ATLANTA — It was 2016, the Monday before Labor Day. Kirby Smart was readying his first Georgia team for its opener against North Carolina in the Georgia Dome. At his pregame media session, he was asked about Georgia’s most recent appearance in the Dome. He said he didn’t remember the game, which was a fib.
The game had matched No. 3 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama for the 2012 SEC title. It was a de facto BCS semifinal. The Crimson Tide, with Smart as defensive coordinator, beat the Bulldogs, 32-28. The frantic fracas ended on a play that lives in both schools’ lore. Aaron Murray’s pass was tipped by the blitzing C.J. Mosley and caught on the 5-yard-line by receiver Chris Conley. Because UGA had no more timeouts, the clock hit 0:00.
On a Monday in 2016, Smart could have turned to the whiteboard and sketched the play the Bulldogs ran and how his defenders countered. He’d called a double blitz off Georgia’s right flank – a “green dog,” in Tide parlance. Mosley did as directed, leaping above Todd Gurley’s block to deflect Murray’s delivery. Defensive back Geno Matias-Smith should have blitzed, too, but for some reason he latched onto Conley. This led to the receiver stumbling.
