Georgia head coach Kirby Smart met with the media on Monday following the Bulldogs loss at Ole Miss on Saturday and ahead of their critical showdown against Tennessee this week.
With Tennessee entering the game with one loss and Georgia entering the game with two losses, both teams badly need to earn a victory for both SEC Championship and College Football Playoff hopes.
Ahead of the matchup, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart discussed Tennessee’s elite defensive line, what he’s expecting from the atmosphere at Sanford Stadium and much more. Here’s everything Smart said.
More From RTI: Scouting The Georgia Bulldogs Ahead Of Saturday’s Matchup In Athens
Opening statement
“I’m excited for this matchup. Two top teams in the country getting ready to play. Thank goodness it’s at our place. We get to come home and play. Night game, should be an electric atmosphere. It is every time we play them. They’ve got a tremendous team, Josh has done an unbelievable job with this team. They’re playing at a high level. Just got through watching a bunch of their special teams. I always say you can tell the character of a team and how good a team is and how hard they play by their special teams. They play really hard, defense, offense.
“I think they’re top in the conference, maybe top three, top two, in almost every category on offense and defense, which, as you know, that was what we faced last week. They were pretty high in both. But this team is playing defense at an extremely high level, and they have an extremely explosive offense and extremely physical offense. So it’s a great test. Nico’s playing really well in terms of athleticism, and he’s got a great arm talent. As you sit down and watch games, you start to realize how good this team is and how well they’ve played.
“So they’ve got a tremendous football team, and we’ve got a tremendous football team. And it’s going to be a great opportunity for these two to go play and square off in what’s a pivotal matchup. I mean, it’s going to be a great matchup at night, at our place, and on a national stage. So it’s what you come to Georgia to play in, and it seems like we have been in a bunch of these type of games, especially this year. So we’ve got to get our team prepared as coaches to play their best game, and they’ve got a great team.”
On if he’s approaching this game like a playoff game
“I don’t ever take those approaches. I don’t think they’re the right way to go about things. I think you’re trying to win your conference all the time, and to do that you’ve got to win your games at home. You’ve got to play well on the road, which we have and haven’t. We’ve done both. But I like making it about who we play and how we play and less about just outcomes.”
On Georgia having banged up offensive linemen, the importance of having them against Tennessee
“Well, you go with what the medical people give you, you know what I mean? If a guy’s healthy enough to practice, he practices. If he’s not, then he doesn’t. So I go with the recommendation of the tremendous training staff we have. Those kids want to practice. They want to go out there and do it. Sometimes they can, sometimes they can do certain things and they can’t do others. I defer to those guys, and most of the time, especially on your offensive line, it’s like the toughest unit you have. So they’re going to give you everything they’ve got, and they want to go out there and practice and play. But in some cases they can, in some cases they can’t.”
On if Ole Miss and Tennessee have similar offenses
“Not real similar. Two different offenses.”
On Tennessee’s pass rush
“They’re extremely disruptive with four people. They don’t have to add in — they do pressure and they pressure well, but they don’t have to. They get after people with four guys rushing. They two-platoon, play a lot of guys. They got elite rushers on the edge, which we all know about, but nobody talks about how hard they play internally. I think Coach Garner’s done a tremendous job with the physicality they play with across the board on the defensive line. It’s tremendous, and they play really hard.”
On the competitive nature of the SEC this season
“Yeah, I think statistics say there’s more parity. I mean, just looking at the sheer differentials in games, looking at the matchups, looking at the number of teams that are still in it. Some of that’s because of the non-divisions. It brings everybody into it, but there’s a lot of good football teams, and it’s a war of attrition. It’s like I’ve talked about all year. It’s an emotional roller coaster that you don’t want to be a part of. You want to navigate this thing with a long-term mindset in your approach to it, and there’s a lot of good football teams out there, and there’s a lot of good games left to be played. There’s a lot of good teams left to play games.”
