Kirby Smart has seen enough from Georgia’s first two games to know the Bulldogs can handle what’s in front of them early. He’s also seen enough to know that the real test is still waiting.
After Georgia rolled through Tennessee State and Western Kentucky, Smart pointed to a group that listens, competes hard, practices hard, and starts fast. But he was just as clear about the gap between what he knows and what he still needs to find out. That answer, he believes, starts to come in Week 3 at Arkansas.
“The opponents haven't been SEC opponents, so it's all rosy and dandy until you go on the road and you've got to play somebody of SEC caliber and it's hard,” Smart said. “This team has not really had adversity, so we're going to find out.”
Georgia has made the first two weeks look easy, outscoring its opponents 133-23, and the confidence inside the locker room reflects that. But the players aren’t pretending those numbers mean much once SEC play begins.
Inside linebacker Chris Cole liked seeing Georgia force four turnovers in Week 2, though he said the red-zone defense still has work to do. Quarterback Gunner Stockton was pleased with how the offense executed, but he emphasized the need to tighten up communication before heading into Razorback Stadium.
Outside linebacker Quintavius Johnson said the challenge ahead is part of what makes the next stretch appealing.
“I mean, [it's about] just gaining confidence through our practice, knowing that we're going up against some of the best guys in the country and already going against the Georgia offense every day,” Johnson said.
Smart, as usual, kept the praise on a short leash. He wasn’t pleased with how Georgia’s reserves performed against Western Kentucky, and he said some players showed they don’t deserve more snaps. In his view, the basics still matter most: fail to get off the field on third down or put the ball on the ground, and you can expect to sit.
Even Stockton’s comment that he was having fun drew a sharp response from Smart.
“It’s fun when you score every possession you're in,” Smart said. “That's what makes it fun, but is that real?
You think we're going to do that in SEC play, score every possession? It's going to be a high deal of adversity.”
Arkansas enters the matchup after a 43-10 loss at Utah, but Georgia knows that doesn’t change the stakes of the trip. The Bulldogs have handled the early part of the schedule, yet what they’ve done so far will matter only if they bring it with them into SEC play.
In Other News...
Georgia Suddenly Has A Tyriq Green Concern At The Worst Time
Tyriq Greens night ended early after the freshman left the game with an injury on a kickoff return, giving Georgia another health issue to monitor as the season moves into a critical stretch. Kirby Smart said the Bulldogs are still waiting on the full results on Greens status, and the staff will sort out his availability as the week goes on.
Greens situation adds to an injury picture that already has Georgia juggling some missing pieces. Wide receiver Thomas Blackshear and outside linebackers Chase Linton and Amaris Williams are already out, so any setback involving a young contributor on special teams only deepens the uncertainty as the Bulldogs try to stay steady from one week to the next. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Turned Georgias Big Night Into A Warning
Georgias all-white look turned Saturday night into a milestone long before the game got out of hand, as the Bulldogs wore the uniforms for the first time in school history and buried Western Kentucky in a 70-20 win. Gunner Stockton helped make the evening feel even more like a showcase, tying a school record with five passing touchdowns in the first half and giving the home crowd plenty to talk about well before halftime.
Kirby Smart, though, spent the postgame sounding more concerned than celebratory. Even with the score in Georgias favor by a wide margin, he made clear the second half did not meet his standard, turning what should have been a feel-good blowout into a reminder that the Bulldogs still have details to clean up. For a team with bigger goals ahead, that kind of message matters almost as much as the lopsided result. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Blowout May Have Just Settled A Key Quarterback Debate
Georgias 70-20 rout of Western Kentucky did more than pad the record to 2-0. It also gave the Bulldogs a much clearer picture of where the quarterback room stands behind Gunner Stockton, with a handful of young players using a lopsided game to make their case in a meaningful way.
Ryan Puglisi was among the biggest beneficiaries, with his performance strongly suggesting he has moved to the front in the race for the backup job. Tyriq Green also flashed enough to look like a return option worth watching, while Georgia got mixed results from Ryan Montgomery and Lawson Luckie. For a team still sorting out depth in spots, that kind of clarity is part of what made Saturday matter beyond the final score. [Read more 🡒]