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WATCH: Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs keep cool in pressure-packed halftime

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•09/20/23•

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Georgia Bulldogs
Sep 16, 2023; Athens, Georgia, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks running back Dakereon Joyner (5) is tackled by Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. (2) and linebacker Chaz Chambliss (32) during the first quarter at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

ATHENS, Ga. — With the nation’s longest active home winning streak on the line this past Saturday, Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs were four-score favorites. Instead of sitting pretty at halftime like many expected, the No. 1 team and two-time defending national champions were down double-digits. Still, everybody kept their cool.

SEC Network had cameras in the locker room during the break from their weekly inside access show SEC Inside. Smart, as he told reporters after the game, didn’t come in hot. He kept his message simple: win one moment at a time. That’s exactly what the Dawgs did.

“This is what we trained for. This is what we worked for. This is who we are,” Smart said. “We sat right here, and we had an identity game against Missouri on the road. You know what? It was very similar to this. It was sloppy, it was nasty, it wasn’t pretty, and then we came out and we found a way.”

Smart told his team that they’d get six possessions on offense. He told them they needed to score on four. Defensively, he saw South Carolina having maybe another scoring drive in its arsenal, but that was it in his eyes.

“We’re going to win the game, we’re going to come back in here and have a good time and figure out how we can get better,” Smart said. “But this is what I need. Everybody listen to me and what I need. We’re going to win one moment at a time … We’re going to win one moment at a time, because we’re not outcome related. We’re not worried about the outcome of that play, we’re worried about winning the moment. Can I win one moment?”

Smart was right in his thinking. Georgia had seven second half possessions, one of which was a one-play kneel down to end the game. The Bulldogs scored three touchdowns and were positioned for points on a fourth before they missed a field goal. Then, defensively, the Dawgs didn’t let South Carolina score. As he predicted, they won the game and walked away with an opportunity to figure out how to get better.

RELATED: Kirby Smart finds out how his team fights when facing adversity in SEC opener

Smart explained his thinking as he headed into the locker room to reporters on Tuesday after the game. He knew that “getting on them” wouldn’t do any good. Smart said he has varying messages at halftime depending on how they’re playing, what situations are facing them and more. He said there are a lot of decisions that go into how he approaches halftime. For this halftime speech though, the world got to see exactly how he handled it.

Smart’s top-ranked Georgia team moves on from South Carolina still unbeaten at 3-0 on the season. They welcome UAB to town this Saturday in one final tune-up before the bulk of their SEC schedule with seven straight conference contests. Kickoff time from Sanford Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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