ATHENS — Kirby Smart doesn’t get caught up in pleasantries when it comes to talking football.
Listen closely, and Smart will tell you what you need to hear, and what he wants to make sure you know.
The takeaway from Smart’s Sugar Bowl CFP Quarterfinal press conference is that this game with Notre Dame is going to be hella physical, and perhaps downright bloody.
The Irish have won 11 straight playing with a sharpened chip on their shoulder, and it will be up to Georgia to match and exceed that intensity and sense of urgency.
Notre Dame football is on the rise under 38-year-old Marcus Freeman, who has just the right mix of confidence and poise to lead and inspire young football players.
Freeman earned his playing stripes as a linebacker in Jim Tressel’s hard-nosed Ohio State program, and then as an assistant under the wing of no-nonsense head coach Luke Fickell at Cincinnati.
Georgia has had a taste of Freeman before, and his Cincinnati defense had Todd Monken’s head spinning for three quarters in the 2020 Peach Bowl before the Bulldogs pulled out a last-second victory.
Make no mistake about it, this Sugar Bowl will be tough-on-tough, featuring two programs that are much more alike than different.
Here are four takeaways from Smart’s bowl prep presentation on Monday:
Officially, Gunner’s team
Yes, you’ve seen this before in the form of Stetson Bennett lll, a gritty, mobile and somewhat undersized quarterback.
Stockton does not have Bennett’s quickness afoot or deep ball touch, nor does he have the elite skill position players the Mailman was surrounded by.
But Stockton is known for tremendous film prep and carries a high football I.Q. that Smart has put to the test in bowl prep.
“I think the biggest thing is just competition and practice,” Smart said. “The situations we put him in. All those things allow him to get better as a quarterback.”
Good thing, because Notre Dame’s defense had a very good Indiana quarterback crossed up and lost much of last Friday night.
Irish, winning edge
Most any team with a mobile, dual-threat quarterback and elite backs can cause problems.
Notre Dame has that resume with QB Riley Leonard and 3-headed tailback monster Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams.
“They have unbelievable backs … who you hand it to does matter, (and) those guys are tremendously talented,” Smart said. “When you throw the skill set in there of the quarterback, it just makes it that much tougher to defend.
“They have multiple weapons, multiple options, and they’re really physical. They’re committed to the run.”
Love, a 6-foot, 210-pound sophomore, has game-changing home run speed, running a 10.76-second 100-meter dash.
Georgia knows all about Leonard’s poise, passing touch and running abilities, to the extent he might have been UGA’s starter this season had Carson Beck opted to go pro after his junior season.
Physical challenge
Smart’s words say it all.
“They’re really physical up front, they play really hard, you see it on tape, you see them dominate the line of scrimmage,” Smart said. “That’s why they win football games. That’s where the game’s won or lost.”
Georgia’s offensive line was in flux throughout the season, each starter missing more than a week of practice with injury.
“We’ve had a mixed starting lineup,” Smart said. “We had more rotating changes in lineups than probably any year since I’ve been here. I’m very proud of the fight, the toughness, the grit in which they played with and pushing through the injuries that pretty much every one of them’s had.”
Keys to the game
Smart has provided the challenges his offense and defense face, and from there it’s not hard to ascertain the answers.
Explosive plays and turnovers will be magnified, with each team looking to play things close to the vest.
• Stockton must manage the game efficiently and avoid costly mistakes, using his legs to buy time and find available rushing yardage
• The defensive line must get a push, disrupting run lanes and keeping Notre Dame off schedule and Leonard bottled up on his scrambles.
• Georgia needs a push from its offensive line to establish the run game and keep Stockton out of obvious pass situations.