Kirby Smart jokes about strength of schedule when compared to Nick Saban, Bear Bryant

On Saturday night, Kirby Smart hit a milestone coaching his 100th career game as the head coach at Georgia. In those first 100 games, he’s gone 85-15, putting himself in the same space as greats like Nick Saban and Bear Bryant.

Following the win over UAB, Smart was asked about that accomplishment and if he allows himself any grace thinking about what he’s done already. Smart thought about it before joking that he must’ve had it easier than them.

“It’s pretty steep company when you start talking about those people,” Kirby Smart said. “I probably had an easier schedule.”

Kirby Smart probably has a lot of thoughts on being compared to Bear Bryant and Nick Saban through 100 SEC games. However, he didn’t share them in the moment.

It’s hard not to be impressed with what Smart has already accomplished at Georgia. In just his eighth season with the Bulldogs, Smart has won 85 percent of his games, two SEC Championships, and two national championships.

At the same time, Kirby Smart’s joke about strength of schedule is likely based in reality to some extent for Smart. This season, Georgia has been criticized for its weak strength of schedule, particularly in non-conference play. On top of that, the SEC East is generally considered easier to win than the SEC West.

Over the summer, Smart spoke a lot about the strength of schedule this season, downplaying the concerns many had about it.

“All we can do is go out and try to schedule the best we can, and when we scheduled the game with Oklahoma, we were trying to do that. We were trying to create this identity that we wanted to play our conference schedule, we wanted to play Georgia Tech and we wanted to play others. We lost out on that because of a realignment, adding teams to the conference, and that just is what it is,” Smart said.

“I certainly don’t concern myself with the thoughts of College Football Playoff committee because I don’t have any control over it.”

Kirby Smart addresses absence of Mykel Williams vs. UAB

Georgia was without Mykel Williams in the win against UAB. After the game, Kirby Smart explained he was sick and couldn’t play.

“He’s sick and I hope to get him back next week,” Smart said. “I hate it because he’s a really good player but he wasn’t able to play. We expect him to be back next week.”