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ATHENS - August here and football is back.
While the summer heat is still around, fall is quickly approaching. Kirby Smart and his Georgia Bulldogs start fall camp this week with high expectations for the 2026 season.
Smart told 680 The Fan at SEC Media Days exactly what he wants to learn from his team before the season opener against Tennessee Tech on September 5th.
“Toughness,” Smart said bluntly. “How we respond in the 4th quarter. How can we create ways in practice that help us become tougher without us losing starters. Camp is where you build your team and make things hard for your team so you’re better when those times arrive in the fall.”
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Georgia was an outstanding 4th quarter team last year. One of the best in college football.
They ripped Tennessee’s heart out in Knoxville thanks to a big 4th quarter. They crushed Auburn over the last 15 minutes, suffocating them with long, sustained drives that allowed them to leave town with a win.
Same against the Gators. Georgia left Jacksonville with a fifth consecutive win because they kicked Florida’s ass in the 4th quarter.
Remember the Ole Miss game in Athens? The Dawgs were losing heading into the 4th quarter. They didn’t flinch and took over down the stretch, ended the game with a 43-35 victory.
That’s just what they did. Now they did come up short in the end, but throughout last season, Kirby’s team dominated the final quarter of regulation.
That’s because they practice it. They pride themselves, and have for years now, on being a dominant 4th quarter football team. They certainly were last season and need to continue to that trend this fall if they want to win the final game of the season.
But it starts this week. It starts with intense, difficult practices that separate the strong from the weak. The starters from the reserves.
It’s not easy to play at the University of Georgia. That’s for a reason, and that’s exactly how Kirby Smart has built one of the most successful programs in college football.
“Practices are hard here for everybody”, Smart said this spring. “They're meant to be tough. They're meant to be hard so the game is easier.”
