Kirk Herbstriet explains how he knew Georgia had chance to win national championship

Kirk Herbstreit was present for the biggest moments of the Georgia season. From their first game against Clemson, the ESPN analyst saw firsthand what elevated the Bulldogs to new heights.

From calling their first game to calling their championship victory, Herbstreit was a witness to Georgia’s 2021 greatness. In a recent appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, Herbstreit revealed the moment he knew the Bulldogs had a chance to win the national championship.

“Calling that game, there was only one touchdown,” Herbstreit stated, harkening back to Georgia’s first victory of the season. “It was the Christopher Smith touchdown that ended up sealing the win for the Bulldogs. And then we got back around them a couple times. We might’ve done GameDay in Athens for Arkansas, and then Kentucky. And I called the Arkansas game.

“I’ve been around them a lot, and sometimes people get caught up in talent, X’s and O’s. All that is very important,” Herbstreit continued. “But one thing that I found in getting around Georgia pretty early was that there was a tight bond — incredible leadership from within from the players. It always kind of stood out to me in my mind when I would talk about Georgia. There was just a special place in my mind for Georgia, because of Nakobe Dean, and because of others on that team and the leadership that they had.

“You’ve seen it with Alabama year after year — they’ve always had two, three or four guys that Nick Saban can talk to and coach, and then those players hold the players underneath them accountable. If you’re ever lucky enough as a coach to have that within your team, you have a chance to do a special thing.”

It wasn’t the only reason why, but Georgia’s leaders helped the Bulldogs win their long-elusive title.

Herbstreit: ‘It was just a different energy’

Furthermore, Herbstreit stated his belief that Georgia came into the game with a renewed mindset. Among other things, the pressure on Bryce Young and an elevated energy helped the Bulldogs find victory.

“The pressure. How bout the Georgia pressure this time on Bryce Young?” stated Herbstreit. “My thought was that. As I continued to watch the game in the second half — of course, Jameson William would’ve been out there making some of those plays. Especially [Agiye] Hall dropped that one to the right sideline that was down about the two or three yard-line. That was a significant play.

“But if you go back and watch the SEC Championship, and you go back and watch this game, the biggest difference was the way Georgia pressured Bryce Young. It was night and day,” Herbstreit continued. “We can talk scheme all we want. They came up with some different things. But it was just a different energy. It was a ‘not this time’ kind of attitude from Georgia. So, they were getting home. Those blitzes that were getting picked up in Atlanta, they were getting home. And they were forcing Bryce Young to have to throw into the face of a big defensive lineman, or a blitzing linebacker.

“So I think that – to me – had more to do with it than Jameson Williams not being in the game. He would’ve made a lot of plays – I’m not saying that he wouldn’t – I’m just saying that the SEC Championship just felt – to me – that (Young) had a lot more time to operate. And I felt this time that the line of scrimmage was won by Georgia. Especially in the second half.”