Kirby Smart, Stetson Bennett reveal their messages to the team ahead of final offensive drive

Down by six with just over two minutes to play in the College Football Playoff semifinal…the type of situation that comes to define the careers of those involved. So, when Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett snapped on his helmet for one final drive, down 41-35 against Ohio State, what was head coach Kirby Smart’s message to him?

Well, after a rocky game from Bennett at times vs. OSU, Smart was a little weary going into the final drive. Just take care of the football, he says.

“I told him, if we’re going to trust you to do this in two minute, you’ve got to make good decisions,” revealed Smart after the game. “If it’s not there, take off and run. They almost got an interception, which could have been really costly. We just talked about the two-minute drive. That’s really it.”

Bennett had thrown some errant passes earlier in the game and Kirby Smart wanted to prevent that from happening. The UGA head coach was certainly of the conservative mindset. Avoid catastrophe and stay on schedule.

Bennett himself also shared afterwards what his message to the team was ahead of that game-winning drive:

Stetson Bennett’s speech ahead of game-winning drive

“As far as the huddle, I don’t really remember, recall words, but just looking at everybody and saying…’Alright, hey, we haven’t played our best, and we haven’t done our jobs to the best of our ability, but we’re here now. It’s in our hands now. Defense stood up whenever we needed them to. Where else would you rather be? Having the ball with two minutes left, and if you score a touchdown, you win the game.'”

Stetson Bennett was hungry for that opportunity, and so were his teammates.

“I looked around, and there was just a whole bunch of just determined, strong stares from all the dudes. It gave me confidence, and everybody else had confidence when we went down the field.”

They sure went down the field with confidence. Georgia never even reached third down as Bennett sliced up the Ohio State secondary, going 5/5 for 67 yards on the final drive to score the game-winning touchdown. Honestly, they scored too quick, but you can’t fault Bennett and co. After all, they got the job done in flawless fashion.

What a career for Stetson Bennett — and chance to join the elite ranks of college football history by winning his second straight title on Monday. Would be a heck of a farewell for the Bulldog legend.