ATHENS — Georgia’s Kirby Smart sounded very much like a head coach who knew to be buckled in for a bumpy ride on Saturday.
“Good and bad,” Smart said at halftime of Bulldogs’ 31-13 win over Auburn on Saturday, “hot and cold.”
The 2021 and 2022 Georgia model is no longer in effect, any more than the 2023 Michigan scouting department is capable of delivering another title.
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No surprises
“Nothing shocks me about our league,” Smart said, having waited until the conclusion of Vanderbilt’s 40-35 win over Alabama to begin his press conference.
“Welcome to the SEC, it’s hard every week, an I have a feeling it’s not going to stop.”
Sure enough, Arkansas knocked off previously unbeaten and No. 4-ranked Tennessee 19-14 later that night.
This, after the Vandy Special in Nashville, and previously unbeaten Missouri getting hammered by Texas A&M (41-10) earlier in the day, and previously unbeaten Ole Miss getting upset at home by Kentucky (20-17) last week.
Suddenly, Texas is the only unbeaten team in the 16-team league less than halfway through the conference schedule.
At that, all the Longhorns have to show for their SEC action is a 35-13 home win over a depleted Mississippi State team missing its senior quarterback.
College football, it seems, pivoted to the expanded 12-team playoff just in time, because it’s going to take a while to sort things out.
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Buckle up
Another Top 5 unbeaten is sure to fall next week when Big Ten powers Ohio State and Oregon clash in Eugene.
A quick glance at the Power 4 conference unbeaten:
Miami, (ACC, 6-0)
Pitt (ACC, 5-0)
BYU (Big 12, 5-0)
Iowa State (Big 12, 5-0)
Ohio State (Big Ten, 5-0)
Indiana (Big Ten, 6-0)
Oregon (Big Ten, 5-0)
Penn State (Big Ten, 5-0)
Texas (SEC, 5-0)
Nine Power 4 unbeaten teams — that’s it.
So about the one Georgia loss? Pfft.
That’s why Smart is more concerned with how his team looks in November and December than style points at this juncture.
To be clear, that’s a concern after Christen Miller became the fourth Georgia defensive tackle in the Top Six of that rotation to miss time with an injury (knee, at this point yet to be diagnosed as serious).
The Bulldogs were already starting the preseason No. 3 center on their depth chart, Drew Bobo. A foot injury forced incumbent Jared Willson to miss the game, and preseason All-American guard Tate Ratledge — the emergency No. 2 center — was lost in the Kentucky game with an ankle injury that required tightrope surgery.
Part of a team playing well enough to win a championship at the end of the season is remaining healthy enough to do so.
Georgia pitfalls
In Georgia’s case, if quarterback Carson Beck goes down with an injury, any realistic UGA national title hopes will most likely be lost.
But also, a dearth of healthy bodies in any position group — like the current defensive tackle room, or in the case of 2019 Georgia, receiver — could sidetrack a championship run.
That’s why Smart talks so much about “coaching up the bottom of the roster,” the talented but inexperienced freshmen and sophomores who could be in position for key snaps now that talented, experienced depth has moved on to start at other places via this new world of NIL and transfer portal transactions.
“We’re not like we used to be,” said Smart, who was talking about offensive line depth but might as well have been talking about depth across the board.
“So we’re thin, and it’s gonna be a recurring theme, in my opinion across college football,” he said. “You’re thinner, and thinner and thinner, and you gotta be smart in how you practice.”
That means being more careful about avoiding injuries in practice, which means less contact, which means not seeing the sound tackling Georgia defense Smart typically produces.
It’s the nature of modern-day roster management, and Smart’s answer is to keep building depth, focus on execution and keep the team vibe steady.
Riding the wave
New Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer experienced first-hand the danger of allowing his team to grow too excitable and confident at Vanderbilt.
Yes, the Crimson Tide players were dancing in the end zone even while trailing the Commodores — something that would not have happened on Nick Saban’s tightly disciplined squads.
Smart — directly or indirectly — made reference to that when he said, “When you ride the wave of emotion, you get caught on the bottom of the wave sometimes.”
That Vanderbilt, previously 0-60 in school history against Top Five-ranked teams, can provide such a powerful undertow should send a message.
There are no gimmes, no one is safe, every healthy body counts, and building experience is more important than ever.
“Humility is a week away in our league at all times,” Smart said, repeating what has become a common reminder in press briefings. “That’s the consistency I want to have, (because) we’re not going to win all of our games all the time. That’s not going to happen.”
Calling DawgNation
Indeed, Smart doesn’t stop with his players when it comes to looking for a winning edge at Georgia.
The Bulldogs’ ninth-year head coach went so far as to call out the DawgNation fans with hopes they can get regain the edge they have provided in games before, most notably the 2022 win over No. 1 Tennessee and the 2019 showdown with Notre Dame under new red LED stadium lighting.
“I want our fan base to … be unbelievable with crowd noise and make energy at home games,” Smart said, noting the decidedly flat (relatively) home crowd in the 31-13 win over Auburn.
“We need it to be tough on other teams to play here … It’s gotta be energetic, it’s gotta be.”
Smart is confident his players will do his part, particularly embattled quarterback Carson Beck, whose NFL draft stock lies in the balance after surprisingly inconsistent performances this first half of the season.
“I understand the scrutiny he’s under, just like me, he’s a quarterback, and I’m the head coach,” Smart said. “We’re going to be under immense scripting. But Carson Beck is a tough winner, competitor and leader, and I’ll go to war with the guy anytime.”
Because that’s what this college football season has become — all-out warfare, on the recruiting trail, in the transfer portal, and on each and every Saturday.
Most every team is armed and capable, super power teams like the 2021 and 2022 Georgia teams, likely a thing of the past.
Smart is right, Georgia isn’t what it used to be, but as Saturday’s action indicated, no one is.
