Georgia will be kicking themselves for a long time over their terrible fake punt call against Alabama late in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game.
The Bulldogs were dominating most of their game against the Crimson Tide, up by as much as 14 late in the third quarter. Then Tua Tagovailoa injured his ankle and exited the game, only to be replaced by Jalen Hurts, the guy who was replaced at halftime of last season’s national championship in the same building, against the same opponent.
Hurts rallied the team to tie the game at 28, giving the ball back to Georgia with 5:18 left. The Bulldogs drove to midfield and stalled. They were facing a 4th-and-11 with 3:04 left and made the ultimate panic move: they called a fake punt that got stuffed.
4th & 11
Fake punt
WTH was this#SECchampionship pic.twitter.com/pfirqQgob4
— len martez (@LMart810) December 2, 2018
It’s hard to say what was worse: the decision or the actual play call. Georgia was still in good shape in the game. It was only tied. They’d had Hurts’ number in the past, yet they totally panicked. Had they punted, Hurts and Bama would have had to drive most of the field to try and score. Alabama doesn’t have a good kicking game either, so it’s not as if all they had to do was get to the 35 or so. Georgia might have even gotten the ball back with a defensive stop, and they have the kicking advantage with Rodrigo Blankenship. There was no reason to take such a low-probability risk in that spot.
So what do they do? Go with a direct snap to quarterback Justin Fields — like who didn’t see that coming? Bama did and had the play smothered.
Alabama got the ball with a short field, all fired up, and Hurts led another touchdown drive, this one to win it.
What an absolute bonehead call. Imagine playing incredible football for 56 minutes against a team many considered perhaps the best ever, only to blow it by calling for a moronic fake punt. Kirby Smart, what are you doing???
