Kirby Smart, Georgia Dealt Unfortunate News Amid College Football Season

Kirby Smart is preparing the Georgia Bulldogs to face the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC title game.

Georgia is looking to make one final push before a likely trip to the College Football Playoff. While the Bulldogs are the higher ranked team in the equation, history favors the Crimson Tide.

The Bulldogs capped the regular season on an eight-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the SEC. They finished in a four-way tie atop the SEC standings at 7-1 with Alabama, the Texas A&M Aggies and the Ole Miss Rebels and are No. 3 in the CFP rankings released Tuesday night.

Alabama heads into the SEC title game as the No. 9 team in the CFP thanks in part to defeating Georgia earlier this season.

While Kirby Smart has his eyes set on Alabama, the Bulldogs let one slip away.

According to Rivals, Georgia suffered a recruiting loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils. The No. 1 player in JUCO flipped his commitment from Georgia to Arizona State.

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Jarmaine Mitchell is ranked as the No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 3 overall player in the 247Sports recruiting rankings, rating the highest-ranked JUCO players in the country.

Before pledging to play for head coach Kenny Dillingham at ASU, Mitchell played at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi.

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart — Source: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

With the recruiting whiff, Smart and his staff will likely head back to the drawing board if another ready-to-go offensive lineman is available in the transfer portal.

These players will likely be eligible to play for Georgia or the respective teams they’re committed to for the 2026 college football season.