Georgia Coach Kirby Smart Slams ESPN After Massive Win Over Texas
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ATHENS - “Nobody believed in us. Nobody gave us a chance. Your whole network doubted us.”
That’s what Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart told ESPN sideline reporter Katie George after Georgia’s impressive 30-15 win over the No. 1 Texas Longhorns.
And he’s right.
The No. 5 Bulldogs went to Austin, Texas an angry football team. They were the underdogs. Their reign was over, and Texas was up next.
Not so fast, my friend. Corso, Desmond Howard, Pat Mcafee, Nick Saban. All of them. The entire ESPN crew doubted Kirby’s Dawgs. It made sense to doubt them considering how the season was going, but when facing their biggest challenge, the Dawgs came through.
The Dawgs had to fight off a Texas comeback, thanks to the officials, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
“They tried to rob us with calls”, Smart added. “But these guys are so resilient. We talked about intent. What was our intent when going on the field? It wasn't to come out and take pictures with the superstars. Our intent was to eat. Our intent was to come and be hungry. We’re not interested in the bells and whistles. What I want is a team that bites their ass off and they did tonight.”
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GAME NOTES:
*Career WIn #100 For Smart: Head coach Kirby Smart joined a select group of head coaches who have been among the fastest to reach the century victory mark in their career as he reached 100 wins tonight in just 117 games with the road win over #1 Texas. That ranks tied for fifth fastest with Knute Rockne (100-12-5 at Notre Dame) and Chris Petersen (100-17) with Boise State and Washington.
*Huge Road Win! With tonight’s 30-15 victory, No. 5 Georgia has now won 45 of its past 46 games including 31 of its past 32 SEC regular season games. The Bulldogs are 52-3 in their last 55 games. With the latest victory, Georgia’s 2024 senior class improves to 48-3 overall and 42-1 in the regular season. Georgia notched its second win in the UT series with the Longhorns still holding a 4-2 edge.
*Bulldogs Now 4-5 Against No. 1 Ranked Teams: Georgia improved to 4-5 in school history versus the top-ranked team and now 3-1 under Kirby Smart. Tonight marked the first time that the Bulldogs faced a No. 1 team in a true road game.
*Defensive Review: Georgia held top-ranked UT to 15 points and 259 yards of total offense on 76 plays as they were 2-for-15 on 3rd down conversions Coming in tonight, UT ranked seventh nationally in Scoring Offense at 43.2 ppg. UT finished 0-for-7 on 3rd down conversions in the first half.
At the half, top-ranked UT was shutout on just 38 yards of total offense (2-rushing, 36-passing) on 34 plays with a season-high five sacks. It’s the third time this year that the Bulldogs have a first-half shutout, doing it against No. 14 Clemson in Atlanta and versus Tenn. Tech in Athens.
*In the first half, junior Daylen Everette got a sack for minus 15 and a forced a fumble plus recovered it at the UT 13. It was his first forced fumble and fumble recover and sack. It led to an eventual TD and a 7-0 edge with six seconds left in the first quarter. Everette notched his first INT (2nd of his career) at the UT34. It led to an eventual TD and a 17-0 edge with 8:30 left in the first half.
*Georgia’s leading tacklers were junior Jalon Walker with eight tackles plus three sacks. He has team-best 4.5 sacks on the year. The three sacks tied for the most in a game in the Kirby Smart era, last done by Channing Tindall at Tennesse in 2021.
*Daylen Everette had seven stops. Damon Wilson had a sack, forced fumble that was recovered by Walker at the UT30. Junior Mykel Williams added a sack in the 2nd half to give him four on the season.
*UT cut it to 23-8 on its opening possession of the 2nd half, going 55 yards on eight plays in 3:52.
*Following an overturn on interference play that led to an INT, UT needed two plays and nine yards to cut it to 23-14 with 2:12 in the 3rd quarter.
*Summary Of The Offense: Georgia finished 283 yards on 71 plays including 6-of-17 on 3rd downs and 1-for-2 with a TD on 4th downs.
At the half, Georgia led 23-0 with 170 yards of offense on 39 plays. Coming in tonight, UT led the nation in Scoring Defense (6.3 ppg) and had allowed just one passing TD all year.
*Coming in tonight In the Red Zone, UT ranked second nationally, allowing only seven trips and just one TD. In the first half, Georgia was 3-for-4 (2TDs rushing, 33-yard field goal, one INT) in the Red Zone and ended the night 4-for-5 with 3 TDs..
*Georgia capitalized on a sack/forced fumble/recovery to give them the ball on the UT 13. It led to a TD, going four plays in 1:35 on a two-yard score by Trevor Etienne for a 7-0 advantage.
*Georgia built a 10-0 lead with 10:46 left in the first half on a 33-yard field goal by sophomore Peyton Woodring.
*Following an INT by Daylen Everette to give the Bulldogs the ball at the UT34, Georgia turned it into a TD, capped by a 15-yard run by Trevor Etienne and a 17-0 edge.
*Georgia made it 20-0 after a 48-yard field goal by Woodring with 4:43 left, and he made a 44-yard to end the first half for a 23-0 edge.
*At halftime, senior QB Carson Beck was 16-for-28 for 100 yards with no TDs and 2 INTs.
*The Bulldogs had 108 rushing yards on 30 attempts. Junior Trevor Etienne had a team-high 87 yards on 19 attempts with 3 TDs.
*Georgia put together an 11 play, 89-yard TD drive in 5:03 to take a 30-15 advantage with 12:04 left in the contest en route to the win..
*4th Down Success: On 4th-and-goal from the 1, Etienne scored to put the Bulldogs up 30-14 after the PAT. The Bulldogs are now 11-for-12 on the year on 4th down conversions including making their last 10 attempts. Coming in tonight, Georgia ranked fourth nationally in 4th Down Conversions at 91%. Georgia finished 1-for-2 on 4th downs tonight..
*Catching Up With The Receivers: Eight different Bulldogs had a catch tonight with the leading receivers in senior Arian Smith (6-for-32) Dominic Lovett (4-for-35) and Trevor Etienne (3-for-23).
*Special Teams In Action: Sophomore PK Peyton Woodring tallied 13 points on four PATs and field goals of 33, 44 and 48 yards plus handled kickoffs.
*Junior P Brett Thorson averaged 54 yards on four punts with two returned for minus nine yards. Georgia has not allowed a positive yard on a return this year. Sophomore Anthony Evans had two punt returns for 21 yards.
*Captains, Coin Toss And For Starters: Georgia’s captains were Carson Beck, Trevor Etienne, Malaki Starks and Jalon Walker.
Texas won the toss and deferred the ball until the second half. Junior Jared Wilson returned to his starting role at center after not starting the past two games due to injury. He now has started five games this season.
*Up Next: The Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) have an open date and return to action Nov. 2 against Florida (4-3, 2-2 SEC) in Jacksonville. The Gators beat Kentucky in Gainesville tonight and are off next week too.