ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart was satisfied with how his team played against Auburn on Saturday. The Bulldogs came away with a comfortable 31-13 win.
But he was less than thrilled with Georgia’s home-field environment.
“It was a great victory for Georgia,” Smart told DJ Shockley of Fox 5. “It was hot out there today. If anything, to be honest, I’m a little disappointed. I’m probably disappointed in our fans for the first time that I thought there was a lack of really affecting the game crowd noise-wise, passion and energy.
“Hey, it was hot but our players got full pads on, helmets, pads, and it’s hot out there. They’re pushing, trying to have a home field advantage like we’ve had when we’ve played against teams and I can’t get crowd noise. That’s frustrating for me.”
It is worth noting that sections of the stadium were noticeably empty, even in the third quarter of a two-score game. And Georgia was playing a rival Auburn.
But the Bulldogs have won eight straight games against Auburn in this series. Georgia has also won 27 straight games at home, which is the longest streak in the country.
Georgia was coming off a loss, as the Bulldogs fell to Alabama last week. Smart felt there was a lot of chatter around Alabama this week, as opposed to Auburn.
“I want our fan base to appreciate what we have and give their all and be unbelievable with crowd noise and make energy at home games,” Smart said. “We need it to be tough on other teams to play here. But it’s not. It’s not the same as it’s been in the past. It’s gotta be energetic. It’s gotta be. It was hot today. It was hot. But it was hot on our players too. They pushed through it. It was a tough week, and we answered the bell.”
It was also homecoming weekend for the Bulldogs, which usually means plenty of alums come to the game. This was also Georgia’s first home SEC game of the season.
Georgia has another game at home next week, as the Bulldogs welcome Mississippi State to Sanford Stadium. The game is set for a 4:15 p.m. ET start.
