Losing hurts, but Georgia may have found something useful in the wreckage of Saturday’s Auburn game. The idea isn’t that the Bulldogs suddenly need a loss to get right. It’s simpler than that: if this team is going to live up to the kind of standard it has set for itself, the Auburn game might end up being the kind of wake-up call that changes the way it plays.
That’s the kind of lens Kirby Smart tends to view these things through. He has made no secret of the fact that he wants to see growth, and the timing could hardly be better for that sort of self-assessment.
Georgia gets a breather now, which means less immediate game-planning and more room to heal up and study itself. It also gives the staff a chance to dig into the details, including the kind of game-management mistake that showed up on the mishandled field-goal try in the second quarter.
Smart’s own words after the loss pointed in that direction. “One of the glaring things to us is we want to tackle better.
We’re higher in missed tackles than we’ve been in years past. That’s a big target area for us.
We think missed tackles are up as a whole across college football, so we’re not immune to that. We’re part of that problem, but how do we do it better than they do it?
That’s really what we’re trying to do this week. How can we get better incrementally and gain inches?
When the margins are tighter, the inches are everywhere.”
The Bulldogs’ defense is going to have plenty to study from Auburn, and this week gives them the time to do it. The off week creates space for healing, but it also opens the door to what’s now called self-scouting, and Georgia should have a good bit to examine on that side of the ball.
The quarterback discussion around Gunner Stockton also kept bubbling up after the Auburn loss. Some fans wondered whether he had been concussed, but Smart’s answer has stayed the same as it was immediately after the game.
Stockton said the early hit didn’t affect him either. Still, the bigger question is whether Stockton has gotten a little too loose with the ball after nearly turning it over twice against Alabama and then not getting away with it last week.
That’s part of why Smart keeps backing his quarterback. Stockton fits what the coach wants from that position: a player who can make the throws and keep mistakes to a minimum. It’s a sound plan, at least until it stops working.
Elsewhere around the program, The Red & Black continued its usual strong coverage of Georgia athletics, including volleyball’s pair of SEC road wins and women’s soccer closing its regular-season home schedule with a shutout.
And Tuesday marked what would have been Lewis Grizzard’s 80th birthday. It’s hard not to wonder what he’d have made of the moment, and of everything else going on these days.
The likely answer? Something sharp, funny, and very much in his lane.
In Other News...
Georgia Just Got The Title Pressure Fans Didnt Expect
Ohio States quarterback situation just changed the conversation at the top of the national title race, and Georgia is one of the teams feeling the ripple effect. Julian Sayins injury and indefinite absence have pushed the Buckeyes into a difficult stretch, and with Georgia still sitting near the front of the championship chase despite its loss to Auburn, the odds have begun to tilt in the Bulldogs direction.
For Georgia, that brings a different kind of pressure. The Bulldogs are still very much in the mix, but the path now looks a little more open than it did before, especially with Ohio State facing a tougher run while leaning on a backup quarterback. Georgias margin for error is still slim, and the attention around its title case is only growing as the season tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Has Every Reason To Ignore Cowboys Noise
The Cowboys uneven start has already stirred up the usual offseason-style chatter, but there is nothing concrete behind it. Dallas executive Stephen Jones has already voiced confidence in Brian Schottenheimer despite the 2-4 record, and at this point there is no confirmed coaching opening or credible sign that the franchise is even looking elsewhere.
Kirby Smart has plenty of reasons to tune out the noise from Texas and keep his focus where it belongs in Athens. Fans can connect dots all they want, but there is no evidence Smart is interested in leaving Georgia for the NFL, much less for a job that does not appear to be available in the first place. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Have A New Fear About Georgia Tech Week
The buildup to Georgia-Georgia Tech has always been about more than record or rankings, but the expanded 24-team College Football Playoff is giving fans a new reason to worry about what the rivalry might look like going forward. With more teams able to reach the postseason, the late-season math changes, and games that once felt like absolute must-wins could start to carry a different kind of weight for programs already in position to qualify.
From Georgias side, that raises an uncomfortable possibility: if a playoff berth is secure, would coaches be more inclined to protect players and lean conservative rather than chase every edge in a rivalry game? It is the same kind of calculation NFL teams make when they have postseason spots locked up, and for fans who still want Georgia-Tech to feel sharp, intense and all-in, that is the part worth watching when this week rolls around. [Read more 🡒]