Over the past five football seasons, the Georgia Bulldogs have won three Southeastern Conference championships and two national titles.
Or, to put it another way, the only year in which Georgia didn’t win a crown of some sort was in 2023, when Bulldogs went 13-1 and won the Orange Bowl over Florida State by 60 points.
Kirby Smart took center stage Tuesday at SEC media days in Tampa happy to discuss the commitment and consistency it takes to develop such a powerhouse program — Smart’s 117-21 record after 10 seasons in Athens has set a standard for victories by an SEC coach in his first 10 years in the league — but he expected other topics to come his way.
“This landscape of college football is all the talking heads want to talk about,” Smart said. “Everywhere I go, everybody wants to talk about the landscape of college football, and it’s sad that what’s forgotten is what wins games. Maybe that becomes boring, and maybe that becomes mundane, but not at our place. I’ve had questions about playoff expansion, more SEC games, the portal, the federal legislation to navigate the NIL era that we’re in, players leaving, and coaches leaving.
“That’s all people want to talk about, but what we focus on at Georgia is what wins football games, and that’s my passion and energy. We love to grind it out, play physical football and be explosive on offense and defense. At the end of the day, I don’t enjoy talking about all these things that are on the landscape of college football. I enjoy talking about what wins and what allows our team to have the best chance. The consistency in performance is what I’m most proud of these last 10 seasons.”
Georgia won its second straight SEC title last season by dominating fourth quarters, outscoring Ole Miss 17-0 and Texas 21-0 in the final 15 minutes of those games. The Bulldogs then walloped recent nemesis Alabama in the league championship, holding the Crimson Tide to minus-3 rushing yards in a 28-7 victory.
That second straight title, however, was followed by a second consecutive quarterfinal loss in the College Football Playoff, as Ole Miss avenged its 43-35 October setback in Athens with a 39-34 upset triumph in the Sugar Bowl.
“We won the SEC championship and then turned around and lost to another SEC team that was a really good football team and obviously one of the top four teams in the country, especially at the end of the year with the way they were playing,” Smart said. “I don’t get hung up a lot on just the finish. I like to look back and see what we did well in those games and what did we do poorly and how can we improve on it.
“That’s no different than what I do week five, six or seven. I would love to see the flow of the season go week to week and be a continuous thing. No sport that I know of shuts down for 25 to 30 days between performances, and we have not had our best performances when we’ve needed them most.”
Smart made clear Tuesday that he was not making excuses for the way last season ended, but he did admit that he would be in favor of eliminating the SEC championship should the CFP expand, adding, “I am for expansion. I am for more opportunities.”
The Bulldogs continue to be a chief example of a program adjusting to a sport’s new landscape with plenty of old-school elements, with that old-school mentality reflected by quarterback Gunner Stockton, who made a second straight media days trip. The fifth-year senior threw for 2,894 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions last season, finishing seventh in the Heisman Trophy vote.
“We took a leadership group to go whitewater rafting this offseason up in North Carolina, and they explained that whoever is in the front of the boat was in the most risky position and that you may fall out when you go over a rapid because you could be nose down into the water,” Smart said. “Obviously we had life jackets and made it as safe as we possibly could, but he chose to jump in that seat, and I think that says a lot about who he is.
“He leads from the front. He takes hits. He embodies everything our program is about in terms of toughness and culture and his love for his university.”
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Georgia’s adjustment has included taking players out of the portal when needed — transfer receiver Zachariah Branch amassed a team-leading 81 catches for 811 yards and six touchdowns last season — but it’s still about retaining as many prominent pieces as possible.
“Not enough is made about this University of Georgia staff,” Smart said. “When people talk about roster retention, I like to talk about staff retention. We have been blessed to retain our staff and stay intact almost completely for three to four years now. I think that matters. We’ve got three or four who have been with me nine to 11 years, and those guys are the rock and glue that make our place go.
“I appreciate the support that our administration gives to retain them, because a lot of them have had opportunities to go on, whether in college or the NFL, and they have chosen to stay.”
‘One less win’
A radio reporter from Athens asked Smart about not facing Tennessee this year and whether that feels like “one less win being taken away” from the schedule.
“You said that and not me,” Smart responded. “That’s a tough place to play and a tough team to play. I’ve got a lot of respect for Josh (Heupel) and their staff. They’re a tough prep, and I’m glad other teams will get an opportunity to do that. They get some new teams to play, and we get some new teams to play.
“It’s very unique scheduling, and I’m looking forward to the new matchups that are created.”
The Bulldogs won their ninth consecutive contest over the Volunteers last September, prevailing 44-41 in overtime inside Neyland Stadium.
Gators in Atlanta
Georgia and Florida will play for the 105th time this season, but it will be the first encounter in Atlanta due to the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars undergoing a $1.4 billion stadium transformation.
“I’m excited for that opportunity,” Smart said. “It’s a change in venue, and I’m excited for our fan base. Florida has a large contingent of fans in Atlanta, but I think it’s more of a media and fan deal, because I don’t think any of the Georgia or Florida players are sitting back going, ‘OK, we’re playing in Atlanta this year.’
“What does it change? It doesn’t. The venue we’re playing in will be different.”
Dowdell’s setback
Bulldogs senior running back Dante Dowdell, who rushed for 560 yards and 5.0 yards per carry last season at Kentucky, will be out indefinitely after being injured in an ATV accident.
“I don’t know when he will be back,” Smart said. “He had an off-campus accident at home during our break. We are praying for him and his family, and we expect a full recovery, but the outlook right now is that we will wait and see.
“We will go day to day with him and wait and see. I hate that for him and his family, because he is a great kid. It’s been tough.”
Dowdell was expected to give the Bulldogs a potential three-man rotation with Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.