5. Kirby Smart gamble did not pay off
Smart from time to time is known for taking big gambles, and usually it pays off for him and Georgia. However, the decision he made at the end of the first half did not pay off for the Bulldogs.
With under a minute to play in the half and Georgia trailing 6-3, Smart decided to get aggressive and try to get some more points on the board instead of being conservative and taking their three point deficit to the halftime locker room. This did not seem like the best idea considering the offenses struggles up to that point, and those feelings became reality when Stockton was hit from behind and fumbled the ball. Notre Dame then went on to score a touchdown on the very next play to take a 10 point lead into halftime.
It's hard to say whether this was the right decision by Smart or not. Obviously it's easy to say it was the wrong choice after the fumble and touchdown by Notre Dame, but even before that happened it still felt like the wrong choice. Georgia's offense had not shown that they could consistently move the ball down the field fast enough where scoring in under a minute was realistic. So that fact alone makes this decision very questionable from Smart.
Who knows if Georgia would have won this game had they only trailed by three at halftime, but regardless this gamble from Smart did not pay off and is a big reason why Georgia lost this game.