Kirby Smart typically attempts to conceal the anticipation and anxiousness being felt before 5th-ranked Georgia dives into a big game. There’s no hiding from the trip to Austin, Texas, on Saturday and a meeting with No. 1 Texas.
“Obviously a huge matchup,” Smart said. “Two top-10 teams.”
Smart and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian are closely connected and have been on the road together. Smart said in July that when he found out Sarkisian would be in the SEC, that everyone’s schedule became more difficult because Texas is built like an SEC team.
“We take a trip every year together. I have a lot of respect for the job he does. The most complete team we’ve seen or faced this year and probably in a couple of years. They are clearly one of the best teams in the country.”
Georgia (5-1) has consecutive double-digit wins after a loss at Alabama last month. But the Bulldogs are one of six SEC teams in the top 14 of the latest Top 25 poll and November brings a trip to face No. 18 Ole Miss before No. 11 Tennessee comes to Athens.
Smart said he told his players this week’s game is the exact opportunity they came to Georgia for — on the road against the top-ranked team in the nation.
“A place I’ve never been and assume our players haven’t been there either,” Smart said of playing at Texas.
While Georgia tries to push its way back to the top of the SEC, Smart addressed shoving Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren in Saturday’s game. Smart said he didn’t realize he “ran into” Van Buren on the Bulldogs’ sideline.
“I went back and watched it. I didn’t realize that I ran into him,” he said. “But I reached out to [Mississippi State head coach Jeff] Lebby that night and said the kid was great. Yesterday, I talked to Mike and told him there were no intentions or ill-will toward him at all. If you’ve ever been on the sidelines during a game, it’s pandemonium. … I reached out to the kid. He was great. He’s going to be a good player in this league.”
Running back Branson Robinson is unavailable for the Bulldogs and is dealing with an MCL injury, Smart said.
After praising quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning, Smart said he’s in awe of the Longhorns’ defense. In a word: elite.
“Size. Speed. Two best front guys,” Smart said. “Every defense starts with train-wreckers, big guys, physical guys at the point of attack that are hard to move. They got ’em. … They patched up some holes they had. They are the complete package on defense.”
Former Georgia coach Mark Richt attended Smart’s press conference Monday to discuss current player involvement in the Second Annual Dawg Bowl, a fundraiser to raise money for awareness of Parkinson’s Disease and Crohn’s. The event Oct. 23 at Showtime Bowling Alley raised more than $750,000 at the inaugural outing last year. Richt, who said several of his former Georgia players vowed to attend, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2021. His granddaughter, Jadyn, was diagnosed with Crohn’s in 2015.
“Our players love to bowl more than anything. We have several guys that bowl weekly. I know these guys will eclipse $1 million dollars this year with the two years together. We have several guys on our team with Crohn’s,” Smart said.
Funds raised during the event benefit University of Georgia’s Isakson Center for Neurological Disease Research which specializes in Parkinson’s research and the connection to gut inflammation diseases like Crohn’s Disease.
