Put the ball down, the Dawgs are back for Spring Practice. Tuesday is St. Patrick’s Day. The 2026 Georgia football team will also begin practice. The Georgia social media team did its job as always. Providing us with juiced highlights to get all the Dawgs barking. Spring ball will be spread over five weeks. The 2026 squad will practice Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The annual G-Day Spring game will take place on Saturday, April 18th, the week after The Masters. We will have plenty of time to look at the offense and defense, but we want to start with the head ball coach, Kirby Smart. This will be year 11 for Smart and the Dawgs. The game has changed since December 9, 2015, but one thing has not. Smart has brought Georgia to an elite level. That is still true today, despite the questions around where Georgia sits in 2026.
Put the Ball Down and Stop Questioning Kirby Smart
Three Questions for Smart and Georgia

Georgia is the defending back-to-back SEC Champions. That used to mean something. Now, it is basically a footnote and forgotten. Instead, the media has focused on whether Georgia has slipped. If NIL and Transfer Portal make Smart a dinosaur. There are three big questions surrounding Smart and the Dawgs heading into 2026.

Has Georgia “slipped”  or “missed” its chance to rule college football?
The back-to-back Quarterfinal Sugar Bowl losses have spoken louder than the SEC Championships. In the last two years, Georgia has earned a bye and a free pass to New Orleans in the College Football Playoff. The Notre Dame game two years ago was forgettable. Last year’s game stung. Ole Miss balled out and was just the better team. Does that mean Georgia has missed its chance? Not by a long shot.
Is Gunner Stockton really the answer that can lead Georgia back to a National Championship?
The ticket to winning in college football seems to be getting a transfer quarterback to lead you to promise land. The last two national champions, Ohio State (Will Howard) and Indiana (Fernando Mendoza), both had transfer QBs at the helm. Hell, a former Georgia QB, led Miami to the national championship last year. Instead, Smart has gone with his guy, Gunner Stockton. Sure, he did his due diligence on Mendoza and let Carson Beck walk, or whatever he did last year. Stockton rewarded Smart’s loyalty. He played better as the games went on, earning his teammates’ and the fans’ love.
Do Kirby Smart and Georgia have an Alabama and an Ole Miss problem?
We know Smart doesn’t love seeing the Tide on the other sideline. He has also lost two of the last three to the Rebels. But has either program really passed Georgia? Maybe on the scoreboard, but the games have been competitive. Put the ball down, Smart and the Dawgs will be ready for both teams and whoever comes at them in 2026.

Dawgs on Top

Let’s face it. Smart has moved Georgia to an elite level in College Football. Back-to-back SEC Championships simply aren’t enough. Georgia fans want more. They waited for 41 years for a national championship and were rewarded with two straight. College football has changed a lot since those two championships. The floor has risen, and there is more balance in college football.

Smart has used the portal. Using it to augment and enhance his roster rather than totally rebuild it as the Lane in Oxford or that Google Guy in Bloomington.  Each of them brought in 30+ guys to help transform their roster; Smart had fewer than ten. Smart had one of the youngest rosters in CFB in 2025. Rather than complain, he let Georgia learn through their growing pains. Sure, a second straight Sugar Bowl loss hurt, but we bet it was rosier than what happened in College Station or Pasadena.

Smart has raised the standard at Georgia. Here is a look at his first ten years in Athens, pretty, pretty, pretty good.

2016
8-5

2017
13-2
SEC Championship, Finalist

2018
11-3
SEC Finalist

2019
12-2
SEC Finalist

2020
8-2

2021
14-1
SEC Finalist, National Championship

2022
15-0
SEC Champion, National Champion

2023
13-1
SEC Finalist

2024
11-3
SEC Champion

2025
12-2
SEC Champion

117-21 (69-12 in the SEC)
8 SEC Championship Game appearances
4 SEC Championships
3 National Championship Game appearances
2 National Championships

Contrast that with the 15 years prior under Mark Richt. Rich won 73.97% of games. Smart has won 84.78%. Smart has more SEC Championship game appearances (eight to Richt’s six), and doubled the number of SEC Championships (four to Richt’s two). Richt was well-loved in Athens; some didn’t like the way it ended. The proof is in the results. Smart has elevated Georgia to an elite program. He has few peers across college football today.

Who Are Kirby Smart’s Peers?

Curt Cignetti is the new hot name. Hell, it makes sense. He kicked Ohio State and Alabama’s asses before bringing a national championship to Bloomington in Football. But it’s only been two years. The accolades for 2025 are well deserved, but let’s check back in eight years to see where he is. Looking around college football, Smart has few peers who have truly matched his level of excellence.

Ryan Day (Ohio State): eight years in Columbus. 82-12 record. Just one B1G Title and one national championship. We won’t bring up his record against the team “Up North.”
Dabo Swinney (lil ole Clemson): 18 years at Clemson. 187-53 record. Seven ACC titles and two national championships. Like Smart, some have said the game has passed Dabo bye. A quick look at the last five years shows the gap between the two coaches. Dabo is 47-20, with two ACC titles, and no national championships. Smart is 65-7 with three SEC Championships and two national championships.

That’s the list. Sarkisian is still waiting to see if the Horns can Hook the Dawgs. DeBoer has beaten Smart twice, but he is still a ways from that list. Lane is loud and may make noise in Baton Rouge, but comes with a lot of baggage. Harbaugh and his cell phones are back in the NFL. Lanning has still not shown an ability to win a playoff game. Cristobal is close, but we will take a knee before we add him to the conversation. Who are we missing? Add it in the comments below.

A Great Sense of Humor
One of the best things about Smart is his sense of humor. While most of his press conferences are tough. He will coach speak ya. Smart does have a sense of humor. We have heard the pregame and halftime speeches. But last week, we got a nice laugh for us all. Smart took a selfie with a “fan” captioned “me & my dawgs.”  The post was from Hanna Cavinder. The former University of Miami (FL.) basketball star and her twin sister. She is also the girlfriend of former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. We won’t go any further explaining the tweet, but to say, “thank you, Kirby.” We can’t wait to put the ball down.