Kirby Smart issues harsh reality check to Kalen DeBoer and co. after Alabama's defeat to Vanderbilt: "Welcome to the SEC"

Last weekend, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer indulged in some celebrations after leading the Crimson Tide to a stunning 41-34 win over Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs. However, Week 6 brought about the coach's first big loss of the season, on the road to the Vanderbilt Commodores.

During his postgame news conference after the Bulldogs beat the Auburn Tigers 31-13, the outspoken Smart had a message for DeBoer.

“I think Vandy’s got a great program and does a great job,” Smart said. “It’s a lot of other people that don’t respect Vandy. I respect Clark Lea, I respect his team, his quarterback, what they’ve done. They beat Virginia Tech. Somebody told me six of eight games were decided by less than one score or less in our league. Nothing shocks me about our league. Texas A&M, Missouri, welcome to the SEC."

Smart further revealed that he does not see the upsets in the conference stopping any time soon in what promises to be a thrilling season.

“It’s hard every week. And I’ve got a feeling, it’s not gonna stop. It’s a consistency in performance, and when you ride the wave of emotion, you get caught on the bottom of the wave sometimes. We’re just trying to do this. We’re just trying to keep getting better and keep getting better,” Smart said.

Kirby Smart's point about the competitiveness of the Southeastern Conference is backed by statistics with three top ten sides losing to unranked teams in the conference this season.

The Kentucky Wildcats beat the then No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels 20-17, the Texas A&M Aggies pummelled the No. 9 Missouri Tigers on Saturday and Vanderbilt crowned it all by toppling the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide.

Alabama's loss to coach Clark Lea's Vanderbilt was only the fourth time that the Tide had fallen to an unranked team while being ranked No. 1 (64-4), and it was the first time that the Commodores had beaten a top-five-ranked team in their history (1-60).

Kalen DeBoer challenges team to bounce back from defeat

During his postgame news conference, coach Kalen DeBoer had a single message for his players, challenging them to regroup and refocus on the season.

“There’s only one option: It’s to move forward and get back to work,” Kalen DeBoer said. “I feel we’ve got a great football team. We weren’t at our best today. We’re going to find out really how much we care about each other and what it looks like moving forward.”

The Alabama Crimson Tide still have tough clashes against the likes of the Tennessee Volunteers and the LSU Tigers to navigate and Kalen DeBoer will have to lift the morale quickly.