After entering Saturday’s matchup against the No. 17-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on a 33-game win streak at home, the No. 5-ranked Georgia Bulldogs sent their fans home with some bitter disappointment.
Alabama pulled off an incredible upset, knocking off Georgia 24-21 in one of the best games of the young college football season so far. Not only were the Crimson Tide underdogs in the rankings, but they went on the road in Athens and led the Bulldogs from start to finish.
Similarly to their meeting last year, Georgia trailed early and managed to fight its way back. But after bringing the game to within three points in the third quarter, the Bulldogs had a number of opportunities to put points on the board but left empty-handed, coming up just short of a pulling off the comeback victory.
One of those opportunities was a deep touchdown dropped by freshman receiver Talyn Taylor, which would have put the Bulldogs up 28-24. Following the drop, Georgia couldn’t seem to get things going consistently on offense, and a questionable decision could have cost the team the game.
Fans Turned on Kirby Smart Over Questionable Fourth-Quarter Decisions
Not only did the Bulldogs miss some opportunities on the field, but one of the most costly mistakes of the game was made by head coach Kirby Smart as he decided to go for it on 4th-and-1 when Georgia could have kicked a field goal to tie the game.
Chas Jones was stopped for a 3-yard loss, and UGA turned the ball over on downs, letting Alabama milk more than five minutes off the clock on its ensuing possession as it drove 49 yards before punting.
Additionally, Smart decided to use one of Georgia’s three timeouts prior to the two-minute warning ahead of a 3rd-and-1 situation, which also ended up costing the team badly after it gave up a first down.
These questionable decisions have led college football fans to take to social media to call for the firing of Smart.
“I’ve never seen a team shoot themselves in the foot this bad in my lifetime. Dropped a game leading catch. Didn’t take a field goal. Punt the ball with three minutes left. Costly penalty after stopping a 3rd down play. Kirby Smart needs to be fired NOW,” exclaimed one fan.
“It’s time to fire Kirby Smart,” another fan said.
“Didn’t kick the field goal on 4th coulda tied the game instead do a pathetic halfback toss !! Mike BoBo deserved to be fired Kirby you allowed that you lost by 3 could have tied !!! THIS GAMES ON KIRBY SMART,” another fan declared.
“Kirby Smart should be fired for not kicked a field goal,” scoffed one user.
“If this game doesn’t get Kirby Smart fired, nothing will,” another user stated.
“Kirby Smart should be fired for loosing at home to a team without a coach,” another fan wrote.
Though Smart has been a staple for the Bulldogs and led them to multiple national championships, Saturday’s game was a disappointing loss for Georgia that likely could have been avoided with some better coaching.
Taking it to the extent of firing Smart over one loss may be a bit extreme, but it’s hard to deny how poor his decision-making was to close the game out.
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