Alabama 24, Georgia 21

 

Every team has its kryptonite opponent. Georgia is Tennessee's - no matter how good the Vols get and no matter how poor a team the Dawgs field, Georgia always seems to beat Tennessee. Alabama is Georgia's kryptonite. 

The Tide is 10-1 in its last eleven games against Georgia. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is 107-13 against non-Alabama teams but 1-7 against 'Bama. In the last year alone, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is 2-0 against Georgia but 5-5 against Power 4 teams that aren't the Dawgs. Stats like those are why Georgia experiences such stress-inducing anxiety before an Alabama game, and why even mediocre Alabama teams swagger onto the field against Georgia with such confidence.

Case in point, last night: a self-assured Alabama started the game with two TDs on its first two possessions and went 8-for-8 on third-down conversions, while Georgia had to settle for punts on its first two touches. The Bulldogs seemed incapable of stopping Alabama, but Georgia eventually scored a TD in the second quarter and then finally forced the Tide to punt. However, the Dawgs fumbled the ball on the ensuing drive, resulting in an Alabama FG. A pair of TDs later, one by each team, and it was 24-14 at the half. 

Adjustments were made at halftime and Georgia prevented Alabama from scoring in the second half. The Tide even missed a FG on their first second-half possession, shades of Tennessee's missed FG against Georgia two weeks ago. After a third-quarter Georgia TD, it looked like a Bulldogs comeback was in the making, but Alabama kept Georgia from scoring after that. The Bulldogs couldn't make up the ten-point halftime deficit and No. 17 Alabama beat No. 5 Georgia, 24-21, in Athens.

So it happened again. I could rant about how much I hate Alabama. I do, but this loss, like so many of the previous losses, is on us. We lost this game more than Alabama beat us. We had home field advantage and we had the benefit of being the higher-ranked team. But they have our kryptonite. They are our kryptonite.

And talk about missed opportunities. No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 LSU both lost yesterday, and a win over Bama would probably have put No. 5 Georgia into the top three. Now, as it turns out, we have to wait for the AP poll to see how far down the rankings we fall.