Opening statement:
“Well this was an obvious great win against a very, very good football team. I was really proud of the way our guys fought in the game. I kind of knew it was going to be sort of a 15-round fight, probably wouldn’t be winning the fight until a later round and you know we got behind early in the game and the players kept playing the game and kept fighting. I think it was a great win against a very, very good team. I have a lot of respect for Georgia, a lot of respect for the coaches. I have a lot of respect for their players. Especially proud of our guys, to be able to do what they did, this was a great win for them. They worked hard. They were excited after the game. They were really happy.
“I have got a lot of gratitude myself for the way they sort of handled all the disruption of the week, with the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday deal. They really stayed focused. I was able to keep good communication with them. I think they responded with a lot of maturity, not to let this brother them. The norm now is disruption, it’s the norm. We knew that coming into the season and I am really pleased with the way the players managed the disruption of this week.
“I think one thing to keep in mind, great win, this is a great win for our team but, humility always keeps you hungry. It’s one game, against a very good team. We are going to have to continue to improve in a lot of areas and we are going to have to continue to work hard to try and play an SEC game every week. It’s tough and the players have to respond every week cause I think everyone we play in this league can beat you if you don’t bring your A-game. That’s going to be very important for us. Spend 24 hours enjoying this, but when that’s over, we have to go back and work and we have to get better.
“The turnovers in the second half were huge. The defense played a little better in the second half. We got off the field in third down a little better. I think the offense did a magnificent job against Georgia’s really, really good defense. They’ve got a really good defense. Our guys did a good job of executing. We stayed focused on technical execution throughout the game. Still made some mistakes, especially in the first half on defense, settled down and played a little better in the second half, so really proud of our guys all the way around.
“We had some great performances out there, Najee (Harris), Smitty (DeVonta Smith), (Jaylen) Waddle. A lot of guys really played. Really I’m proud of the whole team cause they all played so hard it is unfair to not point out that this was a great win for everybody on the team.”
On the three receivers and their ability at any given moment:
“Trying to cover outstanding receivers, is really a difficult task. You have to have a really, really good secondary, you have to have really good guys to matchup. That’s been an advantage for us. It was a huge advantage for us last year, and it’s an advantage for us this year. To be able to make explosive plays with these guys and their ability to convert on third down. People have a tough time covering them man-to-man, which is a good thing. It’s great. It’s probably the strength of our team. We have got a lot more experience on offensive line, good runners, tight ends played well for us tonight. These receivers are special.”
On what Mac Jones proved tonight against this defense:
“What happened on the first play of the game wasn’t Mac’s fault. He got hit. Smitty beat the guy. They run corner cat, the safeties have got to cover. The same deal where #8 scores, where Johnathon scores later in the game, same deal. They run corner cat and we run by the safety. We didn’t block that side, guard didn’t pan out, so we got hit. Wasn’t Mac’s fault. He should’ve been protected longer. Najee actually blocked the corner cat, which is usually the guy you let go, but those are the kind of things you’ve got to clean up. I think Mac did very well. He stayed in a good place, he had his eyes in the right place most of the time on most of the reads and played really well.”
Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart
Opening Statement
“Give Alabama a lot of credit. They have great skill players, and I thought we contained them early. The second half we couldn’t do it. Give their coaches credit. They outcoached us. Frustrated we couldn’t get anything going in the second half. We played a really great football team, and we had some costly turnovers. Give them credit, and we have to go back to the drawing board. We still control our own destiny.”
On the breakdowns on defense:
“They made a couple big throws. They beat us on some bubble plays and a double move with Waddle. They made a lot of big plays on 50/50 balls. Smith and Waddle had some big catches.”
On the end of the second quarter and momentum shift:
“I thought it brought their crowd back into it. We didn’t want to give up a big shot to (Jaylen) Waddle, and we didn’t play that aggressive. That is on me, and the official on my side said they had time and they ended up getting a field goal. We should have played more aggressive, but we have to get better.”
#13 Stetson Bennett | Jr. | QB
On how he sees it for himself and his game:
“I just didn’t play well enough. I have to figure out how to not give bad balls, have to figure out how to not throw interceptions and how to score point in the second half.”
On what he saw on the interceptions:
“The first one was a batted ball. The second was tipped up. The third one I was trying to do too much and just threw it across my body. It wasn’t smart and I just threw it right to the guy.”
On not scoring in the second half:
“I don’t know. I still feel like we moved it but we just didn’t finish the drives. We are going to have to watch the film and see what happened.”
On the mentality after his third interception:
“I was frustrated. I was frustrated with myself. Mentality didn’t change, we still went down and moved the ball. I just can’t have interceptions like that.”
On the potential to get to play Alabama again:
“Our destiny is still controlled by us, which is how you want it. If we win out, we will probably see those guys, or somebody else, and we will be in the SEC Championship, so everything we want is still ahead of us.”
#2 Richard LeCounte | Sr. | DB
On the pass interference call that led to a touchdown:
“Penalties will get you beat. We have to be better in the secondary. We were able to make some plays, but they made more plays than us. They have a great wide receiver group, great quarterback, great team.”
On Alabama hitting big plays through the passing game:
“We have to play better as a secondary. We gave up some big plays that they were able to capitalize on. They have perfect throws, perfect catches and we were playing a great ball club in Alabama.”
On if this causes Georgia to go back to the drawing board:
“We have a great team, man. The team who played better tonight won. It’s not really a demoralizing thing, but we will go back to the drawing board where we are able to fix where we messed up tonight and finish our season out. We’re good. It’s just a little bump in our road. We are here to learn from our experience and get better so they next time we’ll be good.”
