Kirby Smart explains balance of playing younger players in bowl game

Georgia suffered a disappointing end to its season when it fell to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game last weekend and was knocked down to the No. 6 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings, missing the four-team playoff field. The loss leaves Kirby Smart in a tough place.

Now the Bulldogs will have to think long and hard about how they’re going to show up in the Orange Bowl against Florida State.

Who will play? Who won’t? Who will say they’re playing, only to show up with less than full effort?

Those are all challenging questions that must be answered when you’re a team that was playing for a championship all year then suddenly finds itself a little short of that goal.

“I think it was the year, I don’t know if it was the Texas year, but it was tough,” Kirby Smart said, recalling a similar setup another year. “There was a lot of disappointment, I think, and we just took the motto that, hey, you’re either in or you’re out, man. We’re going to go compete, we’re going to go practice. We’re going to have our practices and get after it after a long, tough, grueling year with a championship week on top of it. But this is what we’re going to do, and we’re going to practice this many times and you’re going to buy into it or not. That’s how teams win, be committed to the cause and be all in on it.”

It remains to be seen which players will opt out of the Orange Bowl for Georgia.

There were a few key stars who were on the mend late in the season who might opt to ride the pine for this one, with both receiver Ladd McConkey and tight end Brock Bowers fighting through injuries.

Smart’s not yet sure who will and won’t suit up, but he knows whoever does needs to be all in.

What is clear: Georgia’s going to play some new players in the Orange Bowl, whether it wants to or not.

“If you’re wondering or trying to decide, then you probably don’t need to (play),” Kirby Smart said. “That forces you to play some younger kids, especially with the timing of the portal now. I mean people really don’t understand what’s going on in college football right now.

“So with the timing of that and the ramp up of number of kids entering in general you can’t even play the game without playing some new faces. I don’t even know what that looks like right now for us, but I’m sure there will be some guys that take on roles that they’re moving toward next year.”

The Orange Bowl will be played on Dec. 30 at 4 p.m. ET, with a national broadcast on ESPN.