Georgia LB Nolan Smith Says He Got Emotional After Losing to Alabama in SEC Championship

He'll have a chance to knock off the Crimson Tide next Monday night.

Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith said he got emotional after losing to Alabama in the SEC championship game in early December. 

"Want the honest to God truth?" Smith told reporters on Wednesday, when asked about the team's feelings after losing to their SEC rivals just over a month ago. "I cried. I'm 20 now. I've been playing football since I was four. Sixteen years, haven't won anything. Haven't won a championship. I won a couple of bowl games but anything big, any championship I never won yet."

"And that's one thing that keeps me going. That's just something in the back of my head that I know that keeps me driving and I just want to win. I could care less how it gets done, how pretty it looks; I just want to win and play ball."

Alabama got the better of then-No. 1 Georgia in the conference championship game on Dec. 4 with a 41–24 win. Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young threw for 421 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. 

Top-ranked Alabama cruised to a 27–6 victory over No. 4 Cincinnati in the College Football Playoff semifinals, while No. 3 Georgia crushed No. 2 Michigan 34–11 behind 310 passing yards and three touchdowns from Stetson Bennett.

The two SEC rivals will meet in their second national championship game of the Playoff era. In an overtime thriller in 2018, Alabama prevailed 26–23 as Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa earned Offensive MVP honors.

Smith, a junior for the Bulldogs, recorded a season-high eight tackles in his team's win over the Wolverines. He also added a sack in the victory. 

"We're here in the national championship, I think we bounced back pretty well," he said Wednesday. "Now it's time to go finish the job. That's all it is that needs to be said and be done, go finish the job and finish what we started."

The national championship is Monday, Jan. 10, with kickoff set for 8 p.m.