On one hand, this wasn’t a loss to South Carolina – it was a road loss as an underdog to a top 2 team. On the other hand, I get the exasperation. Kirby Smart was brought in to get Georgia over the hump from very good to elite. After four years of trading top-rated recruiting class honors with Alabama, you’d expect the talent level to begin to make Georgia something other than the plucky underdog in this series.

Even the perspective-seeking is predictable and familiar. Georgia still has its goals in front of it. Check. Georgia still controls its own destiny. Check. All we need is someone telling us the loss was just what the program needed. Wait – got that too. It’s like your Facebook Memories from October 2018 and 2019 popping up.

But here we are again – a bit of normalcy in an abnormal season. There are differences, of course. This loss came as a road underdog to a very good Alabama team. The takeaway is the same: Georgia must win out, must beat Florida, and must reach the SEC Championship to hope for another shot at Alabama, etc, etc.

The deja vu even creeped into to the game itself. See if this rings a bell:

2nd & 10 at ALA 26
(6:32 – 3rd) Tua Tagovailoa pass intercepted Deandre Baker return for no gain to the Alab 39

1st & 10 at ALA 39
(6:21 – 3rd) Jake Fromm pass intercepted Raekwon Davis return for 19 yds to the Geo 40

That was a pivotal moment in the 2018 national title game. Georgia missed a chance to open up a big lead on the blocked punt, and Alabama tallied their first score of the game. Georgia answered with a long touchdown pass and again had the ball in Alabama territory following Baker’s interception with a 20-7 lead. Raekwon Davis picked a tipped pass out of the air and returned it across midfield. Alabama tacked on a field goal and began a run of 13 straight points to send the game to overtime.

Saturday’s similar exchange of turnovers came far too early in the game to be considered a pivotal moment. It did establish a theme for the game: tipped passes at the line of scrimmage frustrated a Georgia passing game that had some early-season success across the middle. The Stetson Bennett story has been a highlight of the season, but the Alabama game was a dose of reality that showed the limits of this dream story. Bennett might be enough to get Georgia back to Atlanta at the end of the year, and that in itself would be a remarkable accomplishment, but that’s little consolation for fans seeing a special defense squandered for a second straight season.

That said, I don’t think this game was necessarily an example of Bennett hitting his ceiling. Remember, he’s had a handful of weeks getting first-team reps. He’s not the quarterback who spent all summer throwing to these receivers. He was an afterthought while Todd Monken was installing his offense and probably received very little individualized instruction. Put that limited preparation up against a Nick Saban gameplan – even with this Alabama defense – and you’re asking a lot. He’ll improve, but it that enough? Georgia’s offense is in a bit of a pickle. It would benefit from running the ball more and asking less of Bennett as he gains experience. At the same time, unless the running game is performing at a level on par with, say, the 2017 Georgia team, it’s not going to keep up with explosive passing offenses at Clemson and Alabama. The Georgia running game is fine – above-average even. It’s not yet consistent enough or explosive enough to reduce the load on Bennett (or any quarterback) when playing the kinds of opponents against which this team should and will be measured.

Good vs. better

The game was a humbling experience for Georgia’s secondary. Alabama’s top-flight receivers are NFL quality, no doubt. Georgia’s defensive backfield is also supposed to have its share of future pros. Tyson Campbell earned accolades for his performance against Seth Williams and Auburn’s talented receivers, but he became part of someone else’s highlight reel on Saturday. That’s not to pick on Campbell; few Georgia defenders were effective in slowing down Alabama’s skill players. Alabama also used motion and formations to create mismatches that put outstanding receivers against Georgia’s linebackers, safeties, and star.

I wrote last week about the Tennessee game turning when Georgia’s pressure began to reach the quarterback. Zero first half sacks became 5, and subsequent turnovers put the game away. Ojulari’s opening play aside, Georgia again had trouble getting enough pressure to derail the Alabama passing game. It wasn’t for lack of trying – blitzes came from all over the field, and even the secondary featured in the pressure. Alabama was outstanding in picking up this pressure and coordinating the line, backs, and tight end to handle whatever Georgia threw at them. Alabama also used Georgia’s pressure against them: an early corner blitz left Lewis Cine on a speedy receiver for Alabama’s first touchdown. Georgia’s scheme often left defenders in isolated coverage against Alabama’s skill players. The combination of decent protection and Georgia’s inability to defend one-on-one matchups without a penalty allowed Alabama to hit the explosive pass plays that make this the nation’s best offense.

So was Georgia overhyped as the nation’s best defense? Perhaps. It wasn’t the defense’s best game for sure, but Alabama will do that to a lot of defenses. Georgia did several things well, stopped their share of Alabama drives, and forced Alabama to make precise plays – which they did. It’s also possible that “best defense” is relative next to where offenses are at this stage of the season. Even the best of defenses has soft spots that need improvement, and Georgia’s pass defense – especially downfield – isn’t up to par yet. Alabama had the perfect set of tools to take advantage of that.

We’ve embraced Georgia’s defense as a “no-name” group that doesn’t feature many standouts but which also doesn’t have many weak links and plays front-to-back as a cohesive and disciplined unit. This game illustrated the value of standouts. Alabama has several on offense – Waddle, Smith, and Harris are future high draft picks that can take over games. Georgia lacks those players on the other side of the ball. Even good, solid future pros can be made to look ordinary against elite counterparts. That’s not to say that certain players can’t perform better or be put in better positions to succeed. You just don’t see a Chase Young or even Roquan Smith capable of blowing up a quality opponent’s best intentions. We faced an offense that does have several of those players who can dominate a game.

Three little points

The field goal at the end of the half was just three points, but it helped to frame the third quarter. Without that field goal, Alabama’s 90-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter simply ties the game. Their second score a few minutes later after would have kept the game within a single score. A single-score margin heading into the fourth quarter would have seemed a lot more manageable than a 10-point deficit, and maybe Bennett doesn’t press as much on his final interception. No, a 14-point final margin is no less of a statement than a 17-point margin, but in a game that was contested until that final interception, the mindset changes in a single-possession game.