24-20 win over Florida. <\/a><\/p>\nBelow is everything the Georgia coach had to say. <\/p>\n
Georgia coach Kirby Smart recaps win over Florida<\/p>\n
Opening Statement…<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, opening statement is, this team just won\u2019t go away. I mean, first of all, I want to give a lot of credit to Billy Napier who assembled this roster, and he\u2019s got a bunch of good, tough, physical players. That\u2019s one of the biggest defensive lines, offense lines we\u2019ve played against, and they match us very well from a physical standpoint, and they\u2019re hard to defend. They did a good job up front, stopping things, they made it tough, our kids are very resilient. Another night in the SEC. I don\u2019t know what else is going on in the country right now, but when you play in this league, every game comes down to the last two possessions. I thought we managed that well. Play of the game is obviously the fourth down, one or two, whatever it was stop, and that made the difference in the game. We knew they had four downs, because it was a three point differential, he wasn\u2019t going to kick a field goal there. I wouldn\u2019t have either. The defense made a huge stop, offense had a great drive, and then defense came out with another big stop. So a lot of credit goes to the players, they\u2019ve gotten better throughout the year. We\u2019re a beat up football team with a lot of injuries, so looking forward to getting ready for next week.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the fourth and 1 stop in the fourth quarter… <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, two big plays. They went with their identity runs, we went with our identity defense. It was man-on-man, striking people. They\u2019re really physical up front, I think their back is one of the best backs in the country. He\u2019s from our state, and he\u2019s really good, and for us to be able to stop him, that was a huge stop. I give a lot of credit to Tray Scott, Schumann, they game planned for short yardage. We took some chances there, and it paid off.\u201d <\/p>\n
On if he was surprised Florida went for it on fourth down in the fourth quarter\u2026 <\/p>\n
\u201cWhy take the points? Yeah, they take the points, it\u2019s six. Three to six differentiates does nothing for you. You tell the other team you need a touchdown. He did the right thing. You\u2019ve got to go for it, go win the game. Three to six does nothing, you just tell the other team, you\u2019ve got four downs to score, instead of thinking about a field goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
On what he saw from Gunner Stockton today… <\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, he\u2019s a gamer, right? He plays better as the game goes on than when he has to. I didn\u2019t think that he played his best game. I think they did some good things defensively. They\u2019re really tight coverage, very different than Ole Miss. I mean, it just was a different kind of defense. The way they attack him, I feel like we could run the ball, but we didn\u2019t run the ball as efficiently as we have in the past. That\u2019s every quarterback\u2019s best friend. We did hit a couple of explosives that were big for him.\u201d <\/p>\n
On what he saw from Chauncey Bowens in this game… <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it was great runs. I mean, I\u2019ll be honest with you, Nate could probably make those runs, too. I mean, Dwight could make those runs, McCray could make those runs. Let\u2019s give credit where credit\u2019s due. Chauncey did an awesome job. I thought that the check on the run for the touchdown was the second biggest play of the game, because Gunner saw something, changed the O-line, picked it up, and it\u2019s really hard to run that, it\u2019s hard to defend that play with them stunting the line as they were doing. It was a great check by him. Our O-line picked it up beautifully. We work on that really hard, and the ball wound back, and Chauncey was rewarded with a great run. So I was really proud of him, but that was a good job. And then the toss sweep iced the game.\u201d <\/p>\n
On what he saw from Chauncey Bowens this week… <\/p>\n
\u201cChauncey\u2019s one of the most consistent players on our team. Chauncey\u2019s number one, a great kid from a great family, from a great school. He loves getting better. He\u2019s happy for his teammates. He\u2019s really talented. He\u2019s in a talented room. It\u2019s hard when you share carries, because they\u2019re sitting there with really one healthy back and one other back and he\u2019s getting all the carries. And then we got three, four guys that I\u2019ve got a lot of confidence in in that room. I hate it for McCray and Dwight, because they\u2019re really good backs. But they\u2019re a good run stop team, so they made it hard on him.\u201d <\/p>\n
On the injuries on defense and how they patched it together… \u201cWell, we patched it together because we had to. I mean, we have some depth on the D-line. I don\u2019t know, Jordan\u2019s injury is something to do with his knee. I don\u2019t know the exact injury. Demello, something to do with his elbow. I don\u2019t know how severe it is. And then Chris Cole, something to do with his knee. But I didn\u2019t get a report before I came in here, so I don\u2019t know. But that puts us a little bit down at several positions. We have to have guys step up and get ready to play. It\u2019s all over our league right now. Florida was that way coming into the game with a lot of defensive guys they got back for this game.\u201d <\/p>\n
On if Florida did anything that he didn\u2019t expect… <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a confusing question for me. Anything I didn\u2019t expect that they did, I mean they ran their offense for the most part. I think they simplified some things for the quarterback and tried to speed it up so he could go play and not have to shift motion. But they still ran parts of their shift motion. They still ran some of their staple plays that are very similar to ours. They\u2019re really talented and his some shots on that.\u201d <\/p>\n
On if he got an explanation on Gunner\u2019s false start… <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s a mechanic thing that they think that he\u2019s overdoing the clap, which is, I mean, whatever. I mean, y\u2019all are film guys, go show every time he\u2019s ever clapped in his career. He overdoes it all the time. I\u2019m like, Gunner, quit gyrating before you clap, because you\u2019re telling the defense when the ball\u2019s being snapped. He did the clap on that play exactly like he did every play. But it got called, so we honor the call.\u201d<\/p>\n
On how valuable it is that his team is so resilient… <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s better than the alternative, isn\u2019t it?\u201d <\/p>\n
On CJ Allen\u2019s play tonight… <\/p>\n
\u201cMan, I wish he was out there every play. I mean, he\u2019s a machine, he erases things. Ball gets out, Lagway looks like he\u2019s about to go. And I was like, he looks like he\u2019s going to run for a long way. And CJ runs him down and tackles him right away. The kid practices so hard and wants to win so bad for Georgia. I don\u2019t know that I\u2019ve seen a kid that cared more about the team performance than CJ does. Now, a lot of people care about it. They\u2019re not willing to practice like he does. He practices so hard that it comes across in his play. He\u2019s a great leader, and I appreciate the work he puts into it.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Gunner Stockton\u2019s kneel down at the end… <\/p>\n
\u201cWe got it fixed this time, right? To a lot of better\u2019s dismay, we fixed it.<\/p>\n
On the long pass to J. Michael Sturdivant… <\/p>\n
\u201cI saw wide open guy. We had busted coverage. So we got a guy that\u2019s supposed to be in the half. He got the wrong signal and played the wrong defense. We had nobody back there. We wer insanely lucky that, number one, he didn\u2019t score. He didn\u2019t catch. I didn\u2019t see anything. I don\u2019t know. I can\u2019t tell you, man. That\u2019s what it is. That\u2019s their job. <\/p>\n
On finding the run game in the second half… \u201cWe committed to it. We ran the ball well in the first half, in my opinion. We had several runs that were five, six yard runs that were good. And then we tried to throw the ball the perimeter a little bit, and they got us on the perimeter some, and we had the holdings. The biggest difference in the game, we wasted either two or three possessions on penalties that you just can\u2019t get the snap and two holdings. Just wipe out three possessions. And if you take those three possessions and score on one or two, then we\u2019re kneeling the ball in the fourth.\u201d <\/p>\n
On Zachariah Branch…<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I certainly envisioned him having a major impact. I didn\u2019t know that it was a career high for him. He\u2019s a weapon, a guy with elite quickness, toughness. He\u2019s another one, too, now guys. When he goes to practice, he practices for real. He goes out there and works hard, and he showed players, CJ Allen and Zach Branch, and say, you wanna play good? Practice really hard. It pays off your conditioning levels high, and I thought Zach did an awesome job.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Zion Branch… <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, I have to watch the tape to see. I mean, he had a big play on the first play of the second half, came out above and made a tackle on a boot. Great play, got beat across his face in an over, was tough right there. They threw Eugene Wilson, but I mean, the guy practices every day. The guy goes out there and works his tail off. So he practices against really good players, his brother. He got him man-to-man with some guys. He\u2019s gonna be a guy that continues to grow and get better for us. I was proud of his poise to go in and play with he and JaCorey.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the KJ Bolden targeting ejection…<\/p>\n
\u201cI never even got to watch it. I\u2019ve gotten to the point where what does it matter? I didn\u2019t say, well, is it targeting, is it not? I\u2019m like, okay, KJ\u2019s in, we\u2019re doing this. KJ\u2019s not, then this is what we\u2019re doing, and they gotta make the call and see. So I guess it was, that\u2019s what they look for. So I hate it KJ, cuz there\u2019s nothing intentional about it. <\/p>\n
On closing out this stadium with a win…<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah it\u2019s big. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s because it\u2019s the last game. It\u2019s because it\u2019s the next game. I mean, it has nothing to do with where we\u2019ll be next year or any of that. I told our guys, we got guys that won\u2019t ever come back here. We got guys that for the next two years, they will not play in this venue. So they\u2019ll be playing somewhere else. But really good football team, and I don\u2019t think anybody would wanna play them regardless of their record.\u201d<\/p>\n
On finding ways to win late in games… <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, Anthony, I\u2019m out of it. Does it help, or does it, I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t believe in playing with fire. But if I could just write the script and say, yeah, let\u2019s go up by 14, let\u2019s go up by 21, I don\u2019t write the script. So the script kind of plays out. I know that our kids are not uncomfortable playing from that. They don\u2019t get chained to a scoreboard. There\u2019s people that play chained to the scoreboard. Our guys are free of that, and they just play to the team and keep chopping. To keep chopping makes some good things happen. I do think we\u2019re very well conditioned. I do think our guys believe in winning in the fourth. <\/p>\n
On Noah Thomas… <\/p>\n
\u201cProud of Noah. He\u2019s worked really hard. I thought Mike and them schemed up a really good play for him. It wasn\u2019t like a one-on-one, go beat him. It was, he\u2019s overcoming the player early in the game where he ricocheted off of it. And then he got a pick, and he made up for it by making a hell of a play with a guy coming at him, taking a free shot on him, on the whole shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the fight at the end of the game… <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd a lot of Georgia kids out there for them, a lot of Florida kids for us. Rivalry games, I mean, at that point the game was over. There wasn\u2019t a lot you could do. You\u2019d do all your talking and play them before the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
On winning this rivalry… <\/p>\n
\u201cIt creates confidence, I mean, it\u2019s a good team. It\u2019s the next step in the puzzle. Look, I have a lot of respect for their staff. There\u2019s the families on that staff that I\u2019m good friends with. Russ Calloway, his dad, helped me get a job at Georgia.Rob Sale, I live, I basically play golf, best friends with. Vinnie Sunseri, who I coached and love Vinnie to death. And I feel for their families because in this profession, that\u2019s what happens. And they continue to get their players to play at a high level. It shows what kind of coaches they are and how much respect I have for guys that have the ability to do that. <\/p>\n
On the field turf… <\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t notice it. I felt a little soft, like spongy. But nothing that, I think guys slipped and fell a lot. I think it was that opening kick, Peyton certainly did.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the tight ends…<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I don\u2019t know how to really speak to it. There were several shots there to him. One time a guy ran the wrong route. One time the ball hit a guy. I mean, it\u2019s just a matter of how people play us. When they\u2019re playing zone, when they\u2019re playing man-match, they\u2019re a big man-match team. And it\u2019s easy to take the tight ends away when you play man-match.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Georgia was already without one starting safety in Kyron Jones. Then in the second quarter,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,20094],"class_list":["post-30336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-georgia-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}