ATHENS — Kirby Smart isn’t the walking, talking contradiction he might seem to be when he praises his Georgia football team one moment only to deal out harsh criticism the next.
“I’m not apologizing for winning 42-10,” Smart said after Georgia exploded for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter against the weary Tigers.
“What I’m saying is we’ve got to get better.”
Yes, the Georgia head coach was proud of his team’s resiliency and effort in the win over Auburn on Saturday.
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But no, Smart isn’t kidding himself or trying to convince anyone else that his No. 2-ranked Bulldogs are playing well enough to win an SEC or CFP Championship.
Stetson Bennett had just 25 yards passing at halftime against Auburn and has committed three turnovers the past three games with no TD passes.
It was Bennett’s fumble, deep in Georgia territory, that set up the Tigers’ first points.
“Certainly not clicking the way we’d like to,” Smart said, stressing that was a group issue.
“Some of that has to do with Stetson. He knows he’s got to continue to play and play better. We’ve got to arm Stetson with people around him. He’s got to have guys around that can really help him.”
Bennett, himself, said before the season that “this isn’t going to be the Stetson Bennett show.”
Some quarterbacks can put a team on their shoulders, but that’s not how Smart’s Georgia offenses have been designed.
Bennett does, however, have an irresistible Cinderella story that’s got him over $1 million in NIL deals and made him a media darling.
The “Mailman” delivered a highlight-friendly 64-yard TD run sure to make all the sports shows and breathe life into his Heisman Trophy hype.
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“It was a great call by Monk and a good designed play; they ran what we thought they were going to be in and it worked great,” Smart said, praising offensive coordinator Todd Monken. “It wouldn’t be explosive if it wasn’t for a really good athlete. It proves again that he’s multi-dimensional, is hard to defend because of things he can do.”
Bennett and the Georgia offense, however, have yet to match the proficiency they exhibited in the 49-3 win over No. 12 Oregon.
Smart explained on Saturday it was naive to think the Bulldogs’ domination over the Ducks in Dan Lanning’s first game as head coach would be the new standard.
“That’s the monster, that you’ve got to live up to this expectation that you’ve got to score every drive,” Smart said. “That was created by going out against Oregon and having a great opening.”
No doubt, Georgia was the first SEC team in four years to score touchdowns on seven consecutive drives in that impressive season-opening game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
For now, the Bulldogs are 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the SEC with Vanderbilt scheduled to play at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday in Sanford Stadium.
“I’m proud of them. I’m happy for them,” Smart said. “But I’m also realistic. We’ve got to continue to grow and we have to continue to get better.”