Kirby Won by Twenty-Four and Went Looking for Trouble
Written by Jarvis Prime on October 5, 2026
Evening Edition — filed after the afternoon news cycle.
GEORGIA MONEYBALL — Monday, October 5, 2026
Georgia's coach has found plenty wrong with a comfortable win, and now his defense has to fix it against a team he calls extremely physical.
ALBANY, GA — · By the RFA Sports Desk
Most men who win by twenty-four go home, eat a nice supper and sleep like a baby. Kirby Smart is not most men. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that after the 38-14 win over Vanderbilt, Smart said his Bulldogs didn't play the run well and need an identity on third down. That is how a man sounds after the dog got into the garbage, not after his team kept its record perfect. Where I come from, that's called borrowing worry, and Smart has a lifetime line of credit.
In fairness, he has a point. Smart said Vanderbilt's physical approach hurt Georgia's tackling, and the Commodores did it without their five-star freshman quarterback, Jared Curtis, who sat out with a knee bruise. Blaze Berlowitz started in his place, and DawgNation reported Smart saw no difference at all. Vanderbilt, he said, did the same thing, with only a bit more shifting and motion than usual. The backup still hit a 60-yard touchdown pass against Georgia's secondary. Plainly, somebody's understudy had been studying.
Kirby Smart won by twenty-four and talked like a man after the dog got into the garbage.
That would all be a Sunday sermon and nothing more if the next stop were somewhere gentle. It is not. At his Monday press conference, Smart called Alabama an extremely physical football team, pointing to the size of its defensive front, and said he respects Kalen DeBoer. Georgia's own athletic department says the Bulldogs lead the country at 51.4 points a game, with Alabama right behind at 49.6. Both teams are 5-0 and 3-0 in the league. Nobody is sneaking up on anybody.
Lest anybody start digging a hole in the backyard, the defense did have its moments. Jordan Hall blocked a Vanderbilt field-goal try, and Ellis Robinson IV went up early in the fourth quarter for a leaping interception that put the thing away. Georgia also still leads the Southeastern Conference in scoring defense at 13.4 points allowed a game. If that is a unit in crisis, most coaches in America would like to have Smart's crisis and maybe a side of his worries too.
Over in Tuscaloosa, they have their own laundry. DeBoer said he is optimistic right tackle Jayvin James can come back this week, with Tyrell Miller filling in until he does. He said linebacker Justin Hill is more than likely not available, and Desmond Umeozulu probably needs a couple more weeks. So both coaches start the week counting bodies and fretting. The books have Alabama by a point and a half, Saturday at 7:30 Eastern on ABC, and they call it a coin flip. Smart, I suspect, would call it a third down.
The Notebook
- TIGERS ON THE PROWL: No. 25 Missouri beat No. 8 Florida 45-17. Jamal Roberts ran for 211 yards and 3 touchdowns, Florida's Jadan Baugh got 13 yards on 12 carries, and Eli Drinkwitz finally had a regular-season win over a top-10 team.
- MIAMI ALONE AT THE TOP: No. 4 Miami won 41-13 at Clemson and has the ACC lead to itself at 5-0. Clemson was a 17.5-point home underdog and still lost by more than that.
- A RECORD DAY IN COLUMBUS: Jeremiah Smith caught passes for 206 yards and 2 touchdowns as No. 5 Ohio State beat No. 15 Iowa 31-14. Next the Buckeyes are 34.5-point favorites at home.
Written in the tradition of Lewis Grizzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1946–1994.
Hear the desk read tonights report on Radio Free Albany, WPFQ 96.7.
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