Dawgs Aim To Stay Humble, Focused
September 24, 2017 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
It wasn't damage control Kirby Smart was doing after his Georgia football team trounced Mississippi State, 31-3, on Saturday, it was something you don't often hear: praise control.
In one of the marquee games of the weekend, especially after State's 37-7 rout of LSU the week before, No. 11 Georgia put together a complete and thoroughly dominant performance. The defense, very good all season, held No. 17-ranked Mississippi State 44 points and 213 yards below its averages through three games.
The offense, which had been sluggish at times in the first three games, was creative, efficient and productive, highlighted by the 59-yard touchdown off a flea-flicker on Georgia's first offensive play.
There's plenty there to be excited about, plenty there to praise, as Georgia (4-0, 1-0) played by far its best game of the young season. For sure one of its best games in a couple of seasons. But hold the hype for a bit, Smart essentially said in his postgame news conference.
"Look, guys, I know every one of y'all wants to write how great this was and how good it was," he said, "but we still got dropped balls, we still got missed blocks, we still got missed tackles, we still got a lot of room for improvement — and we're a team that's got to go on the road this week, just like Mississippi State had to this week after a big win."
Not too many folks on the national college football scene were paying a lot of attention to Mississippi State this season before it beat LSU by 30. Then it moved into the Top 25 and spent a week in the spotlight, followed by a lopsided defeat in Athens.
For Georgia, which moved up four spots in the AP poll to No. 7 on Sunday, it has the big home win, in its SEC opener, and now the Bulldogs have to hit the road and face Tennessee (3-1, 0-1). Like Smart, the players know that Saturday's win was a good one, but only one win.
By the end of Saturday night and on into Sunday, Georgia's win was a hot topic in college football media circles. More than a few folks wrote or said that the Bulldogs were now serious College Football Playoff contenders, as well as the heavy favorites to win the SEC East, despite just one conference game in the books.
It's the kind of talk that Smart and his staff surely want their players to ignore, even if avoiding it is nearly impossible. Safety J.R. Reed, who led Georgia with 10 tackles against State and deflected a pass that was picked off by Dominick Sanders, sounded the right tone when asked after the game about the team's confidence following such a dominating performance.
"It's high, but we can't get too high up — that's how you get shot down," he said.
Smart after the game was as funny with the media as he's been during his time as Georgia's coach. His response to a question about expectations drew one of the biggest laughs from the few dozen media members in the room.
What do you do to try to temper the higher expectations that come from a big win over a ranked SEC opponent? His face expressionless under his white visor, a very deadpan Smart answered: "We have difficult practices." He added that you don't temper expectations, you do a good job managing your team.
Multiple players after the game stressed that everything on display Saturday night was the result of the team's practices, which sounds pretty obvious but their words, along with Smart's, gave the impression that Georgia practices this season have gone up a notch or two.
"It's the way we practice: nothing changes" regardless of the opponent, outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter said. "It doesn't matter who we're going to play. We're going to keep coming out, striking people and playing physical and fast."
Said Smart: "To me those kids are starting to buy in and realize that practice is important and does affect the way you play."
No doubt, any hoopla in the Georgia meeting and locker rooms about a 31-3 home win will be folded up and put away like the game uniforms long before practice Monday. Up next this Saturday is Tennessee, in Knoxville, and we all remember what happened the last time these teams got together.
Georgia is 4-0 after four games, with nice wins over Notre Dame and Mississippi State. But only a third of the season is in the books, and the challenges ahead are as great or greater than the challenges already met.
UGAAA Staff Writer
It wasn't damage control Kirby Smart was doing after his Georgia football team trounced Mississippi State, 31-3, on Saturday, it was something you don't often hear: praise control.
In one of the marquee games of the weekend, especially after State's 37-7 rout of LSU the week before, No. 11 Georgia put together a complete and thoroughly dominant performance. The defense, very good all season, held No. 17-ranked Mississippi State 44 points and 213 yards below its averages through three games.
The offense, which had been sluggish at times in the first three games, was creative, efficient and productive, highlighted by the 59-yard touchdown off a flea-flicker on Georgia's first offensive play.
There's plenty there to be excited about, plenty there to praise, as Georgia (4-0, 1-0) played by far its best game of the young season. For sure one of its best games in a couple of seasons. But hold the hype for a bit, Smart essentially said in his postgame news conference.
"Look, guys, I know every one of y'all wants to write how great this was and how good it was," he said, "but we still got dropped balls, we still got missed blocks, we still got missed tackles, we still got a lot of room for improvement — and we're a team that's got to go on the road this week, just like Mississippi State had to this week after a big win."
Not too many folks on the national college football scene were paying a lot of attention to Mississippi State this season before it beat LSU by 30. Then it moved into the Top 25 and spent a week in the spotlight, followed by a lopsided defeat in Athens.
For Georgia, which moved up four spots in the AP poll to No. 7 on Sunday, it has the big home win, in its SEC opener, and now the Bulldogs have to hit the road and face Tennessee (3-1, 0-1). Like Smart, the players know that Saturday's win was a good one, but only one win.
By the end of Saturday night and on into Sunday, Georgia's win was a hot topic in college football media circles. More than a few folks wrote or said that the Bulldogs were now serious College Football Playoff contenders, as well as the heavy favorites to win the SEC East, despite just one conference game in the books.
It's the kind of talk that Smart and his staff surely want their players to ignore, even if avoiding it is nearly impossible. Safety J.R. Reed, who led Georgia with 10 tackles against State and deflected a pass that was picked off by Dominick Sanders, sounded the right tone when asked after the game about the team's confidence following such a dominating performance.
"It's high, but we can't get too high up — that's how you get shot down," he said.
Smart after the game was as funny with the media as he's been during his time as Georgia's coach. His response to a question about expectations drew one of the biggest laughs from the few dozen media members in the room.
What do you do to try to temper the higher expectations that come from a big win over a ranked SEC opponent? His face expressionless under his white visor, a very deadpan Smart answered: "We have difficult practices." He added that you don't temper expectations, you do a good job managing your team.
Multiple players after the game stressed that everything on display Saturday night was the result of the team's practices, which sounds pretty obvious but their words, along with Smart's, gave the impression that Georgia practices this season have gone up a notch or two.
"It's the way we practice: nothing changes" regardless of the opponent, outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter said. "It doesn't matter who we're going to play. We're going to keep coming out, striking people and playing physical and fast."
Said Smart: "To me those kids are starting to buy in and realize that practice is important and does affect the way you play."
No doubt, any hoopla in the Georgia meeting and locker rooms about a 31-3 home win will be folded up and put away like the game uniforms long before practice Monday. Up next this Saturday is Tennessee, in Knoxville, and we all remember what happened the last time these teams got together.
Georgia is 4-0 after four games, with nice wins over Notre Dame and Mississippi State. But only a third of the season is in the books, and the challenges ahead are as great or greater than the challenges already met.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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