What Georgia remembers about losing to Alabama in 2015 and how the game reshaped the Bulldogs

Thinking about the last time they played Alabama, Georgia’s players mostly remember the rain.

As a significant storm passed over the East coast, flooding Columbia, South Carolina, torrential rain poured when the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide played in Sanford Stadium on Oct. 3, 2015.

“It was like a monsoon out there on the field,” senior defensive back Aaron Davis said.

Georgia entered the game ranked No. 8 in the country, five spots ahead of Alabama. The Crimson Tide, Georgia’s opponent in Monday’s national championship, won 38-10. Georgia’s only touchdown, an 83-yard run by Nick Chubb, came when the Bulldogs trailed by 35 points. There was an obvious talent disparity between the two teams.

“I know we can do better than that,” senior Georgia linebacker Lorenzo Carter said. “I know all the guys who were here for that game have a little extra motivation.”

Jeremy Pruitt, Georgia’s former defensive coordinator who holds the same position at Alabama, said, defensively, the way Georgia lost in 2015 “probably gave them a realization of where they were at compared to where Alabama was at the time.” The Crimson Tide would win the national championship later that season.

Georgia finished the 2015 season 10-3, but the Bulldogs never looked dominant — not like they have this season or like Alabama has for nearly a decade. After beating Georgia Tech that year to finish the regular season, head coach Mark Richt was fired.

One week later, Georgia hired Kirby Smart, Alabama’s long-time defensive coordinator. The Bulldogs wanted what Alabama had.

“I think (the loss to Alabama) probably allowed the people at Georgia to see what the highest level at the time in college football was,” said Georgia outside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer, who coached on of Georgia’s staff in 2015. “Probably made them realize they may want a change, and that happened.”

Smart has said Georgia’s program wasn’t broken or lacking talent when he was hired. But there was a certain way he wanted to run the team.

Workouts were implemented on Sunday and Wednesday mornings, and multiple players have said practices can be harder than games. There’s a constant emphasis on physicality. Georgia’s support staff has increased in size. That's just a few examples.

So far, Smart’s methods have paid off.

After going 8-5 in Smart’s first season, Georgia sports a 13-1 record, won its first SEC Championship since 2005 and defeated Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, setting up a game with Alabama for the first time in two years.

This time, the two teams will play inside a closed stadium. This time, there won’t be any rain. This time, there is a lot more on the line.

"Deep down," defensive lineman John Atkins said, "you wanted to play them again."

This story was originally published January 6, 2018 at 6:17 PM with the headline "What Georgia remembers about losing to Alabama in 2015 and how the game reshaped the Bulldogs."