Georgia and Alabama were tied with about three minutes left in Saturday’s SEC Championship, 28-28. The Dawgs had fourth-and-11 at midfield, and instead of just punting the pigskin away, Kirby Smart decided to get creative.
This disastrous Georgia fake punt helped hand Bama the SEC Championship
Given the situation and result, this fake is one of the worst ever.
It did not work.
The Dawgs have two highly touted quarterbacks on the roster. The starter, sophomore Jake Fromm, has mostly kept the freshman, Justin Fields, on the bench. Maybe Smart was just really grasping for ways to get Fields involved, so he decided, “Hey, let’s use him as an up man on the punt team and try to con Alabama with a devious fake punt.”
Whatever the rationale, it was an absolute Hindenburg of a play. Fields looked like he was set to throw quickly, but nothing was open. By the time something did look to come open downfield, Fields had lowered his shoulders and gone into a running posture, committed to try to weave his way through the defense. He got 2 yards when he needed 11.
Alabama, with a short field, mounted a five-play, 52-yard touchdown drive to take the lead. Jalen Hurts’ 15-yard touchdown run was the go-ahead score with 64 seconds left.
Georgia mounted a bit of a drive after that, but a Hail Mary fell incomplete. Alabama’s back in the Playoff, and Georgia has to hope for mercy from the committee.
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