Kirby Smart on No. 1 ranking: Doesn't come up much

The Georgia Bulldogs sit on top of the college football rankings as the No. 1 team for the second week in a row. While the teams below them jockey and vie for position, the Bulldogs are unstoppable so far behind their juggernaut of a defense. 

In his press conference this week heading into a bye, head coach Kirby Smart was asked about conversations he has with the team. Specifically, the ones surrounding their ranking. 

“It doesn’t get mentioned much (being ranked No.1),” Smart said. “I mean there’s not a lot of time to talk about it. I think the kids see it when they leave and hear about it through social media. That’s what they see on their phones, I know they’re not oblivious to it.”

For Georgia, the talk of the town is their defense. On the season they are the top-ranked defense in opponent’s yards per play, average yards per game, and total offensive touchdowns allowed. They only trail Wisconsin in total yards allowed on the season by 103 yards. However, the Badgers have only played six games to the Bulldogs seven. 

Smart on using the No.1 to talk to his team

Smart then elaborated on how the ranking is brought up if even brought up at all. 

 “But for us it has not been used for anything other than what has made us successful, we’ve talked about this before,” he said. “And the kids explain what has made us successful or what they believe has made us successful. What are our threats, let’s identify where our threats are and complacency. You know good being the enemy of great.

“We talk about that a lot, and we don’t want those things to affect us. So, we’re very open about it and have conversations about it but outside of that, the ranking does not come up much.” 

The Georgia Bulldogs appear to have no main weakness or threat heading into their bye week. Their numbers on offense are not anything to be impressed by. But their offense is consistent and gets the job done. Quarterback Stetson Bennett has caused havoc passing and running the ball this season. He has thrown for 996 yards, completing 57 of his 82 pass attempts for a completion percentage of 69.5. And Bennett nearly has a six-to-one touchdown to interception ratio with 11 touchdown passes and just two interceptions. On the ground, he has 19 attempts for 148 yards. 

As Smart said after claiming the No. 1 spot, it is not where the Bulldogs are at now, but where they are at when the season finishes. For Georgia, the only place they want to be at the season’s end is smack dab in the middle of the College Football Playoff.