The Trifecta: Three reasons Georgia lost to Alabama

Georgia lost to Alabama 24-21 on Saturday night in Sanford Stadium. UGASports breaks down three reasons the Bulldogs fell to the Crimson Tide.

Third-down defense

Georgia’s defense played well on the early downs in the beginning stages of the game. Third downs, however, were a much different story.

Alabama converted four third downs on its opening touchdown drive, including a third-and-10 and a third-and-goal from the six that resulted in a touchdown. The Crimson Tide then converted four more attempts on their second drive, which ended in another score and a 14-0 lead.

“I’ve coached a lot of years and we’ve never been 13 of 19 on third down, and that tells the tale of the game,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said after the game. “We controlled the line of scrimmage and held the run down for them, which was the goal, and then we got win on third down, and we did not play well on third down, and it showed pretty much all night.”

Offense’s missed chances

Trailing by three in the second half, Georgia had a pair of possessions start near midfield. But just like the last game against Tennessee, the Bulldogs failed to capitalize.

The first came after a fourth-down stop of Alabama. Georgia went three-and-out, with the sequence featuring a dropped would-be touchdown by freshman Talyn Taylor.

Georgia’s next drive started on its own 46. The Bulldogs drove into Alabama territory, but came up empty.

A tale of two field goals

That Georgia possession ended on a fourth-down stop in the red zone. The Bulldogs went fast on fourth-and-one, but Cash Jones was tackled for a loss.

“We had decided previous to that if we gained anything, we were going for it,” Smart said after the game. “We were going to probably kick the field goal if we didn’t get anything. So, there’s a thing called sequencing where you sequence plays to try to set up and know that you’re going to go for it. So, we felt we were going to go for it if we got anything, and we did.”

Georgia gave up a virtually guaranteed three points on that drive. Earlier in the game, the Bulldogs gifted Alabama three points when the Crimson Tide recovered a Nate Frazier fumble at the Bulldog 11.