AUSTIN, TEXAS – Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is known for his passionate pre-game speeches, and what he conveyed to his players before last Saturday’s game against No. 1 Texas clearly worked.
Smart preached about “intent” and what it meant not to get caught up in the moment in a top-five matchup with his then-ranked No. 5 Bulldogs, who defeated the Longhorns 30-15 in dominating fashion.
“These players get the best out of me. And I’m so proud of these guys. Because nobody believed, nobody gave us a chance,” Smart said to an ESPN reporter after the game. “Your whole network doubted us. Nobody believed us. And then they tried to rob us with calls in this place. And these guys are so resilient. You know what I mean?
“We talked about intent. What was our intent when we walked on the field? Our intent was not to take pictures. Not to do all the superstar stuff. Our intent was to eat. Our intent was to come eat and be hungry. I’m not interested in all the bells and whistles. What I want is a team that bites their ass off like they did tonight.”
Georgia did eat, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Bulldogs pressured Texas quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning all night, totaling a season-high seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss. They also had eight quarterback pressures and forced three fumbles in the win.
Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker exploited weaknesses in the Longhorns’ offensive line almost by himself. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior totaled eight tackles, all solo, and three sacks, both career and team highs. Walker also had a team-high four quarterback pressures, half the team total.
Walker presented the game ball to Smart in the locker room.
“He’s a high-character leader. He was the guy who presented me with the football after the game, [my] 100th-win ball,” Smart said of Walker. “He’s such a high-character kid, with high moral values and a great family. You think back to all those wins you get in recruiting and how you don’t know how important they are. I think back to when he called and told us he was coming, what changed his life, and what it changed for us.
"His dad reached out the other day and said, ‘Kirby, y’all have done everything you said you were going to do with my son, and I appreciate you making him a better man.’” Georgia dominated Texas in the first half, leading 23-0 at the half, which silenced the Texas crowd.
A two-yard touchdown rush by Trevor Etienne put the Bulldogs in the driver’s seat with 1:35 left in the first quarter. The junior transfer running back also scored from 15 yards out midway through the second quarter, with kicker Peyton Woodring nailing a trio of field goals, which proved to be big.
However, Texas didn’t back down, scoring on its first possession of the second half. Ewers led the Longhorns down the field, capping off the drive with a two-yard scoring pass to Peach State native and wideout Isaiah Bond. The Longhorns then went for a two-point conversion, and the pair hooked up again.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck tossed his third interception late in the third quarter. The officials initially ruled it a pass interference but overturned the call after Texas fans pelted the field with trash. The reversed call went against the NCAA’s rules, and Texas responded with a quick score.
Ewers hooked up with receiver Jaydon Blue for a touchdown, making it a 23-15 game after the PAT.
Smart acknowledged the unusual call by the officials in his postgame press conference.
“Yeah, he said the guy got it wrong. The [referee] called it on the wrong guy, which took him a long time to realize that. So, it’s one of those things that I don’t know what I’m allowed to say or not say, so I won’t comment because I want to respect the wishes of the SEC office,” Smart said. “But I will say that now we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes, you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed. And that’s unfortunate because, to me, that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want. That’s not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.”
Georgia responded with an 11-play, 89-yard scoring drive to put the game away. Beck made a pivotal play on 3rd-and-11 by completing a 21-yard pass to wideout Arian Smith to keep the drive going.
A few plays later, Etienne, who rushed for 87 yards and three touchdowns, crossed the goal line for his final score from a yard out on fourth down. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 30-15 after the PAT.
Smart believes his team proved the doubters wrong.
“I don’t know. Maybe they didn’t doubt us. They just believed more in Texas than us. I think we’re a very well-respected program,” Smart said. “We’ve got a good team and played a couple of good halves. We flashed some ability to be good. We just have to be able to sustain it longer.
“Look, I know everybody thinks I play that doubter role. I don’t care. I mean, I don’t. But after the game, it’s a lot easier to say. I don’t bring it up to our players. Everybody thinks that we preach that nobody believes in you. Our intent was different. Our intent when we walked on that field was completely different.”
Now ranked No. 2, Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) heads into its bye week before facing Florida on Nov. 2 in Jacksonville.
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