Kirby Smart Shares Story From Last Time Alabama Faced the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart recounts his experience from Alabama's most recent trip to Sanford Stadium.

The Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide are set for one of the most impactful matchups of the 2025 regular season as the two programs converge on Sanford Stadium for a week five clash. This will be the first meeting between these two teams in Athens since the 2015 season.

Alabama dominated Georgia in that 2015 matchup, jumping out to a 35-point lead and ultimately leaving with a 38-10 victory. The Crimson Tide would go on to win the national championship that season, while Georgia head coach Mark Richt was eventually fired.

Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart was in attendance for the matchup, as he was actively serving as the Crimson Tide's defensive coordinator under Nick Saban at the time. During a media presser, Smart revealed a fascinating story from the Alabama sideline.

"A run broke out late on us [Alabama] and the D-line tried to fight the linebackers on the sideline because they were pissed that they gave up over 100 yards rushing," said Smart. "I always tell that story about when you have D-linemen that are mad and willing to fight when you’re up 15-20 points, you know you’ve got a good team."

Smart's comments referred to an 83-yard touchdown run from Nick Chubb in the final play of the third quarter. The run provided the Bulldogs with 100 rushing yards, a feat that teams rarely reached against the Crimson Tide under Nick Saban.

Georgia will look to have a different outcome in this year's meeting as the Dawgs look for their first regular-season victory over Alabama since 2007. The Dawgs have won just one of the last 10 matchups against the Crimson Tide and are currently on a two-game losing streak.

Georgia will kick off its week five matchup with Alabama on Saturday, September 27th, in Sanford Stadium. Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and coverage will be made available on ABC.