Kirby Smart: 'Our whole program was being doubted' entering Texas game

Before Georgia faced off against Texas, ESPN’s College GameDay crew provided their highly-anticipated picks for Saturday’s slate of games. As usual, the crew saved the College GameDay game of the week for last — in this case, Georgia versus Texas.

Every member of the panel chose Texas to walk away victorious. Word got back to Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and, only hours later, the Bulldogs secured a convincing 30-15 win over the Longhorns. After the game, Smart addressed his team’s doubters.

“Our whole program was being doubted,” Smart said. “Did you watch the show this morning? I didn’t because I was in meetings, but I got 8,000 texts about it. Somebody was doubting us. Maybe it wasn’t y’all, but there’s a lot of people doubting our kids and the ability to go on the road and win.

“Look, we were able to win this game because of what we had done before this. Like, going to Kentucky and playing and going to Alabama and playing. We didn’t flinch. You don’t flinch when you’ve been in these battles.”

Georgia never sputtered in front of the 105,000 roaring fans in DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. Instead, the Bulldogs thrived, boasting a 23-0 lead by halftime.

Georgia’s defense was impeccable in the win, holding Texas to 259 total yards of offense and squeezing a season-high four turnovers out of the Longhorns. The Bulldogs were relentless, finishing the night with seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss.

On 27 carries, Texas only recorded 29 yards, averaging 1.1 yards per rushing attempt. Moreover, the Longhorns converted just 2-of-their-15 third-down attempts. In short, it was a dominant performance from Georgia despite entering the game as an underdog.

“Nobody really gave us a chance,” Smart said. “Everybody doubted us, and I really felt like we’d gotten better over the last three weeks. We played a good football team tonight. They’ll win some games.

“I told our kids coming into the game it was going to be a challenge. Win or lose, we weren’t out of it, and that’s the case now. We’re not in it, so it’s one of those things we’ve got to keep getting better.”

While Georgia can enjoy the win for now, Kirby Smart knows his team is far from the finish line. The Bulldogs will have a bye this week to reflect on the game and make any necessary adjustments.

On Nov. 2, Georgia will enter the final stretch of its regular season and square off against Florida at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ABC.