ATLANTA — Even after a disappointing loss to Alabama, Georgia head coach was still proud of his team.
The Bulldogs lost 27-24 on Saturday, their first loss in almost two years. The loss to Alabama moves Georgia to 0-4 against the Crimson Tide in the SEC championship game.
Afterward, Smart provided the latest on his team, as well as why he thought the Bulldogs should make the College Football Playoff.
Below is a full transcript of what Smart said, along with quarterback Carson Beck and Smael Mondon.
Opening statement...
KIRBY SMART: “Like I always do, even last year when we played in the SEC Championship, every year that I’ve coached in this thing, it’s just electric. It’s awesome that we had an opportunity to play in it. Both crowds were really into the game. A lot of momentum swings. Field goal that hits the dang upright after an offsides. Then we spotted them 10 off of a turnover and a touchdown with busted coverage by a freshman. So if you give good teams those things, they’re going to be hard to beat. But man am I proud of our fight and our resiliency. I mean, two times we’re down 10 or three times we’re down 10. Offense battles back. Never-say-die attitude. This team is really special, in terms of how they play and how they compete. They’ve been through a lot. I’m proud of them.”
On the offense stalling and the case to the CFP committee...
KIRBY SMART: “Offense stalled? You’re talking about the rest of the night. I think, No. 1, they did a good job. We didn’t have quite as much continuity maybe as we’ve had out there. Look, it’s tough guys. When Brock Bowers doesn’t practice for 15 days and Ladd doesn’t practice for 15 days, and they try to go out in the game, timing and rhythm is critical. But give Alabama some credit. They played good defense. They did a good job. I thought we ran the ball well. We did some things.
As far as your second question, look, Bill Hancock said it’s not the most deserving. He said, simply, it’s the best four teams. So, if you’re going to tell me somebody sitting in that committee room and doesn’t think that Georgia team is one of the best four teams, I don’t know if they’re in the right profession because it’s a really good football team. It’s a really talented football team. It’s a really balanced football team. So, they have to make that decision, but it’s the best four teams, and that’s critical.”
On review on the Isaiah Bond drop...
KIRBY SMART: “You’re talking about the first half. The first staple of any review is they review it up top, you know, and they go quick. So for me to ask for a review, it’d cost me a timeout, but they get to watch it. So I was not aware of it being called or not called. I mean, I guess you’re saying the replay showed that he didn’t catch it, and that was an extremely critical play of the game because they go on to score there.”
On going 12-0 in the regular season and your playoff future being in the hands of the committee...
CARSON BECK: “I’ll go first. Yeah, I mean, to go through an SEC schedule, 12 games and to win each and every one, it’s not something easy to do, you know? It’s not easy, but I’m super proud of these guys. And obviously to come into this game and not, you know, finish the way that we wanted to and kind of leave the destiny of our team in someone else’s hands rather than us handling it ourselves, you know, that’s hard, but at this point it’s out of our control. But, you know, we fought hard and I thought throughout the season we showed that, you know, we were a really dominant team.”
SMAEL MONDON: “Well, like Carson said, it’s tough. You know, it’s tough. I’m proud of the way the guys played tonight. A lot of guys had to step up, and then them guys stepped up. I’m just proud of the guys.”
On why Georgia is one of the four best teams...
KIRBY SMART: “I think it’s the eye test. I think you look at what we’ve done this season — to go on the road and to play some on the road the teams we beat, the teams that are in the top 20 that we were able to beat. You know, I don’t know if this is right or not, but in the CFP era a team that goes in as 1 I don’t think has fallen out of that. Not that history says anything, but when you talk about the four best teams, watch the game. You know, go ask NFL talent evaluators. Go ask NFL scouts. It’s about the best teams. I have no question that it’s one of the best four teams. One hundred percent.”
On the end-around fumble and how critical it was...
CARSON BECK: “Yeah, I mean, we’ve obviously practiced that play a ton. It’s just a simple flick back, and I’m not really sure exactly what happened. I’ll have to go see it on film. I wasn’t able to see the replay, but, you know, I flipped it, and then the next thing I knew all the guys were running and the ball’s on the ground. I really don’t know what happened on that. Just go back and obviously we’ll have to fix it if we ever run that play again.”
On defending Jalen Milroe...
SMAEL MONDON: “With how good of an athlete he is, you know, it’s a real big challenge. As far as defending him, there were some plays we did good, some plays we could’ve fitted better on. And then the last drive just got to fit it better.”
On if the playoff committee does put Georgia in...
CARSON BECK: “I mean, obviously it would mean everything to us. You know, we’ve fought so hard through this season. I mean, it’s been a gruesome season. There’s been guys out, fighting to get back just like Coach Smart said earlier. I mean, Ladd and Brock too, guys that are going to go on and play football for a long time, haven’t really practiced at all for the past 15 days, two weeks. And, you know, they’re out there battling. Obviously, we think that anybody that steps out on that field is going to go execute and play, and obviously I have a ton of confidence in every guy that’s out there and love them to death. I mean, we’re in there fighting together each and every day, but to be given that chance would mean everything to us.”
On if this season is unique with so many teams having a claim to ‘best 4 teams’...
KIRBY SMART: “Yeah, I guess that does make it unique. I don’t know the history of the other years. The fifth team probably always thinks they did, but this seems like the year it should be the four best teams because you can make a case of deserving for everybody. It’s unfortunate that these kids who give so much and play so hard, not just at Georgia but all these schools, they don’t get to decide it really on the field. It’s sitting back with a committee who has to determine who the best four teams are. If that’s truly the four best teams, then let’s put the best four teams in.”
On what Sunday will look like...
KIRBY SMART: “Well, we’ll met as coaches. We play Alabama next year, and I think it’s early in the season. We’re coming in to grade the film, evaluate and see what we can do better and different. Then the coaches will have to go out on the road and go recruiting. We’ll have a team meeting tomorrow afternoon sometime to go over the plans for the future, but these guys need some time. They’ll get some time off, but we’ll have a team meeting tomorrow to go over what our plans are based on what we find out.”
On his message after a loss...
KIRBY SMART: “I love ‘em. I mean, I love ‘em. The guys in there, I told them that there are two classes of guys in that room that have not lost a game. You’re looking at 10, 15 NFL players who lose every other week. There’s two classes of our kids that have not lost a game. They’re resilient, they’re fighters, and in life, a lot of times, you really can’t get better until you lose sometimes because you have to find out what you can do better. It was a sad -- there were some really upset guys. A lot of guys really care about this team and the culture is really good on this team. They were hurt in there, and rightfully so. But the message doesn’t change. It’s about looking inward and figuring out what we can do.”
On if more than four teams being able to make claim is an advertisement for next year’s format...
KIRBY SMART: “I don’t know that next year has anything to do with it. I think next year is next year because nobody’s ever going to play in this game and not lay it on the line and compete for a championship. You’re playing for a ring. You’re playing for something that’s really hard to get. Look at the SEC Championship. Our teams in the Playoff, look at what they’ve done. Y’all can tell me the record of SEC teams in the Playoff. It’s pretty spectacular because I know twice two of them ended up playing each other. Who are the best teams, and do we want the best teams?”
On Amarius Mims, Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey dealing with injuries...
KIRBY SMART: “All those guys are just warriors. Just fighting. Mims bumped it, against, i don’t know exactly what happened. Somebody fell on it or he stepped on Tate. Something happened and he just felt like he was weak and he couldn’t go. It threw us back to Truss having to go back out. Truss had moved in for Tate to play for him some and it threw Truss back out there. He’s played a little bit out there at tackle. Just part of what we had to do and move those guys around.
Brock and Ladd, they’ll guys will go down as, those guys just battle and compete. They’ve been in rehab every morning. They wanted to play so bad against Tech. and they couldn’t, they couldn’t. They were going to be close today and they’re out their limping around and they’re not 100 percent. But the game matters to them, the team matters to them. Brock Bowers, this guy is going to be a first-round pick and he’s out there just battling his tail off.”
On short yardage issues...
KIRBY SMART: “I have to watch and see there. We went backwards on two of them I think. We had already decided we were going to go for it if we didn’t lose yardage. And we lost yardage. The only thing I can say is they whipped us front.
Even late during that two minute drive, we had a third and 1 and they whipped us. We had to get it on fourth and 1 on the goaline. They have big, big humans. People always say, Georgia can run the ball, Georgia can run the ball. It’s hard to run the ball when they have good size in there. They’re a physical front. I was pleased with the run game, not the conversions. That was probably the difference in the game. That and gifting 10 points away.”
On the gameplan for Sunday...
KIRBY SMART: “I said earlier, we were going to come in and grade them. I’ve already set the schedule for the coaches and the defense will meet earlier. We’ll go through the gameplan and talk about things we need to do different. And then offense will meet. There’s a break in there for coaching staff to be able to watch and do that.
We’re not bringing the players in till later to go over the schedule. We’ll have a better idea of what we’re doing moving forward. I don’t want to bring them and not know information.”
On what Carson Beck learned about himself in the loss...
CARSON BECK: “Obviously to always have the mentality to never give up. It’s never over and I truly believe that every guy on that sideline, through every second of that game, never gave up. I’m super proud of this team. It shows how resilient we are. It obviously didn’t finish the way we wanted to. To see guys fight and care and love each other on the field and truly fight for one another is special. It goes to say how special this program is and how coach Smart has built this program. We just kept going out there and fighting and kept going. Obviously it didn’t go our way at times, but just never give up.”
