Slump? Funk? How Kirby Smart sees the Bulldogs last 2 games after dominant start to season
Georgia no longer sits on top of the college football world. At least in the world of the polls.
The Bulldogs slipped to No. 2 behind Alabama in both the USA Today Sports AFCA poll and the Associated Press poll after having to rally in the fourth quarter to win a much- closer-than-expected 26-22 decision at unranked Missouri Saturday night.
After burying Oregon, Samford, and South Carolina back-to-back-to-back, the Bulldogs had to work much harder in a 39-22 win over Kent State and then the four-point win at Missouri.
“I don't look at it as you’re in a hitting slump or some kind of funk or anything like that,” coach Kirby Smart said Monday. “A lot of that is predicated off what the other team does and what we do. Very different teams we faced between Kent State in three down, Missouri and the way they played us. Just different things.”
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Here comes Auburn (3-2, 1-1 SEC) for a Saturday 3:30 p.m. CBS game. The Tigers were pounded at home 41-12 by Penn State, pulled out an overtime win over Missouri a week later and then lost to LSU Saturday 21-17.
Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) returns to Sanford Stadium for its SEC home opener. The Bulldogs have a 14-game home winning streak, sixth longest in the nation.
Georgia is a 29 ½ point favorite. It was a huge favorite against Missouri, too,
“Every week in the SEC is a big one,” Bulldogs nose guard Zion Logue said. “We try to preach it all week. Some people didn’t take it as strongly.”
Auburn is playing its first game away from Jordan-Hare Stadium all season.
Smart said the game at Missouri presented a challenge to his team in the night game, particularly because the Bulldogs took it to South Carolina early in their only other road game when they jumped out to a 14-0 lead in just over 10 minutes.
“I think anxiety would be one of the things that you worry about with a young team in really the first real road environment, because the South Carolina game played out so different,” Smart said. “We started really fast …The crowd really never got into the game. Took them out of the game. We didn't do that the other night. So some of those youthful anxiety guys playing in that kind of atmosphere for the first time, we're a team -- last year's team, they would've played in that a bunch of times.”
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Thirteen players who started for Georgia at Missouri were first-year starters for the Bulldogs.
“There is a lot of youth there, but to be honest with you, it was a great opportunity to see what we're about,” Smart said. “I don't know if you could find any greater adversity than be down ten points to in the fourth quarter.”
Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said at his weekly press conference Monday that he noticed that Missouri “got some momentum. You could see in that team that once they had a few plays and some success early on, you could see the shift in that football team.”
Said Smart: “Momentum is a very powerful thing. We didn't have that for a long time in that game.”
Missouri players weren’t intimated. Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter was among Bulldogs D-linemen that mixed it up during pregame warmups with Tiger players while the visitors walked around the field. Bulldog defensive lineman Tramel Walthour said the Tiger players were “trying to clear everybody and make sure they were on the right side.”
There was some extra referee whistles after the game ended when Stetson Bennett took a knee in the victory formation and the Bulldogs’ offensive line and Tigers’ defensive line lingered for longer than usual. Smart looked like he was trying to deal with that when he had a shorter than usual handshake with Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz.
“All I worry about is our guys’ behavior, and we don't want to represent that at all,” Smart said. “I think we have done a really good job here at Georgia of representing our university the right way. We play with our helmets and we don't talk to the other team. Disappointed in any player that would talk to somebody on the other team, and we don't condone it. It's something we need to get fixed. Some teams you play do that more than others, and some teams are from the same line of thinking as yourself in terms of not talking after plays and not talking before games.”
Georgia gave up 22 points in each of their past two games. Only one team had reached that many points in a game in the previous 21 games against Georgia. That was Alabama in its 41-24 SEC championship win last season.
Missouri had 294 yards of total offense. Logue said when he went back and watched the game, Georgia only “lost” on two plays. One was Missouri's 63-yard run when Malaki Starks saved a touchdown with a tackle at the 1-yard line.
The Bulldogs defense Saturday will get back “Star” nickel back Javon Bullard from a one-game suspension after his DUI arrest the day after the Kent State win. Tykee Smith started for Bullard at Missouri.
“Gives us some depth at that position,” Smart said. “They complement each other really well, and hope that both of them can help us.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football readies for Auburn Saturday after another tough win
