Kirby Smart Would Make Same Fourth Down Decision '10 Out of 10 Times'

No. 17 Alabama upset No. 5 Georgia 24-21 in a monumental road victory to kick off SEC play 1-0. The Crimson Tide clung to a 10-point halftime lead and staved off Bulldog comeback attempts in a raucous environment despite not scoring a second-half point.

The critical moment came to open the fourth quarter as Georgia was battling back, but instead of kicking a 25-yard field goal to tie the game at 24 with 13 minutes remaining the Bulldogs decided to gamble by going for it on fourth-and-one seeking a go-ahed score. Georgia lined up quickly, preventing the Crimson Tide from substituting, but defensive lineman LT Overton was able to defeat his blocker and knock running back Cash Jones off his feet in the backfield to end the drive.

"Yeah, we were third-and-four, I think," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "We had decided previously that if we gained anything, we were going for it. We were probably going to kick a field goal if we didn't get anything. There's a thing called sequencing, where you sequence plays to try to set up and know that you're going to to for it. So we felt like we were going to go for it if we got anything, and we did. We got it down to fourth-and-one, and that play's been really successful for us. We hit Tennessee on it three times for a conversion. We had run it earlier in the night and run it for a conversion. We missed a block that you've got to make, and they ran through and made a really good play, made a really great play to stop it. I'd do that 10-out-of-10 times in terms of going for it. The decision is whether you go for it with tempo or not. We felt like tempo had been really good for us throughout the year. "

Georgia goes for it on 4th down instead of taking the points pic.twitter.com/ud8QamSH9o
— Grant Speaks (@GrantSpeaks1) September 28, 2025

Georgia gave the ball to Jones for his first touch of the game, despite effective running by Chauncey Bowens and powerful short-yardage back Josh McCray throughout the evening. Smart said the Bulldogs practice playing with tempo regularly and thought going quickly gave his team an advantage despite the unusual personnel.

Bowens took six of his 12 carries for first downs and McCray had crossed the goal line from a yard away for the game's only second half touchdown.

"We're talking about third-and-four," Smart said. "We're not talking about the other; we're talking about tempo play is who's in the game. So the decision is, do you stop, slow down, think about it, let them set their cleats in the ground, let them get everything they want, or do you try to hit them quickly? We have a philosophy we believe in. We do it every Tuesday and every Wednesday at our practices, we blow a siren. Siren blows, we go as fast as we can, and it's third-and-one. The defense has to do it, which we had a big stop on them. And the offense has to do it. That's a play that I believe in, and I believe it should work. It just so happens he was in on the third-and-four, so he was in on the fourth down too. "

The Crimson Tide took over on its own 11-yard line and advanced the ball to midfield, while melting five minutes of clock after the stop, giving its defense a cushion to stand up one more time in the final stages of the game. The Bulldogs started their final possession on their own 5-yard line and had to punt after Jones took his only other touch in the game for negative yardage on third-and-long from midfield.