No Georgia football fan needs to be reminded what Kirby Smart's record is against Alabama. But in case someone forgot, he is 1-6 against his former employer.
There are a lot of reasons why Georgia has struggled so much against Alabama over the last 10 years, but there is one stat that has determined the outcome of all but one of these seven games. That stat is the turnover margin.
Georgia must win the turnover battle to beat Alabama
Georgia has lost the turnover battle to Alabama in five of the games they have played since Smart became head coach. All five of those games resulted in a loss. That leaves two games where Georgia did win the turnover battle, and in those two games UGA went 1-1. The one win in this case came in the National Championship game when Smart hoisted his first championship trophy at Georgia.
Georgia did win the turnover battle in the 2018 SEC Championship game by two, but it was unfortunately not enough as the Crimson Tide emerged victorious 35-28.
More often than not the turnover battle will determine the outcome of any game. That is why coaches always talk about taking care of the football and forcing turnovers of their own because they know just how important it is.
Georgia's tunover problems in their game against Alabama last season is one of the biggest reasons why they lost. The Bulldogs lost the turnover battle by three, and whenever that occurs it is nearly impossible to win a game.
So hopefully this year will be different and Georgia will win the turnover battle because history shows that would likely mean that UGA will take down the Tide and move to 4-0 on the season.