Kirby Smart talks about halftime message during game vs. South Carolina

Georgia did not look like the back-to-back defending national champions or the No. 1 ranked team in the country at the start of their first SEC game versus South Carolina last Saturday, finding themselves down 14-3 at halftime to the Gamecocks at home.

There were reports that Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was going to rip into his team at halftime for the Bulldog’s showing, but the team’s sports psychologist convinced him not to, and Smart went with a more gentle approach. Smart was asked about the situation at a press conference on Wednesday, but did not recall the story being told.

“Not that I know of,” Smart said. “We have a guy that works with the team and he does a great job, Drew. He gave our team a message on Friday before the game and he spent the game with us. But I don’t really know what you’re referencing as far as that goes.”

Smart did not recollect the team’s sports psychologist having any involvement in his halftime speech, but he did reveal the motivation behind his speeches on any given Saturday as he always looks to provide the team with what they need to hear following the first half of games.

“I have varying messages at halftime. I mean it just depends on how we’re playing, what’s going on, if we’re playing with emotion, not playing with emotion. I mean there’s a lot of decisions to go into how to approach it,” Smart explained. “At that time I don’t what good getting on them’s gonna do.”

Smart’s halftime message clearly worked, as the Bulldogs secured their first conference victory of the season 24-14 over South Carolina. And while there was speculation regarding Smart’s halftime speech to the team, footage actually surfaced of Smart speaking to the team at halftime from the SEC Network following the game.

Smart compared Georgia’s game on Saturday to their matchup versus Missouri early in the season last year, where they found themselves down 16-6 at halftime on the road and had to rally back to secure the win.

His message to the team was simple, win one moment at a time.

Smart called his shot, emphasizing the importance of the team executing on offense and telling them they’d score on four of the six offensive possessions they’d likely get in the second half. And defensively, Smart said that the Gamecocks’ offense may score one more time on their defense, but no more than once.

The Bulldogs rose to the occasion on Smart’s guarantee, scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half. Hopefully, they can do even more damage in both halves this weekend as they take on their final non-conference opponent of the season till their finale, facing UAB on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.