Kirby Smart issues challenge to Georgia heading into College Football Playoff

As Georgia coach Kirby Smart gets his team ready to attempt a repeat as College Football Playoff national champions, he noted one key difference from last year. When the Bulldogs entered the CFP in 2021, they were coming off of a loss in the SEC Championship Game and used that as motivation when they exacted revenge on Alabama, the team that beat them, in the national title.

Georgia has not lost since that game, however, going undefeated this regular season and avenging their SEC title loss by beating LSU in this year’s conference championship. They enter the Playoff as the No. 1 seed and favorite to repeat, and Smart knows there isn’t as clear of a motivation to prove themselves as there was in 2021.

Still, the coach has a plan to keep his team amped up, as ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge explained in the Las Vegas Bowl between Oregon State and Florida on Saturday.

“Spending some time with Kirby Smart and that Georgia team and we’ll be with them through the playoff,” Rutledge said. “And Kirby’s big message is, ‘You guys are a team that won the SEC championship instead of last year’s team that didn’t. That was their big motivation last year going into the College Football Playoff.’ He was really challenging this team on Selection Sunday, ‘Hey you better find your motivation guys because you don’t really have that loss to fuel ya.'”

Since taking over at Georgia in 2016, Kirby Smart has amassed a 79-15 record and led the Bulldogs to the Playoff three times including this season. His first trip to the CFP ended in a loss in the championship game, but it’s clear over the past couple seasons he has really taken a huge step forward and established himself as one of the best coaches in the country.

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who was calling the Las Vegas Bowl, noted after the report from Rutledge that a lot of Smart’s success has to with his ability to speak to his players with messages like this.

“I really like what Laura said there because I think the guy right now that’s the best at figuring out how to work the mind of his players is Kirby Smart,” Herbstreit said. “He’s figured out a way to get a group that has a lot of individual talent to play in the NFL but man he gets them to play for Georgia and play to win championships.”

Georgia will face Ohio State in a College Football Playoff semifinal matchup at 8 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve. If they win that one, they’ll advance to the title game to face the winner between Michigan and TCU.