ATHENS — Steve Spurrier has never been one to hold back, so when he said Georgia had a team that could win it all this year ears in the DawgNation perked up.
Spurrier, a former seven-time SEC Coach of the Year, two-time ACC Coach of the Year and 1996 national champion, took time to look into the football futures at Alabama and Georgia during the Ingles On the Beat Show this week.
Spurrier never faced Kirby Smart as a head coach, but Smart was the Alabama defensive coordinator when the Gamecocks stunned a No. 1-ranked Tide team 35-21 in 2010. It’s still the last time an SEC East team beat Alabama.
“I like Coach Kirby, I like the way he wears that visor all the time,” said Spurrier, who was 11-1 against UGA as Florida’s coach, and 5-6 against the Bulldogs at South Carolina. “He’s done very well, he hasn’t hit the top yet. He’s got teams that are always capable. They are probably gonna hit the top pretty soon.”
RELATED: Inside the mind of Kirby Smart as he handles championship pressures
Spurrier revealed that he was among those hoping Georgia would beat Alabama in College Football Championship Game after the 2017 season.
“I still feel sorry for all the Georgia Bulldogs when Tua (Tagovailoa) hit that pass on, what was it, second-and-28, or something like that? That was a hard one,” Spurrier said.
“But they’ll bounce back from it. He’s got a team this year that possibly could go all the way … When you have strong powerful teams the way he has built them, pretty soon they will get to the top of the pile.”
Alabama and Coach Nick Saban are the defending champions and have left no doubt they are the top of the pile with six national championships over the past 12 seasons.
Saban turns 70 this year on Halloween, but Spurrier doesn’t see him slowing down any time soon.
“Nick is in excellent health, he’s been the same size, physically I think his weight has been the same for the last 50 years,” Spurrier said. “So, he’s got a lot of years ahead of him, his lifestyle is very healthy. He could go another 10 years if he wants to, probably, and he may do it.
“I remember one time he told me, ‘I wouldn’t know what else to do if I wasn’t coaching,’
So, I think he has a lot of years left. As long as they have the No. 1 recruiting class in America, he’s got a lot of years left.”
Spurrier went 3-1 against Saban head to head, beating him both times Florida played LSU went Saban was there in 2000-2001, and splitting him when Saban was at Alabama and Spurrier was at South Carolina.
Spurrier had plenty of thoughts on Clemson and Dabo Swinney, having spent 10 years in that rivalry. At one point, Spurrier won five straight against Swinney and the Tigers.
“Yeah, but I think they’ve won the last six,” Spurrier said. “So Dabo has it going his way.”
Spurrier has things going his way, too, having recently opened a $12 million state-of-the-art restaurant near Gainesville, and had a Coach of the Year Award named after him.
