Kirby Smart's quote on the SEC Championship Game should fire Georgia fans up

Every game matters. That has been the narrative driving this Georgia team to the brink of winning back-to-back SEC championships for the first time in Kirby Smart's coaching career. While he has won the SEC thrice since taking over his alma mater, he has never won it back-to-back. That is what is at stake when the defending SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs will face the Alabama Crimson Tide.

When asked about the significance of the SEC Championship in the playoff era, Smart offered this.

"Well, every game's a playoff game because for us, every game to this point would have probably taken us out of the SEC Championship Game, or out of the playoff. Your back is against the wall every weekend in this conference. It's not new to either team, it's the next one. You can't make it bigger than it is. It's a big moment. It's a chance for an SEC championship."

Smart then added perhaps the most important nugget in his 50-second quote about the game itself.

"Around our place, they put numbers up and banners in the hallways when you win an SEC championship, and that's significant to me. These kids, these players, they want an opportunity to win this conference. They mostly grew up around this conference, and they know how hard it is to achieve an SEC championship. We want to be at our best and we've got an elite opponent to go against to do it."

While it might not be easy, Smart has the right mindset to do two things he has never done before...

Outside of potentially repeating as SEC champions for the first time in his Georgia coaching career, there is also this... Georgia has only beaten Alabama once since Smart took over the program. Whether it has been Kalen DeBoer or his former mentor Nick Saban, Alabama has been Smart's most worthy adversary. Georgia may be a lock for the College Football Playoff, but seeding is up in the air.

A win over the Crimson Tide would assure the Dawgs of the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Kirby Smart understands the importance of the SEC Championship Game

While we all should expect for this game to go down to the wire, there are a few things working for Georgia this time around that may help them out. The first is the Bulldogs just played in this stadium last week. They also have had an extra day to prepare for this game, whereas Alabama had to sweat it out in the Iron Bowl a day after Georgia played. Smart is also the king of winning the rematch as well.

This is the same head coach who avenged a 2017 loss to Auburn a few weeks later in Atlanta. He may have lost this game to Alabama in 2021, but beat the Crimson Tide when it counted for the ultimate prize a few weeks later up in Indianapolis for the national championship. And even though he beat Texas in Austin earlier in the season last year, guess who handed Texas their second loss in the SEC?

Overall, DeBoer may be 2-0 vs. Georgia since taking over at Alabama. However, this is a different venue and the stakes are much higher. Alabama may need to win this game to make the College Football Playoff. It is hard to envision Georgia getting a first-round bye with a second defeat to Alabama. The Crimson Tide are dangerous in this spot, but Smart has been to this rodeo before.

For Georgia to repeat as SEC champions, it will need to play its most focused game of the season.