Kirby Smart isn’t carrying the Auburn loss around with him anymore, and after Georgia’s win over Florida, he made it clear he sees the season through a much bigger lens.
Smart was asked after Saturday’s game about how much the Auburn defeat two weeks earlier had mattered, especially with Georgia needing to steady itself. He acknowledged that getting back on track was important, but he didn’t treat the Florida win like some kind of season-defining rescue mission.
“Yeah, it was important. It's just as important as it's going to be next week.”
Kirby Smart said via 247sports.com. “So it's no more important than it was for us to do against Auburn when we didn't.
They're all important. That's what we've learned.”
That’s the heart of where Georgia stands now: the Auburn loss still happened, but it only really becomes a problem if the Bulldogs slip again. Right now, they control their own path to the SEC Championship game and the College Football Playoff, and that changes everything. If they win out, the Auburn result fades into the background.
Florida was one of the toughest tests left on the schedule, and Georgia handled it. That matters because every win chips away at the significance of the Auburn loss, even if Auburn itself keeps losing. The sting of that rivalry game will always be there, but in terms of Georgia’s goals for this season, it has already lost much of its weight.
The next hurdle is Ole Miss, and that’s the game that stands out as the most likely place Georgia could stumble. Missouri comes in two weeks, but that one is in Athens.
South Carolina and Georgia Tech also look like much more manageable finishes. So Ole Miss is the real obstacle left.
If Georgia gets past Ole Miss, the odds of missing the SEC Championship game and the playoff would be extremely low. At that point, the Auburn loss would look more like a bad night than a season-altering setback.
Still, Georgia has to keep taking it one game at a time. The Auburn defeat could matter again if the Bulldogs let another one get away, but for now, it isn’t hanging over them the way it did two weeks ago.
In Other News...
Georgia's First CFP Spot Could Set An Early Bulldogs Debate
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season arrive Tuesday night, and Georgia is positioned to be part of the early conversation whether the Bulldogs like the attention or not. Miamis narrow win over North Carolina is expected to put the Hurricanes at No. 1, but the rest of the top of the board should be messy enough to keep the selection committee busy, with Ohio State, Georgia and a cluster of other contenders all waiting to see how the opening snapshot shakes out.
For Georgia, the intrigue is less about where the Bulldogs land on one November night and more about what it says about the road ahead. The committee will spend the next month sorting through a crowded field that includes Utah, UCLA, Indiana, Kentucky, BYU, Notre Dame and several SEC teams, with recent results and strength of schedule likely to carry plenty of weight. The final rankings come Dec. 6, when the 12-team field is set, so this first release is really just the start of the debate. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Heads Into Oxford With Everything Suddenly Feeling Less Certain
Georgias trip to Oxford arrives with both teams carrying momentum, but not much room for error. Ole Miss has been dealing with uncertainty around tailback Kewan Lacy because of a shoulder injury, while Georgia is monitoring Ellis Robinson IV after a lower-leg injury, and those absences could shape how this SEC matchup unfolds on both sides of the ball.
For Georgia, the stakes go well beyond one Saturday in the regular season. With the SEC Championship race and College Football Playoff picture both in play, this is the kind of game that can sharpen a rsum or complicate it in a hurry, especially against an Ole Miss team that has already made itself part of the conference conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Exposed A Georgia Problem That Could Still Matter Later
Georgia came out of its bye week and handled Florida 27-8, leaning on a defense that forced four turnovers and helped fuel the scoring margin. The Bulldogs did enough offensively to control the game, finishing with 318 yards, but the passing attack never really found a rhythm, and Gunner Stocktons 13-for-23, 101-yard day reflected how much Georgia relied on everything else around it.
Kirby Smart did not hide from the issue afterward, acknowledging the passing game has to improve as the schedule turns toward opponents with more capable quarterbacks. For a team that can usually survive a sluggish day through defense and field position, that is the part worth watching now, because the next stretch may not be as forgiving if Georgia keeps leaving too much on the table through the air. [Read more 🡒]