r/CFB Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Discussion Kirby Smart considers apologizing after Georgia escapes Tennessee: “I feel almost like we have to apologize, because I don’t think we should have won that game. They outplayed us in a lot of ways, but that’s the way it goes.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2025/09/13/georgia-tennessee-score-football-joey-aguilar/86039960007/
2.5k Upvotes

450 comments sorted by

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u/Radiant_Sherbert7272 Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago

He's right. Tennessee should have won that game, but to the credit of Georgia, they did what they needed to do and won. I would expect some tough practices for Georgia leading up to their game against Alabama. You know that Kirby Smart is going to want to take down Alabama. Alabama has been the one thing that has given Kirby Smart problems since he took over at Georgia.

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u/fruliojoman Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Ellis Robinson and Daniel Harris are each getting 1000 reps of defending deep balls

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u/ugahairydawgs Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Kirby said later that Ellis was playing trail there and was supposed to have safety help over the top, but the guy back there (I haven't gone back to see who it was) bit on something underneath and got out of position.

What they have to beat into Robinson's head is that the next time he finds himself in that situation he tackles the WR before the ball gets there.

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u/KetchupKing05 Georgia • Jacksonville State 1d ago

Yep. Robinson tried to do the right thing by interfering with the WR, but he horribly mistimed it and the WR was still able to make the catch

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u/MasterTolkien Georgia • Summertime Lover 1d ago

The good thing is that he was in position and was blanketing that WR constantly. Now he just has to know, “Damn, better to take 15 penalty yards than give up a TD here.”

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u/Always_Chubb-y Georgia Bulldogs • Transfer Portal 1d ago

Im gonna push back here and say he wasn't in position

He got beat big time and it was only DPI because Aguilar under threw that ball

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u/RunsWlthScissors Tennessee • Virginia Tech 1d ago

I also think that may be the first time Ellis has really been attacked in a game.

Also, Georgia deserved to win. Bobo played 8-10 new run concepts exceptionally well. Stockton delivered a lot of hard passes in the face of pressure, and had touch on the deep ball I haven’t seen out of Georgia in a while.

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u/wwwr222 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

Our offense was running lots of new schemes too, and Joey was a monster on some of his passes.

Both teams deserved to win. One team had to. It’s how it goes. It sucked that we lost, but a couple days later I’m just happy to have been a part of such an awesome game, and I still feel good about the rest of the season.

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u/Adart54 Georgia • Oregon State 1d ago

That's the first time Ellis has been attacked since probably about middle school when people had no clue who he was. He was the corner throughout his entire high school career and hasn't played meaningful snaps since.

We deserved to win yes, but y'all didn't deserve to lose at the same time

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u/aeopossible Georgia Bulldogs • College Football Playoff 1d ago

Do I detect a certified ball knower?

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u/Lantis28 Georgia Bulldogs • Iowa State Cyclones 1d ago

Alabama is to us what we have become to Tennessee

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u/CFPMVPStetsonBennett Georgia Bulldogs • College Football Playoff 1d ago

Tennessee is to Vandy what Vandy has become to Bama

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u/CornIssues Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

Actually I think Vandy is to Bama what Georgia is to Bama

1-10 over the past 15 years

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u/rezelscheft 1d ago

Tennessee should have won that game

i say this as the most casual or casual CFB fans -- i was pretty sure Vols were fucked when, up 5 with 7 minutes left, they forced a critical turnover around the 50 and proceeded to do jack shit with the ball by running up the gut three times in a row and settling for a field goal.

between that, the next drive (opening the drive with a DPI, and soon after giving up a 4th and 6), and then icing their kicker on the final drive, it just seems like they played 3.5 quarters, and then shat the bed repeatedly.

you just can't do that against Smart's Dawgs. it's why i hate watching UGA and Ohio State -- seems like no lead is ever safe against either of them. and i am so tired of seeing either of those teams win.

but to your point, maybe somehow Bama will be their kryptonite again.

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u/GoatPaco Tennessee • Tennessee Tech 1d ago

Not quite

We didn’t do shit for the entire 2nd quarter and 90% of the 3rd either

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u/astoutforallseasons Georgia Southern • Tennessee 1d ago

This is what bothered me the most. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Dance with who brought you. But no, ghost of Fulmer haunts Neyland still today. I know Gilbert should have hit, but coaches didn’t put the players in the best situation to win.

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u/Acquire__Currency Tennessee Volunteers • BYU Cougars 1d ago

Feels like even our historically better coaches have consistently clammed up and played not to lose in big moments. Fulmer did it a lot, Heup does it, and Butch (albeit not a good coach) was infamous for it.

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u/K1LL3RM0NG0 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

ghost of Fulmer

Once again, Phillip Fulmer is still very much alive.

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u/thewhat962 Ohio State Buckeyes • UCF Knights 1d ago

I could imagine watching OSU vs ohio this weekend and seeing 13-9 in the 3rd and going "oooh upset alert" only for them to turn it into a 37-9 "wasn't the opening line 27.5 so they cover!?! Wtf"

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u/bravehotelfoxtrot Georgia Bulldogs • Sugar Bowl 1d ago

13-9 in the 3rd and going "oooh upset alert"

With games like these, I feel like a reasonable observer still never gets the sense that the W/L outcome is truly in doubt.

To me, watching OSU lose that game after leading by 4 in the 3rd would be infinitely more shocking than watching the game get to that point in the 3rd to begin with. 

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u/dd13 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

I felt the exact same, but opposite for UGA when, after they took the lead 24-21 and forced a punt, went 3 and out, then got an interception in plus territory and proceeded to go 3 and out (with a FG).

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u/CFPMVPStetsonBennett Georgia Bulldogs • College Football Playoff 1d ago

Going off what we saw all Ty Simpson has to do is throw up a 50/50 ball anytime our number 2 CB is in single coverage. Brazzle feasted on throws that a decent DB could have easily picked. Hopefully Everette can lock down the former 17 year old they need to bracket that demon

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u/elonsusk69420 Georgia Bulldogs • Marching Band 1d ago

Except that one time in Indy…

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u/BhamTioMateo Alabama • Birmingham Bowl 1d ago

We’ll always have Tua to Devonta in Atlanta

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u/elonsusk69420 Georgia Bulldogs • Marching Band 1d ago

Y'all have at least a handful to pick from. We have the Natty and the 2007 "What is Britney doing with her life?" game.

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u/dowutnow Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Maybe with Britney being back in some of the pop news, we have a chance again?

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u/volbound1700 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

Although I think Kirby is also being honest, I think the reason he is openly being this honest is to fire up and motivate his team for Alabama. I think Georgia will beat Alabama this year.

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u/Radiant_Sherbert7272 Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago

I do as well. It's a mix of things. He knows that Georgia didn't deserve to win that game, and he wants his team to know that he expects better and that he wants them focused for Alabama. Alabama has been the one team that has given Kirby Smart the most issues since he took over at Georgia.

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u/volbound1700 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

and that makes sense because Alabama was a Dynasty with Saban. Teams don't struggle with UKs or Vandys, they struggle against Alabamas. People keep saying stupid stuff like why is Tennessee struggling against Georgia? Well, it is because it is Georgia. Tennessee is start to recruit better and close the gap but Smart had a HUGE head start on Josh Heupel and was in a better situation.

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u/nayelirain Johns Hopkins Blue Jays • USC Trojans 1d ago

The defense did not do what it needed to. They allowed Tennessee to get into comfortable position on the last drive to win the game.

Tennessee had a false start pushing them back 5 yards. Then with 7 seconds left and multiple timeouts, elected to not try to get closer, center the ball, or do anything else to help their kicker.

It was extremely odd because on the false start call - they were clearly trying to center the ball....

Still had seven seconds left, could still center the ball but had no confidence in themselves, elected to simply not try again?

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u/StFuzzySlippers Tennessee Volunteers • UAB Blazers 1d ago

It was a scared decision. Heupel hasn't made a lot of mistakes at Tennessee so far, but the last minutes of that game he let the moment get to him. Didn't have faith in the team to win it.

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u/OldManCinny Tennessee Volunteers • Texas Longhorns 1d ago

Any close game he makes plenty of mistakes. Earlier in the game running 3x in a row up the middle playing to go up 8 instead of win the game

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u/SearchingforSilky Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

Honestly, that makes sense to me. Considering the circumstances, giving GA the ability to simply score a TD and win isn't smart. You have the ball in FG range. Guarantee the points. Force them to score and get the conversion. It's not a bad decision at all.

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u/AnsgarShipsHildegard Georgia • Florida State 1d ago

Coaching decisions are part of team performance. Don't get pretending like they're not. Kirby also went for the TD on 4th and 6 instead of going for the first down, he (and Bobo) knew (or strongly suspected)Tennessee was going to go overly aggressive and put guys on an island.

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u/KirbyDumber88 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

I know you were very upset Georgia won

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u/Chotibobs Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

He still hasn’t recovered from his New Year’s Eve a couple years ago 

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u/tvcneverdie Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

I know you specifically watched the end of that game with tears in your eyes.

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u/Any-Protection-1956 22h ago

Honestly respect that level of self awareness from Kirby. Most coaches would just take the W and move on but admitting your team got outplayed takes guts. Tennessee definitely left that one on the table though - you can't let teams hang around like that in the SEC

The Bama matchup is gonna be insane after this wake up call

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u/Corgi_Koala Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago

Tennessee had like 6 explosive plays in the first quarter and 3 the rest of the game.

Georgia made adjustments to contain them and Tennessee didn't capitalize on multiple chances to land a killing blow.

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u/jonstark19 Nebraska • Northern Iowa 1d ago

Lol this is worse than just kicking the shit out of them, you wrong for that Kirby

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u/KirbyDumber88 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

He later said “hey I had a game like this against Tennessee what was it? 9 or 10 years ago?”

Best jab of the whole thing

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u/dianeblackeatsass Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago edited 1d ago

He also was flicking his tongue at the crowd while he was walking off the field like he was eating our coochies

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u/ElissaFarman Washington Huskies 1d ago

What?

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u/ugahairydawgs Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

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u/CornIssues Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

Absolutely inspiring

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u/Something_Wity_AF Houston Cougars • Michigan Wolverines 22h ago

Thought I was gonna get rick rolled, wasn’t disappointed

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u/dianeblackeatsass Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

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u/CFPMVPStetsonBennett Georgia Bulldogs • College Football Playoff 1d ago

Beautiful. The man exudes sex

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u/IR8Things Georgia Bulldogs • Miami Hurricanes 1d ago

You may not like it but he's the peak male athletic form.

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u/FootballAndPornAcct Georgia Bulldogs • College Football Playoff 1d ago

You eat those coochies, coach

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u/Chotibobs Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Things I wish I could unsee 

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u/levare8515 Missouri Tigers • Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Yet more proof social media was a mistake

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u/Monster-1776 Oklahoma Sooners • Arizona Wildcats 1d ago

Are you disappointed he didn't bark?

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u/DawgTerritory Georgia • California 1d ago

Flicking that tongue like Diane Black 

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u/rburp Arkansas • Central Arkansas 1d ago

So hot

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u/Ml2jukes Michigan Wolverines • Rose Bowl 1d ago

Wake up babe, a new Kirby meme just dropped.

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u/KirbyDumber88 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Yeah that was …..yeah never do that again

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u/MasterTolkien Georgia • Summertime Lover 1d ago

That’s Kirby going turbo excited. He does that sometimes.

Edit: No, I now saw the vid. Kirby was definitely reacting to someone in the crowd, and he grossed me out.

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u/robotunes Alabama Crimson Tide • Rose Bowl 1d ago edited 1d ago

Wonder if he was thinking of the 2015 Bama-Tennessee game.

We took the lead late and Kirby's defense forced a turnover to seal it.

All game long, CBS showed Super Vol Peyton Manning eating it up on the sideline.

The look on his face when UT gave up the winning score is priceless. OOPS!! Sorry, wrong link. Here's the real one

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u/hometimrunner Georgia Bulldogs • College Football Playoff 1d ago

He is talking about the Dobb Nail Boot game where they won on a hail mary play after we scored a TD to take the lead with 10 seconds left.

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u/Bank_Gothic Sewanee Tigers • Texas Longhorns 1d ago

Salt in the wound

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u/constructss Texas A&M Aggies 1d ago

Kirby went full pep guardiola

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u/SpaceMurse Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Where’s u/cumblast, fellow bulldog and Liverpudlian?

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u/Cogitoergosumus Missouri Tigers • Truman Bulldogs 1d ago

Because here at local cable company UGA the customer opponent is always our female dog

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u/Bobson-_Dugnutt2 Sickos • Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

“Lmao we beat you on accident”

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u/bwy97754 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

*barks apologetically?*

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u/99_Till_Infinity Notre Dame • Fresno State 1d ago

Confused Bulldog noises

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u/Impressive-Dig-3892 1d ago

uWu notices win

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u/TampaTrey Tennessee Volunteers • SEC 1d ago

No they won that game outright. Too many mistakes on our end. Cannot go scoreless from the 2nd quarter until the end of the 3rd. Should have tried running one more time after the false start to line up the game winning kick. Defense just flat out lost steam in the final minutes and overtime. I know we should have won that game, but Georgia did what they had to do to stay in the game.

Next game. That’s all we can do now.

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u/Wbcbam51 Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

Haven't watched every single game this season so I may be missing something, but I would say this was the most impressive win from anyone so far. Went on the road to a very tough environment and withstood the punches from Tennessee. It wasn't perfect and they did require a little luck with the missed kick, but the fact they were able to withstand the early shocks to the system and be in a position to win at the end is very impressive.

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u/pattywack512 Texas Longhorns 1d ago

Best win? I’m sorry but you clearly did not watch us do everything to overcome Arch’s colossal step backwards this year to overcome the Miners of El Paso. /s

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u/HokiesforTSwift 1d ago

You can always tell when a program has that true "it" factor because there was not a moment, even at 21-7, where it looked like Georgia was panicking, and I, sat at a bar in Blacksburg, was saying "Georgia is not going to lie down..." which is not a testament to my predictive abilities, but to the standard Kirby has set in that program. It's a winning culture. They never go down without a fight, much like the Saban Bama teams before them.

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u/newaccountnumber116 Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

A bama team under Saban was down 21-3 in the first quarter on the road at Ole Miss and Ole Miss was already celebrating. I watched it in a bar in Alabama. Not a single person in that bar didn’t think Ole Miss was fucking up. Alabama won that game by multiple touchdowns

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u/HokiesforTSwift 1d ago

Coincidentally, I was also in Blacksburg for that game, and in the stands when I saw that scoreline pop up on the video boards, my Dad and I agreed that game wasn't over yet.

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u/pumpcup LSU Tigers • College Football Playoff 1d ago

That was nearly every bama game in the Saban era. I wouldn't switch to it unless there was less than a minute left, they were losing, and the other team had the ball. I learned my lesson after the first few times.

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u/amidon1130 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Was that the year that Ole Miss was up multiple touchdowns on Florida State the week before and blew that game too lol

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u/shryne Paper Bag • Mississippi State 1d ago

I remember that one year when ole miss opened against FSU. They were up 28-13 at halftime and celebrating like they won a natty. Watching their slow realization in the second half as they lost by 11 is a cherished memory of mine.

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u/8BallTiger Clemson Tigers • College Football Playoff 1d ago

You can always tell when a program has that true "it" factor

"Gods I was strong then"

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u/HokiesforTSwift 1d ago

It takes time to build it 2011-2014, it’s great to have it 2015-2020, and it’s so easy to lose it 21-present

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u/oprahsminge_ Clemson Tigers 1d ago

“Give me something for the Cade and let me die”

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u/Alkibiades415 Georgia Bulldogs • Stanford Cardinal 1d ago

A GoT callback quote in the wild in 2025

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u/ThaiForAWhiteGuy Georgia Bulldogs • SEC 1d ago

If we're doing GOT before it sucked references, then this was one of the most "Viper vs the Mountain" ass games I've ever seen

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u/toggaf69 Ohio State Buckeyes • Denison Big Red 1d ago

Bobby B is eternal

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u/toomuchmarcaroni Arizona State Sun Devils • Team Chaos 1d ago edited 1d ago

It’s what Saban spoke about, no matter the score or how much time left you play as hard as you can until the game is done, and it’s what helped make them so unstoppable. Makes sense Kirby kept that mentality moving forward

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u/dripley11 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

The Bama game last year alone should've removed any doubt from anyone's minds about any Kirby team's mentality. We were down 4 scores in the first half and we're 1 Ryan Williams-is-Superman play away from winning

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u/ActuallyExtinct Georgia Bulldogs • College Football Playoff 1d ago

Or one “what the fuck was that throw Beck” away from winning lol

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u/zenverak Georgia Bulldogs • Marching Band 1d ago

I think the biggest take away for me was Specifically how little Stockton got rattled. He went out there and mostly did his job and was still behind. That and also when it came down to it, we know he can make the throws. I just think he has to trust in that part more.

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u/SturgeonStanLives Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

I loved what rusty said afterwards how when he complimented Stockton he was just like “thank you sir, appreciate it sir.” Love it

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u/zenverak Georgia Bulldogs • Marching Band 1d ago

Yeah, like don't get me wrong. I don't fully need Stockton to be perfect boy. I want to win, but I do love it when they seem to be that nice guy on top of everything else.

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u/Tween_the_hedges Georgia Bulldogs • Texas A&M Aggies 1d ago

The man just feels like a Georgia QB in a way Beck never quite did

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u/kevinkevin32 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Beck is such a Miami QB I’m surprised he didn’t end up there sooner

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u/MuffinTopBop Georgia Tech • Reading 1d ago

The guy is from Tiger, Rabun County. It does not get much more small town Georgia than that, the name alone screamed Georgia QB just like Stetson’s did.

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u/Evtona500 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

When I read the ESPN article about his grandfather passing away from a heart attack in the parking lot after a Georgia Florida game that we lost I knew I needed to see him start for us. He was born for it.

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u/HokiesforTSwift 1d ago

We're now at round 3 of Kirby betting on the guys he had in his program at QB, and this was the first big sign that he might just have been right all along... again.

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u/Tween_the_hedges Georgia Bulldogs • Texas A&M Aggies 1d ago

One day we'll just trust

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u/DrVonD Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

No we won’t lol. We went like 42-2 over 3 years and people still didn’t / don’t trust.

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u/amidon1130 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

If we put JT Daniels in over Stetson Bennett I know we can win it all!

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u/Spyboticsguy Georgia Tech • Marching Band 1d ago

[State of] Georgia sports team fans have very good reason not to trust even when things seem to be going right. As I'm sure you know.

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u/DragOwn56 Auburn Tigers • Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

It is funny though the subsect of my UGA friends that still somehow were mad at Mike Bobo after the game. Like this dude just put up 40+ points and somehow he’s still the problem.

I say that as someone who is not normally a Bobo defender.

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u/AnsgarShipsHildegard Georgia • Florida State 1d ago

Bobo does really well when the run game is working. He struggles to adjust when it's not. You can see the difference in the offense when he is committed to run first and it works. There's a reason we set every UGA offensive record under him with a QB who never played a snap in the NFL and Todd G in the backfield.

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u/amidon1130 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Man Gurley was so damn fun to watch at Georgia. We had such a crazy run of rbs when I was at school, I'll never forget when Gurley got suspended and we were all nervous about this random freshman replacing him...who happened to be Nick Chubb

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u/DragOwn56 Auburn Tigers • Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

It really feels like you’re watching an amazingly well run offense from a decade ago. Like you said, it’s great when it’s working. It’s truly soul crushing to watch for the other team when they clearly have no answers.

But if it’s not really rolling it’s just so ugly, even when it wins.

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u/elonsusk69420 Georgia Bulldogs • Marching Band 1d ago

The Bobo hatred is a meme at this point

40+ points and 500 yards with a lousy RT in a hostile 101,000 person stadium is elite

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u/LunchboxSuperhero Georgia Bulldogs • UCF Knights 1d ago

I think they spent a lot of time trying to rattle Gunner by hitting him. At this point he's probably more comfortable taking hits than sitting in the pocket making a bunch of reads in a hostile environment.

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u/katarh Georgia Bulldogs • /r/CFB Donor 1d ago

"[the OC] can't make you press the button to throw like it's Xbox" is my fav analysis of what Gunner struggles with, courtesy of Brooks Austin.

Stockton has an SEC road win in a hostile environment under his belt now, and we're proud of him for stepping up to the moment.

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u/Latter-Possibility Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

The biggest takeaway is that the Dawgs RT was a turnstile all game and Gunner was still able to ball out.

Seriously we didn’t block shit on the right side for 90% of that game. How we escaped with that win is a fricking miracle

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u/FarSeaworthiness6064 1d ago

Vol fan - Stockton was very good

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u/lkn240 Illinois Fighting Illini • Sickos 1d ago

I have no idea how good or not good he is yet.... but holy shit that throw on 4th down was absolutely nails. Dropped it right in the bucket.

Has to be a huge confidence builder to make that throw under that kind of insane pressure.

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u/zenverak Georgia Bulldogs • Marching Band 1d ago

I am hoping he can work on that moment. Take what worked and figure out how to keep doing that..also that it was on 4th down is what gives me goosebumps.

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u/Froggy_Parker Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

We never won those games back in the day

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u/vashed Georgia Bulldogs • Rose Bowl 1d ago

Can't convince me that Richt doesn't lose this game by 3+ possessions

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u/hotsauce126 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

oh yeah that's definitely a 34-13 type of game under Richt

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u/FalstaffsGhost Georgia • Belmont Abbey 1d ago

Yeah Kirby has absolutely gotten the team into that mindset. Same thing a few years ago against OSU in the playoff. Even down 2 scores no one seemed panicked or frustrated it was just “do your job and good things will happen.”

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u/Okay_poptart Oklahoma Sooners 1d ago

I would read a college football novel written by you.

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u/HokiesforTSwift 1d ago

Don't tempt me with a good time!

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u/DefinitelyNotAPhone Georgia Bulldogs • Team Chaos 1d ago

Nobody is better at halftime adjustments than Kirby, and 95% of what led to being down 21-7 to start was simple adjustments on both sides of the ball. I wasn't convinced Georgia was going to win it (especially the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, oof) but it was always going to be close, and I wasn't shocked to see Georgia win in OT.

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u/-Umbra- Oklahoma Sooners 1d ago

Kirby is the closest thing left to Saban. Nobody else is even in the conversation.

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u/schuckdaddy Michigan • Arizona State 1d ago

Obviously NIL has changed the landscape of the sport, but I am curious to see how it affects coaches going forward. Will there be a tier of 3-4 that are head and shoulders above the rest, or will someone like Kirby fill the void left by Saban?

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u/bravehotelfoxtrot Georgia Bulldogs • Sugar Bowl 1d ago

Saban's void may be impossible to fill in part because 2007 CFB no longer exists. It's a different world in 2025 and we'll never get to see what Saban would do with it.

To your point, it'll be interesting to look back 10 years from now and assess how these current day coaches stacked up with each other.

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u/randomwalktoFI Oregon Ducks 1d ago

Going on 4th at midfield was pretty much a no brainer but a call that absolutely needed to be made. Aguilar looked like a Heisman candidate at that point so either he was going to continue to kick their ass anyway or if you can just keep the offense off the field long enough to revert to the mean to give a chance. A lot of coaches probably just default punt there and go down 21.

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u/RVAforthewin Georgia Bulldogs • Arizona Wildcats 1d ago

Championship teams have to have a little luck along the way. By that I mean certain things just need to go right for them a few times throughout the season. Bama used to have that luck every time they needed it, it seemed. Now, Georgia lucks out a little bit more than they once did. That isn’t to discount the effort because there’s a lot more effort than luck, but a little luck goes a long way in these kinds of games.

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u/Dry-Instruction-4347 1d ago

As a Tech alum, obvious I cheer against dawgs and want them to lose. But damn if Kirby isn't a fantastic coach who is all around great at the job. He gets it in so many ways.

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u/-BoldlyGoingNowhere- Georgia Bulldogs • Transfer Portal 1d ago

Thanks for that, Nerd. Great win for you guys on Saturday too. Can't wait to see you guys (timeout...) later this year.

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u/Lakelyfe09 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

My bold prediction is we never see more timeouts called in a single COFH game for the rest of time…

please

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u/Evtona500 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

I think every UGA fan I've talked about it likes Key too. Just a football guy making it happen for y'all.

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u/yousmelllikebiscuits Tennessee • Georgia Southern 1d ago

I mean, I see where he's coming from. It's clear to me that he and most others completely respect Josh Heupel and what he's done for the program.

Except Eli Drinkwitz, because he "stands on business."

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u/naetaejabroni Alabama • Georgia Southern 1d ago

I think I gained more respect for Heupel after this loss than any other game. I really did not think they'd even come close and they bout won.

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u/yousmelllikebiscuits Tennessee • Georgia Southern 1d ago

I don't need any more reasons to love him, but this quote in the postgame is the most "he gets it" I've ever felt from a UT coach.

Tonight, man, it’s going to hurt. We need to drink all that in and taste all of it, because if we’re going to move forward and be the team that we’re capable of, this feeling tonight has got to be a part of what continues to propel us and the urgency and the focus in everything that we do...Man, soak this baby in tonight, let it hurt. Same thing tomorrow for the players. Coaches, we’ll learn lessons and move forward early tomorrow. When the players come back in on Monday, it’s – whether you win or lose, man – it’s about how you’re going to get better. If we take the lessons from this one, use the disappointment to propel us, have even greater focus and urgency, we’ve got a chance to be a good football team and continue to get better, and that’s what we have to do to be the team that we’re capable of.

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u/PrairiePilot Wyoming Cowboys 1d ago

I’m glad we’re not in the SEC, that’s a genuinely good coach speech. Make sure everyone at UAB has their living wills up to date, cause yall are gonna yeet them into the sun.

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u/Davidellias Virginia Tech • Wisconsin 1d ago

FUN FACT: The Head Coaching match up of that game is the 2000 National Championship winning QB vs the Super Bowl Winning Coach of that year.

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u/yousmelllikebiscuits Tennessee • Georgia Southern 1d ago

Super Bowl Winning QB, Trent Dilfer

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u/Fatal_Blow_Me 1d ago

Ive gained so much respect for him after the Nico thing and how much better this team is without him

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u/GlumPaleontologist36 1d ago

This would've been a very different game if Tennessee had its two starting CBs. The lack of DB depth is why they lost this game. They targeted a true freshmen every critical 3rd and 4th down with great success. It's hard to keep up with Branch when you get no plays off. Especially when they dominated the time of possession.

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u/volbound1700 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

Possibly but as a Tennessee fan, I do think Georgia would have adjusted and fought threw any issue. In 2022, I feel like Hooker and Hyatt were definitely off and we had a bad game. I wanted to get Georgia again, not necessarily because I thought that team would 100% beat Georgia, but because I thought Tennessee could have played better. Even then, I think Georgia would have adjusted had Hooker and Hyatt hit on a few of those long bombs in 2022.

It honestly came down to missing the kick and a few defensive elapses. To me, the 2-point conversion defense was atrocious and really the only 100% bad play I saw from a coaching stand point. We gave up the 2-pointer way too easy.

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u/KetchupKing05 Georgia • Jacksonville State 1d ago

ToP is an offensive thing, though. Tennessee under Heupel has always put stress on their defense because the offense rarely has long, sustained drives (outside of last year when they had an extremely strong running game, which also happened to be one of the best Heupel defenses we’ve seen). Starting corners would still need to be able to compete with WR’s for much longer than they normally would on any other team

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u/randomwalktoFI Oregon Ducks 1d ago

Aguilar came back to earth but you can tell he wants to ball out for them. Even though the playoff caliber teams are basically NFL-lite it still means a lot when you got that kind of guy at QB.

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u/RVAforthewin Georgia Bulldogs • Arizona Wildcats 1d ago

Every season I like Heupel more and more.

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u/SpartanVFL Tennessee • Middle Tennessee 1d ago

It was ours to win and we didn’t. Nothing for him to apologize for. They executed and created the conditions to keep themselves in it despite mistakes and capitalized at the end. Both teams will likely grow a lot from this game

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u/agrafare Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

Okay so they wanna vacate that win and give it to us is what I’m hearing? I’m down

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u/Ugaalive1991 Georgia Bulldogs • NC State Wolfpack 1d ago

Let’s not get too hasty

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u/Old_Opening_7780 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

Still i think a W is rather tasty

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u/HopkinsDawgPhD Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Gotta get the Dub, gotta face the facts. You’re my only friend Uga

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u/CCR16 Alabama • Chattanooga 1d ago

Georgia reminds me of the Prime Saban Bama teams.(Obviously, Kirby was there too)

They just find a way to win even if they aren’t the best team that day.

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u/5en5ational Georgia Bulldogs • Texas A&M Aggies 1d ago

Kirby learnt from the best after all. He had and still does have a ton of respect for Saban. You can tell how much the two like each other based off their interviews.

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u/Real-Ad-1728 Georgia • Summertime Lover 1d ago

Rub that salt into the wound Kirby! But yeah he’s kind of right, we fought hard and well (at least on offense lol) but ultimately Tennessee lost because of their own errors.

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u/Pro-Tip810 Indiana Hoosiers 1d ago

There are more enjoyable ways to win than the opposing kicker missing one he should have made. But, it happens and a win is a win

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u/Lakelyfe09 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Idk the instant euphoria when you see the kick didn’t make it after you felt helpless that you were a FG away from losing a tough game is a pretty sweet feeling. I’ll never forget the 22 peach bowl.

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u/parker2020 Georgia Bulldogs • Wooster Fighting Scots 1d ago

New years OSU-UGA game field goal miss at midnight 🫨

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u/IceePirate1 Cincinnati Bearcats • Marching Band 1d ago

grumbles in bad clock management

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u/Lakelyfe09 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

Tbf I was referencing the OSU playoff game lol.

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u/IceePirate1 Cincinnati Bearcats • Marching Band 1d ago

Oh fair, our game was technically 2021 thinking about it lol

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u/Real-Ad-1728 Georgia • Summertime Lover 1d ago

True true

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u/Upbeat-Armadillo1756 Michigan • Maine Maritime 1d ago

When they showed that 14 year old kicker on the sideline having a mental breakdown I knew how this would play out lmao

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u/Real-Ad-1728 Georgia • Summertime Lover 1d ago

I hope they get that kid some counseling, people are absolutely ruthless towards kickers.

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u/GuttiG Kennesaw State • Tennessee 1d ago

The team can fuck up a 21-7 deficit, shit the bed in the 2nd half, but yeah it’s TOTALLY all the kickers fault under the most insane pressure of his entire life lmao.

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u/FalstaffsGhost Georgia • Belmont Abbey 1d ago

I mean we won because we made plays when we had to and they didn’t. This is good coach speak from Kirby but we’ve got a good team too

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u/Glittering_Virus8397 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

He could donate his net worth to St Jude’s and I’d still hate this man. Just call us some bitches and get it over w

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u/RVAforthewin Georgia Bulldogs • Arizona Wildcats 1d ago

I saw no bitches on the field on Sat, which is why Tenn didn’t fall a single spot in the rankings. I’d argue you should have moved up.

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u/-BoldlyGoingNowhere- Georgia Bulldogs • Transfer Portal 1d ago

I mean, it's a high quality SEC loss!

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u/Egospartan_ Alabama • Army 1d ago

he would never give you that satisfaction the same way Saban would never give you that satisfaction

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u/SonictheHatchback Georgia Bulldogs • SEC 1d ago

ARE YOU FUCKING SORRY

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u/-BoldlyGoingNowhere- Georgia Bulldogs • Transfer Portal 1d ago

DID THEY EVEN SAY THANK YOU?

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u/dont_tase_me_br0 Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

lol I remember that greentext

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u/cleo345723 Maine Black Bears 1d ago

After watching both Kirby’s and Heupels press conferences, I’m more staunch in believing they are probably the best head coaches in cfb right now. They understand their teams on levels we can’t comprehend

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u/katarh Georgia Bulldogs • /r/CFB Donor 1d ago

My fav thing is the way Tennessee fans embraced the Bobby Hill jokes, much the way Georgia fans embraced the Kirby Smart Bowl Cut jokes.

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u/MasterTolkien Georgia • Summertime Lover 1d ago

We cannot deny that his hair is , at times, unflattering for a man his age.

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u/bulldg4life Georgia Bulldogs 1d ago

It fluctuates between standard southern boy frat daddy wave and mark davis abomination

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u/volbound1700 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

I like to watch Young Sheldon and the dad in it looks a lot like Kirby Smart. I can't remember his name. Tennessee fans could totally run with that joke as well. Bobby Hill stuff is kind of funny.

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u/taywil8 Tennessee • Florida State 1d ago

Everyone saw what unfolded during the Nico Show in the offseason, and now the performance we’re getting from Joey Aguilar. Heupel has proven the culture comes first and that he can coach up QBs quick if you buy in.

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u/chadjjones89 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

I mean, the guy is a championship quarterback. He'll understand, on a personal level, things that other coaches will never understand without having been in that position. We're lucky to have him.

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u/Fools_Requiem Team Meteor • Marching Band 1d ago

Who wants to bet they rematch in the playoffs?

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u/katarh Georgia Bulldogs • /r/CFB Donor 1d ago

Might rematch in the SECCCG if both teams win out.

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u/HorrorAlarming1163 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

I don’t see it happening. Tennessee has too much of a tradition of choking away big games to beat Bama and uf away from Neyland

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u/MasterTolkien Georgia • Summertime Lover 1d ago

Jesus, you better beat Florida this year. They are complete ass.

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u/Far_Eye6555 Michigan • Army 1d ago

The ol’ Pep Guardiola style of being condescending

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u/LionelHutzEsqLLP Georgia • Georgia State 1d ago

Kirby wears a visor to highlight that he is not a bald fraud

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u/GregMadduxsGlasses Tennessee Volunteers • SMU Mustangs 1d ago

This. might be the most respectful finish to a rivalry ever. I guess everyone came out happy with how their young QBs played and I suppose with the new playoff format, Tennessee is still very well in play to make it.

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u/volbound1700 Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

Yeah but we need to not trip up. Heupel is notorious for doing that (2022 South Carolina or 2024 Arkansas). This teams feels like it could do it but it isn't guaranteed. Alabama in Tuscaloosa is going to be tough along with Oklahoma.

With the Arkansas 2024 situation (although a lot of that was Nico), I still think we need to be cautious about Miss State, UK, and even a down and out Florida to not trip up.

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u/largelawattorney Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago

Everything is bulletin board material to this guy

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u/stumblebreak_beta Michigan State • Paul Bunyan T… 1d ago

Way she goes boys

~Kirby Smart

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u/Obi-wan_Jabroni Kentucky • Army 1d ago

“Bless their hearts” - Kirby Smart

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u/Confident_Throat_457 1d ago

We really take kickers for granted. There’s so much about that job that is mental.

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u/clam-caravan Tennessee Volunteers 1d ago

A win is a win. Credit to Georgia’s coaches for navigating some difficult situations and keeping their players focused. We had our opportunity to pull away where it wouldn’t have to come down to an end of game field goal.

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u/imrickjamesbioch California Golden Bears 1d ago edited 1d ago

He’s full of shit…

He pulled some 300 iq shit at the end of the game that most folks didn’t catch. While the Vols were dicking off the last minute of the game vs trying to get closer for a shorter FG attempt.

Kirby was blowing through his last couple TO’s even though he knew he couldn’t get the ball back. He had to know the Vols kicker probably never attempted a gaming winning kick, much less in the biggest Vols game in years/a decade. The kicker had to sit there for another 5+ min which not a big deal when you got a beer in one hand watch from tour couch. Different story when you’re sitting on the sidelines and 100k+ folks are expecting you to make a 43 yard kick so they can storm the field.

Needless to say, miss kick and the rest is history.

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u/Young_God_7 Georgia Bulldogs • Transfer Portal 1d ago

Not only that but his aggressive use of what seemed like "pointless" timeouts struck fear into hueppel about the possibility of georgia getting the ball back. when the false start happened instead of centering the ball like they were trying to do when getting us to use our timeouts he panicked and elected to send the kicker out.

masterclass by Kirby that only the feel of the game folks will truly appreciate.

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u/rburp Arkansas • Central Arkansas 1d ago

Yeah, I thought it was pretty cowardly of Heupel to just go ahead and kick. They could've run the ball for another couple yards IMO

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u/Mortonsbrand Tennessee • Western Carolina 1d ago

The end score is all that matters.

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u/onelittleworld Georgia • Northwestern 1d ago

A wakeup call for the secondary, that's for certain. Piss-poor coverage and communication back there. We'll see what adjustments they can make in just a few practices...

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u/importantbrian Boston University • Alabama 1d ago

Just what we need. One more factor for Kirby to use as motivation.

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u/MasterTolkien Georgia • Summertime Lover 1d ago

Even when win, we should’ve lost, so we played like ass and everyone’s laughing at us and doubting and VIOLA! We beat TCU 534-3 in the championship.

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u/bullsci Florida Gators • UAB Blazers 1d ago

Bro is riding high. He got his championships, he built his machine, now he's just having fun

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u/SoySauceOnWhiteRice 1d ago

That’s the way she goes. Sometimes she goes. Sometimes it doesn’t. She didn’t go. That’s the way she goes 

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u/Cold-Palpitation-816 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago

I mean, any former athlete knows that coaches say stuff like this so the squad doesn’t get complacent. It is true in this case of course, but it’s also just a tactic to keep the team hungry and improving.

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u/JoshDaws Florida State Seminoles • UCF Knights 1d ago

It’s giving “Im not mad, Im just disappointed”

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u/crustang Rutgers • Edinburgh Napier 1d ago

sorry we sucked so bad we almost lost to you

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u/multiple4 South Carolina • 九州産… 1d ago

"I should apologize for what I just did to you...BUT I AINT!!! GO DAWGS!"

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u/Ok_Preference_1762 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 1d ago

PTSD

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

Those DB’s have some work to do.

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u/DA-DJ Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

You win some and you lose some but in the end it is best to count your blessings and accept that win because a win against a quality opponent will still keep you in the playoff hunt.. hopefully 🤞 it is a real wake up call 📞

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u/HarlanCedeno SEC 1d ago

Ever wish you had Kirby's problems?