Georgia's Kirby Smart on Michigan football: 'They're explosive'

No. 2 Michigan is oozing with confidence ahead of the College Football Playoff semifinal held at the Orange Bowl Dec. 31, while No. 3 Georgia is looking to bounce back from an SEC championship game loss to Alabama. Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart is tasked with keeping his team’s focus on the Wolverines and what’s ahead, rather than the 41-24 loss to the Crimson Tide.

“The challenge [from Michigan] is there, and we’ve really worked hard on ourselves, fundamentally and to self-scout, ‘What are we giving up? What are people seeing on us? What changes can we make that would be beneficial for us?’ That has all been our focus, is how do we get better fundamentally — not about the last game,” Smart said.

Facing Michigan is a tall task, Smart explained, even for his squad that was ranked No. 1 for most of the 2021 campaign.

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Georgia’s defense, which has been lauded all season long, is regarded as one of the top units in college football in recent years. The Bulldogs have held nine of their 13 opponents to 10 or fewer points and allow 9.5 points per game on average. They’ve yielded just 31 plays of 20-plus yards from scrimmage, which is the top mark in the nation.

Meanwhile, though, Smart is impressed with a balanced Michigan offense that has hit on more plays of 50-plus yards than any team in the country.

“They are explosive, they have explosive playmakers on the perimeter,” Smart said. “They do a really good job of mixing run-play action. Some of their run-play action, it would remind you of our run-play action.

“They hit really big explosives off of their runs. The complementary game of, ‘OK, we have this run and you play this run too aggressive and then we are going to have an answer off of it.’ Eye violations, eye control of second-level players is critical. They have really good, skilled tight ends, they have really good backs, the quarterback is extremely experienced and understands what you are doing before you are doing it.

“They can make you pay. That is where those explosive plays come from — breakdowns, mostly. They either break tackles or bust. They can confuse you by what they do. They do a great job of game planning each week.”

With the over/under for total points set at 45, according to VegasInsider, offensive fireworks aren’t expected from either side on New Year’s Eve, with the Wolverines possessing a strong defense themselves.

Michigan allows just 16.1 points per game, which ranks fourth nationally, and is top 25 against both the run and pass. The Wolverines have the third-best pass rush in the country, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), led by junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, a Heisman Trophy finalist who has racked up a program-record 14.0 sacks this season.

“I don’t think we’ve faced anybody like him,” Smart said. “He’s different. His length, his desire and want-to is freaky. He’s a tremendous athlete. He’s powerful. He’s long, but he plays so hard.

“You don’t measure a man just by his measurement, his 40 time and his testing — which he has really good — you measure him by how he strikes and the physicality, toughness and want-to he has. That’s obvious.

“We’ve talked repeatedly to our players about strain. Nothing casual. There’s not going to be anything casual about this game. It’s going to be about strain and physicality, which he prides himself on and does a tremendous job. It’s an incredible opportunity for our offense to go against the likes of their defense, but it’s also going to take a lot of hard work and toughness to persevere through the game, and match that entire intensity through the game.”

The Georgia offensive line features two players — left tackle Jamaree Salyer and left guard Justin Shaffer — who are overwhelmingly likely to be NFL Draft picks next spring. Salyer has given up just one sack and two pressures, while right tackle Warren McClendon, another whom Hutchinson will be matched up with, has yielded six pressures and no sacks, according to PFF.

Starting quarterback Stetson Bennett has been under pressure on less than 25 percent of his dropbacks, per PFF, but is wildly inaccurate when facing heat, completing just 30.2 percent of his passes and averaging 5.9 yards per attempt.