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Darrell Huckaby is a syndicated columnist and author of six books including two about Georgia football. Read Huck’s Wit and Wisdom every Wednesday and Sunday. Subscribe at darrellhuckaby.net.
12.09.25
Ebb Tide in Mercedes Benz; Dawgs on Top—once again.
We have exorcized the demons.
No. This time I mean it.
The Georgia fans—most of us—have feared Alabama for a while. OK. All of us who are honest. Kirby hasn’t. Not once. Not for a single solitary moment. Not when his mentor was coaching on the other sideline. Not when his team was trailing the Crimson Tide 28-0 in Tuscaloosa in 2024. (I was listening to that game in the middle of the night on a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.) Not when Alabama jumped ahead 14-0 and 17-7 in the ill-fated game in September. (I was watching on a small television set at MD Anderson in Houston.)
Kirby didn’t fear Alabama last week when the Texas Aggies fell to the Texas Longhorns, propelling Georgia into the SEC Championship game against their long-time nemesis. I will freely admit that after the Tech game I was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted, even though I hadn’t played a snap or made a single play-call. I was pulling hard for a 34-day rest period while Kirby was eager to return to Atlanta in eight days and play for Georgia’s third SEC title in four years.
I should have known. If God could create the universe in six days, Kirby could get his team ready to play Alabama in seven. And ready we were.
And that is what separates Kirby Smart from every other football coach in America today. His work ethic. His belief that you learn to play football—to block and to tackle—only by playing football. Only by blocking and tackling. Kirby never quits coaching. Most college football teams are as good by the end of September as they are going to be. Many are actually better in the middle of September than they are going to be in, say, the last weekend in November—or the first Saturday in December.
Not Kirby’s teams. Kirby keeps coaching, his players get better and stronger—even when banged up physically—and his team gets better. And Saturday in Atlanta his Georgia Bulldogs took Alabama to the woodshed. It was belt meet ass in an epic beatdown.
I love Gunner Stockton. Gunner should not have been the MVP Saturday. They should have brought the entire Georgia defense up on the podium for that presentation.
Ty Simpson, who had stood in the pocket looking like a twenty-first century Johnny Unitas in the September contest was under duress all night. You talk about a group of Georgia Bulldogs getting after a quarterback’s ass—you saw it Saturday. My favorite play was the one where he took a knee for a five-yard loss rather than get hit again.
We held Alabama to minus-three yards rushing. Minus-three. I had more yards walking to the bathroom in the first quarter than Alabama did all day. The Tide wound up with 212 yards passing, but even that number was inflated by a penalty-aided drive when the game had already been decided.
And how about Kalen DeBoeur being forced into a situation where he had to go for a first down on fourth and two on his own twelve.
Glory, glory!
What a game. 28-7 and it really wasn’t even that close. In classic Georgia style, once the game was in hand we got conservative on offense and did just enough to salt the game away. There is a reason that we have won 54 games in a row when leading at halftime.
My favorite Mike Bobo moment of the day was the one-yard touchdown pass from Gunner to the seldom used Roderick Robinson. Genius.
I think Zacharius Branch’s next two receptions will tie him with Brice Hunter for most catches in a season. The transfer portal ain’t all bad.
I loved Daylen Everette’s INT. He scoped it out and broke on the ball like he was Jake Scott, God rest his soul. Jake’s. Not Daylen’s.
And I was really rooting for the shutout. We had them stopped, too—before the ref caught Ellis Robinson retaliating against a Bama receiver by slapping his headgear.
Not to worry. 28-7 seems to be our go-to score for revenging in-season losses in the SEC Championship game.
So how ‘bout them Dawgs. Look for me on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Eve.
Or. Better yet—come go with me. I got a great trip lined up. Deluxe motor coach, three nights at a French Quarter hotel. Several meals. You don’t have to worry about anything. Come go to the game with the good-looking guy in the red shirt. Email DHuck008@gmail.com for the details.
And go Dawgs. These are the good-old days of Georgia football.
Darrell Huckaby
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