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David Hale
Atlanta– Georgia Coach Kirby Smart said he spent time last year surveying other coaches on how to best approach the 12-team College Football Playoff.
a year ago, Ohio State Couldn’t qualify for their conference championship game, but the Buckeyes rallied and won the national title.
Meanwhile, the four conference champions who earned first-round byes last season faced tough battles in their first playoff games, with all four top seeds losing.
But Smart wasn’t sold on that argument for this season’s playoff run after Georgia 16-9 victory over georgia tech On Friday.
When Smart was asked what he hopes the next few weeks will be like for the Bulldogs, he said, “The best thing is to win.” “There is no right decision. … At the end of the day, you have to do what you feel is best. You won’t always second-guess it if you lose and you won’t always second-guess it if you win.”
Georgia left Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Friday after learning of its regular season loss alabama That meant he needed help to get to the SEC title game. The Bulldogs needed either a loss to Alabama or golden brown color on saturday or a Texas A&M damage to texas on Friday night.
The Bulldogs didn’t have to wait long to get their answer, as the Longhorns upset the Aggies. 27-17 Later Friday night.
That means the fourth-ranked Bulldogs will return to Atlanta in eight days to defend their SEC title. If Alabama wins, it can take second place golden brown colorWhile crimson tide means loss ole miss There will be a competition with Georgia.
Given Ohio State’s success without playing in the Big Ten title game last season, the idea of taking next week off may have been a preferential option for some coaches, who would prefer to see their team get healthy and avoid the risk of additional injuries from an extra game.
Not for Smart, who has won three SEC titles.
“You live your life afraid of injuries, do you know what you get? A very scared team,” Smart said after Friday’s game. “It’s also an opportunity to win an SEC championship. Does it matter? Does anyone care anymore? I grew up thinking it was the greatest game in the world. I’m different from everyone else. … Now that’s what’s wrong with this whole thing. What if you get hurt? This is football. It’s all part of it.”
At least some of Georgia’s offensive struggles on Friday were due to injuries. Center drew bobo Left the game early, and his absence was limiting the Bulldogs’ passing attack. Smart doesn’t blame Bobo for departure but focuses on quarterback gunner stockton There is a need to respond better.
Stockton completed 11 of 21 passing for just 70 yards – the lowest passing output for a Georgia team since 2019. Stockton’s early interception set up a Georgia Tech field goal attempt, and his downfield shot was off the mark.
“It wasn’t very good,” Smart said of the passing game. “There were some downs in the eight, there were some pressures that he took on, some at-bats. He’s got to do what he’s been trained to do. That’s the hardest thing to do. … There were some plays that we didn’t do. He’ll watch the tape and grow from that and get better, and so will the rest of the team.”
Georgia players weren’t lobbying for anything at all, and when the prospect of playing in the SEC title game came up, the sentiment was a little more subdued.
The question of whether Georgia players would like to take some time off prompted a pause from the four players on stage after Friday’s win before Stockton finally spoke.
“We’ll be ready to play,” he said, “whenever we are.” [scheduled],
It turns out he will be back in Atlanta next Saturday for the SEC title game.
