up in the second half. Looks like he’s not ready to accept his mistakes.

For Georgia, running the ball was a major issue, as they rolled up 104 yards on 17 carries against Bama. And Kalen DeBoer’s team stood tall from the start, opening with back-to-back 14-play drives where they also converted 7/7 3rd downs and jumped to a 14-point lead. Sure, Georgia showed up in the second half, scoring 7 points against Bama in the 3rd quarter and finishing with 227 rushing yards, but ended up messing it all up just because of Nate Frazier’s fumble, resulting in Alabama’s field goal. And Kirby Smart isn’t liking it at all. “It’s really frustrating because we showed we can in the second half,” he said postgame.

Kirby Smart:

“It’s really frustrating because we showed we can in the second half.”

— Olivia Sayer (@OliviaKSayer) September 28, 2025

Now, what turned their fate in the second half was Kirby Smart’s decision not to try a field goal inside their own red zone but attempt a fourth-down conversion, which ultimately failed as linebacker LT Overton stopped the Dawgs and ended their only chance to have a game-tying field goal. Despite that inconsistency, Smart’s pretty firm in his decision, as postgame he made it pretty loud and clear: “I’d do it 10 out of 10 times. The decision is whether you go tempo or not.”

Even if Kirby Smart’s not ready to accept his mistake, this decision turned really ugly for them, as it dropped a chance to make a wide-open TD, which was a problem for them getting off the field on third down against Bama.

(This is a developing story)

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