Kirby Smart has accomplished everything you can accomplish as a head coach. Rivalry wins. Conference championships. National Championships. Perfect seasons. You name it. But he just cannot find a way to beat Alabama, falling to 1-7 against the Crimson Tide as the Georgia head coach following yet another loss on Saturday night. This time in Athens, removing the last minuscule justification for the thorn in his side.
This was Smart's first crack at Alabama in Sanford Stadium. It ended like almost all of the others have, nonetheless.
Smart has run out of excuses. Georgia had every opportunity to finally get the Alabama monkey off their back, and couldn't do it. Alabama didn't even score in the second half, and yet the Crimson Tide held on to a 24-21 victory in front of an upset but hardly surprised crowd.
Smart's postgame comments did little to make Georgia fans feel better. The Bulldogs are supposed to be the pinnacle of the sport. The new Alabama. But they still can't beat the old Alabama.
When confronted in the postgame with his 1-7 record against Alabama, Smart said: "I mean, what's everybody else's record against them? You got it? I don’t either. I don’t lose sleep over that because those games have been like championship-caliber games. Right?"
No matter what he says, Kirby Smart is absolutely losing sleep over Alabama
Smart is a competitor. No competitor likes to lose. No competitor especially likes to lose over and over again to the same team. It hurts worse when it's the team Smart cut his teeth with: he was the defensive coordinator for Alabama for nine years.
Before last season, Smart could chalk the losses up to running into Nick Saban and the greatest dynasty in the history of the sport. But with Saban gone, Smart is supposed to be the pinnacle of the profession, and Georgia the new king of the mountain.
Despite that, Smart is now 0-2 against Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer has withstood a ton of criticism from the Alabama fanbase, but he frequently has the Crimson Tide prepared for big games like this one. It's the ones that aren't considered "big" that have frequently been a pebble in his shoe.
The good news? The majority of the teams left on the schedule for Alabama are ranked. And every game is a big game when you remove a big chunk of your margin for error by losing the season opener.
For one night, DeBoer got the better of Smart again. In this era of college football, there's a nonzero chance that the two will face off again this season. Maybe in Atlanta. Maybe in the College Football Playoff. Maybe in both.
But no matter the betting line when the two meet on the gridiron, Alabama should be seen as the favorite. Again and again and again until Smart and the Bulldogs can prove they can consistently beat the team they hoped to replace.