At least, that’s how I read this photo.
That’s from Alabama’s Twitter account, and the comments from dying Gumps are glorious.
But does it not feel like, just a little, we were able to right some wrong from the 2017 season? It didn’t yield a ring, or make Nick and Sony not cry, but it felt like some demons were lifted, starting last year with the SECCG and last night with a win at BDS, that somehow some of the voodoo that is Alabama football was erased.
Kirby now has two wins in a row against Alabama, and he’s now 3-7 all time. One was for a National Championship, one for an SEC Championship, and this one remains to be seen what it’s for.
Maybe it wasn’t for anything else but to say the mojo is gone, and the Achilles Heel of Kirby Smart has finally been fixed. If that’s the real case, then this team, and this coach, is really damned dangerous.
Let’s beat them one more time in Atlanta before we say the demons of the Nick Saban era are exorcised.
The bottom line is Kirby is now 3-3 against Alabama from 2021-present.
Let’s see how bammer responds. Truth is that they’ve improved. QB is a damned stud. They are more physical and more enthusiastic than they’ve been. Will they maintain? Will they fall apart? We’ll see. They got two big roadies in front of them in Knoxville and BR.
What we know is that Kirby ain’t playing. He’s going to build a roster of tough, mean, football loving ball players. Its taken a couple of years since that awful Sugar Bowl vs ND for us to completely adjust to the new era, but we’re back to a level of play, relative to the opposition, of the pre-NIL era that we were just dominating.
We’ll see what challengers emerge. Maybe it will be bammer. Maybe it won’t.
Their QB is extremely talented. His processing skills are not there yet. I hope they don’t get better until he’s drafted.
This team can definitely win it all, if we stay focused and avoid more major injuries
It definitely feels like that. Down our top two running backs, the officials were all over us while Bammer got Bammer privilege…until they didn’t. Our guys making mental mistake after me tal mistake innthe first half especially. And we still won. I think three plays illustrate how the worm has finally turned. The Stewart kid jumping on the Sacovie White muffed punt. Innthe past that would have been just the sort of play Alabama needed but it went our way instead. The no call onnthe KJ Bolden PI. Some are saying the ball wasnt catchable. Personally I don’t care. That was the sort of thing Alabama usually gets away with and then tells us to stop crying when we point it out. It went our way this time. The third is one that isnt being talked about. The Alabama defender shoving Craig Dandredge and getting a penalty that sealed Bammer’s fate. That is the sort of thing we used to do, lose our cool in a moment we could least afford to do it and let victory slip through our fingers. This time it went our way. I’m not saying we will never lose to Alabama again. But that annoying mental block is gone now.
Dandredge sold the shit out of it too. WWE is on line 2…
Oh and as far as Keelon Russell goes, yes Hes fast, yes he has a good arm. He also makes a lot of stupid mistakes. DJ Lagway is who he reminds me of.
Mmmm…no.
I wish, but no.
That is a special football player.
No reason to diminish what we were able to do to him last night. I wasn’t surprised because I didn’t think they’d seen team speed, discipline and physicality like we have. Plus, a team that depends upon qb/wr can be disrupted and lose timing, rhythm, confidence. But 12 was throwing punches until the very end and probably deserved a tying fg try, at a minimum.
I have a good sense of what 12 will be: the No. 1 pick in 2028. What will he have around him until then? Tbd.
Maybe. I’m just not seeing WhATS so amazing. Very athletically gifted but I don’t see why people are so wowed. We have seen lots of young super athletically gifted guys. Big deal. I didn’t see anything that makes him different.
Arm talent. Accuracy. Can extend plays behind the line. Can extend drives with his feet.
How many 3rd downs did he convert on his own? He’s a more physically-gifted Bryce Young. He’s faster than Deshaun Watson. Prototypical modern-age qb. Eventually, he’ll be able to see things presnap better, get into more advantageous play calls, and adjust quicker to a defense changing the picture at the snap.
All that takes time and seasoning. That was start 6.
I hope someday that we’ll have one of them. Tired of playing them and never having one of our own.
I agree Derek. I think he’s super talented, and already a smart QB. But the Dawgs threw a lot of looks at him, brought pressure from multiple places at different times, and have more team speed than he’s seen. That’s a lot to process in his sixth start. If he improves year to year the way Gunner has from last year to this year, he will be pretty special.
The good part is he’ll leave after next year. He’s a redshirt and too talented to hank around any longer than he has to (see Oregon’s Moore)
Kirby’s got a space on his trophy wall ready for DeBoer’s head. One step closer last night. Right up there with Mullen, Malzahn, Napier, Freeze, etc.
Shoot, Im hoping we beat bama with more back breaking ref calls for quite a foreseeable future. Im glad they are losing the same way they were accustomed to winning.