Kirby Smart has transformed Georgia football in a way that few could have realistically imagined when he was hired by his alma mater after the 2015 season.
Under Smart’s watch, what had been a consistently successful program that always fell painfully short of its loftiest goals has become a juggernaut. Since 2017, the Bulldogs have gone 114-16, won four SEC championships and captured two national titles, the first of which ended an agonizing 41-year drought.
By any measurement, Smart has excelled as Georgia’s coach. Well, almost any measurement.
For all the wins and trophies he has racked up during his 11 seasons in Athens, Smart has fared relatively poorly in games against
Alabama, where he was the defensive coordinator under Nick Saban from 2008-15. Since taking over at Georgia, his teams have beaten the Crimson Tide only two times.
This weekend, he’ll get another crack at his former employer, when No. 2 Georgia hits the road to take on No. 7 Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 10 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in a highly anticipated Week 6 matchup between a pair of teams with national championship aspirations.
Before the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide meet up, here’s a look at Smart’s history against Alabama:
Kirby Smart record vs Alabama
Smart’s teams are just 2-7 against Alabama during his tenure at Georgia. It’s a number that's that much more jarring when you consider Smart’s record against all other teams: a sterling 120-14 mark.
There’s an even sharper contrast when you limit that stretch to Smart’s record since the 2017 season, when he first faced off against Alabama. During that stretch, he’s 2-7 against the Tide and 112-9 against all other opponents.
"What's everybody else's record against them?" Smart said when asked about his record against Alabama following a 2024 loss. "Anybody got one better than 1-6 that's played them six times? I don't think so."
Alabama’s 24-21 win against the Bulldogs in 2025 snapped Georgia’s 33-game home win streak that stretched all the way back to 2019. It was, somewhat amazingly, the first time Smart had faced off against the Tide in Sanford Stadium in Athens, which has perhaps contributed to his struggles. Three of the losses to Alabama came in the SEC championship game.
He’s fared slightly better against Kalen DeBoer than he did against Saban, his former mentor. Smart has gone 1-2 against DeBoer, who replaced Saban after the 2024 season. He had been 1-5 against Saban.
The Bulldogs have been far from overwhelmed in most of those games, meaning his record is very nearly better. Of their seven losses to Alabama during Smart’s tenure, five were decided by one score.
If nothing else, Smart has made his wins over the Tide count. Last season, the Bulldogs stomped Alabama, 28-7, in the SEC championship game, giving them their third conference title in the past four years and helping them earn the No. 2 seed to the College Football Playoff. Then, of course, there was Georgia’s 33-18 victory in the national championship game during the 2021 season, giving the program its first national title since 1980
Kirby Smart games vs Alabama
Here’s a game-by-game look at how Georgia has fared against Alabama under Smart:
- Jan. 8, 2018: Alabama 26, Georgia 23*
- Dec. 1, 2018: Alabama 35, Georgia 28**
- Oct. 17, 2020: Alabama 41, Georgia 24
- Dec. 4, 2021: Alabama 41, Georgia 24**
- Jan. 10, 2022: Georgia 33, Alabama 18*
- Dec. 2, 2023: Alabama 27, Georgia 24**
- Sept. 28, 2024: Alabama 41, Georgia 34
- Sept. 27, 2025: Alabama 24, Georgia 21
- Dec. 6, 2025: Georgia 28, Alabama 7**
* College Football Playoff championship game
** SEC championship game
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kirby Smart has been dominant at Georgia. Against Alabama, it's been a different story
