Kirby Smart reflects on game-changing plays in loss at Alabama, Stetson Bennett’s performance
By Keith Farner
Published:
Georgia struggled to contain Alabama’s wide receivers, and QB Stetson Bennett IV made some critical mistakes, but coach Kirby Smart maintains that the Bulldogs still control, “what’s in front of us.”
That was the message after a 41-24 loss at Alabama when Bennett completed 18 of 40 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns, including an 82-yarder to James Cook to build momentum in the first half. But he also threw three interceptions.
Here is what Smart shared with the media after the game:
KIRBY: The Stokes penalty was huge. That was third down. Then they are first and goal. You can’t do that.
— DawgPost (@Dawg_Post) October 18, 2020
Kirby Smart says the pressure Alabama’s wide receivers place on defenses with vertical routes leads to more penalties than usual. Georgia had its share tonight.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) October 18, 2020
Kirby Smart 💬”The schedule change doesn’t do much. We just get to rest now as opposed to resting before going to play Florida.”
— 960 The Ref (@960theref) October 18, 2020
KIRBY: We thought (Saban) had a false positive.
— DawgPost (@Dawg_Post) October 18, 2020
KIRBY: Alabama is everything you want to be in a football team because of their physically. We are trying to do the same thing. We didn’t do that tonight.
— DawgPost (@Dawg_Post) October 18, 2020
Kirby Smart 💬”I think we’re getting better at running the ball. I thought we ran it well. We tried to keep them off balance with the passing game. But we didn’t make enough plays.”
— 960 The Ref (@960theref) October 18, 2020
Kirby Smart 💬”We’re honest with the players. We’ll show them what they did well, and we’ll show them what they didn’t do well.”
— 960 The Ref (@960theref) October 18, 2020
Kirby Smart 💬””We just played a really good football team. We need to get better and that’s on me.”
— 960 The Ref (@960theref) October 18, 2020
Kirby Smart 💬”We have to do a better job to get our players in position to be successful.”
— 960 The Ref (@960theref) October 18, 2020
Kirby Smart 💬”We still control what’s in front of us, by how we play.”
— 960 The Ref (@960theref) October 18, 2020
Kirby Smart 💬”Stokes had Devonta Smith covered really well.”
— 960 The Ref (@960theref) October 18, 2020
Kirby Smart 💬”Stetson made a couple of boneheaded mistakes, and got away with some, but not everything was his fault.”
— 960 The Ref (@960theref) October 18, 2020
Kirby Smart 💬”Stetson isn’t perfect. But he’s growing and he’s learning.”
— 960 The Ref (@960theref) October 18, 2020
Kirby Smart 💬”We have to help Stetson with the run game around him. We can’t have him throw that many times and be successful.”
— 960 The Ref (@960theref) October 18, 2020
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
