“An Extremely Physical Football Game”: Kirby Smart on Georgia’s Win

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. —No.2 Georgia's head coach Kirby Smart praised quarterback Gunner Stockton and running back Dwight Phillips Jr. following the Bulldogs' hard-fought 20-17 victory over No.6 Alabama on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

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The Bulldogs defeated Alabama in a game filled with explosive plays and momentum swings. Georgia finished with nine explosive plays (four passing plays of 20+ yards and five rushing plays of 10+ yards), while Alabama had eight (four passing and four rushing). Together, the two teams totaled 801 yards (Georgia: 455, Alabama: 346), with 367 coming on the ground. 

Each team got a takeaway, and Georgia’s second-quarter 10-0 lead lasted less than two minutes before Alabama quickly struck back with two touchdowns before halftime. One of those touchdowns came on the final play of the first half, when freshman running back Ezavier Crowell bounced a rush outside for a 1-yard score to give Alabama a 14-10 lead going into halftime. 

“What a great college football game, great atmosphere. I’ve been in a bunch of those with them, and they all seem similar—just a physical game, back and forth, critical calls, critical situations. You could go back and look at hundreds of them on there,” Smart added. “At the end of the day, our quarterback played well enough for us to win. We scored enough points to win, but it was an extremely physical football game.” 

Despite missing starting running backs Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens, Georgia rushed for 206 yards against Alabama, including 120 from Phillips on 17 carries.

Smart was asked about Phillips’ performance and the impact he had on the game. Georgia’s head coach went on to rave about the backup running back’s power and toughness, especially for being a smaller back at 180 pounds. Smart also shared his conversation with offensive coordinator Mike Bobo leading up to the game, which resulted in the decision to give Phillips 17 carries on Saturday night. 

“What a great kid, man. He’s Dwight Phillips; y'all don't know how special this kid is. He hasn't complained one time since he's been here. He’s so tough for his size, and Bobo [Mike Bobo, Georgia’s offensive coordinator] came to me before the game and said, ‘Hey, Nate doesn’t look like he can go.’ I said, ‘We got to give it to Peanut.’ And I said, ‘You remember that game when we were at Georgia, and they gave the ball to Torin Kirtsey [Georgia running back from 1995-1996]? He weighed about 175. I don’t know how many times Torin carried it, maybe 30.’” Smart said. “If we got to give it to Dwight that many times, he can do it.”

The Bulldogs' head coach also spoke about senior quarterback Gunner Stockton's leadership and how his experience in the league helped Georgia win on Saturday. The second-year starter went 18-for-22, passing for 249 yards and a touchdown, and rushing for another score. He threw one interception early in the first quarter when Alabama safety Bray Hubbard made a spectacular play to tip the pass. Despite the early interception, Stockton helped Georgia secure a narrow victory in front of 100,077 fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“Yeah, it’s a deal that you get better with experience, so he had a couple of plays that didn’t work out, but he didn’t let them affect him. He had the pick that was kind of batted, and then he had a boot that we thought could be a big play that he underthrew,” Smart included. “He doesn’t let things fester and affect him, and when he’s standing in there and throws a bullet and makes a play, he was able to do it tonight in a really critical situation. The one to Craig over on our sideline on their best corner, he threw a hitch over there, and we just got enough for a first, and then the big, big conversion on third down and whatever it was, seven or eight.”

Smart also addressed Georgia's defensive struggles late in the first half, which allowed Alabama to take a 14-10 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by freshman running back EJ Crowell as time expired.

“Great opening drive, and look, we’ve got all kinds of issues and problems, but one of the first things we talk about is defense in the last two minutes before the half. We’ve been porous—not just this year, but forever—and we’ve got to do a better job. We either have to be more aggressive, eat time, or not give them the ball. I wanted to eat the clock out, but we couldn’t,” Smart added. “We got a penalty or something on offense and had to punt it to them, and here we go again: you give up one play, and it’s like a catastrophe syndrome. Now, I am proud of them because I said, ‘They’re going to run it here. They’re going to run the ball 100 percent. We’ve got to knock them back and not let them run it in,’ and we knocked them back, but, you know, it bounced out.”

Smart and the Bulldogs will be in action next Saturday, Oct. 17, when Georgia hosts Auburn in the Deep South’s oldest rivalry, which Georgia has dominated in recent memory, with the Tigers’ last win against the Bulldogs being back in 2017, and the last time they left Athens with a win was in 2005. 

Micah Nichols covers Alabama baseball, football, and basketball for Tide 100.9. Follow @MicahNichols0 on X for in-game updates, highlights, and more Crimson Tide coverage.