LEXINGTON, Ky. - Saturday night's 27-24 victory over Kentucky at Commonwealth Stadium will provide another teaching opportunity for Georgia first-year football coach Kirby Smart.
Another learning opportunity, too.
"Every day is a challenge, and every day is a new challenge," Smart said. "The part of the opportunity that I always wanted was the chance to affect young people's lives, and I really believe we're doing that. There are a lot of kids in this group that are growing up."
Georgia's last-second triumph improved its record to 5-4 overall and 3-4 in Southeastern Conference play, with games remaining against Auburn, Louisiana-Lafayette and Georgia Tech.
The Bulldogs never have won nine games under a first-year head coach, and this team still could accomplish that by sweeping the next three opponents and then a bowl foe. Georgia entered this season having posted 10-3 records in Mark Richt's final two seasons.
Vince Dooley had Georgia's most successful debut season in the SEC era, taking over a program that went 4-5-1 in Johnny Griffith's third and final season and going 7-3-1 in 1964. Dooley's first Bulldogs team ended a four-year losing streak to Florida and a three-year losing streak to Georgia Tech and capped that season with a 7-0 win over Texas Tech in the Sun Bowl.
Ray Goff's first team in 1989 went 6-6 after Dooley's 25th and final team went 9-3, and Jim Donnan went 5-6 in his debut season in 1996 after Goff went 6-6 in his seventh and final year.
Donnan's fifth and final team went 8-4 in 2000, andRicht posted the same record the following year.
"When things are easy and you win, it's easy," Smart said. "When there's adversity, you find out a lot more not only about your character, you find out a lot more about all the young men on this team. We're finding out a lot about the young men in this program and the coaching staff as we go through this adversity."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.