Georgia football got their season back on track on Saturday, bouncing back from a loss to Alabama with a comfortable 31-13 win over Auburn at home. However, head coach Kirby Smart was not pleased with the fans after the win, saying that he needed more crowd support and noise from the fans in Athens.
Two days later, Smart's feelings had not changed, and he's convinced he's not alone. He wants Sanford Stadium to get back to being one of the toughest places to play in America, according to Seth Emerson of The Athletic.
“I said what I said, and I stand on what I said. I feel like it could’ve been better,” Smart said, per Emerson. “We’ve had coaches who have come here who told us it was the best environment they’ve played in the entire year. And I didn’t think that was Saturday. And I don’t think I’m the only one who feels that way.”
Georgia still has a very hostile home environment, and Auburn's offense struggled mightily there on Saturday, mustering just 13 points and struggling on key downs despite moving the ball throughout the game.
Georgia still has margin for error in CFP race
Georgia's regular season win streak may be over, but they still have a pretty healthy margin for error in the race to the College Football Playoff. That was the case heading into Saturday, and it is even more so after all of the carnage that went down around them during Week 6.
The massive upsets by Arkansas and Vanderbilt (over Tennessee and Alabama, respectively) took down a pair of top five teams and helped Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs stay in the top five at No. 5 in the AP poll this week, despite getting passed by Oregon and Penn State. With Georgia's strength of schedule moving forward, including the possibility of a berth in the SEC Championship Game, it's hard to see them missing the playoff even if they get to two or even three losses.
In addition, they still have plenty of opportunity for quality, resume-boosting wins. They get one of the worst teams in the conference, Mississippi State, in Week 7 before they take on No. 1 Texas in Austin on Oct. 19. They also have opportunities for ranked wins coming up in November against Ole Miss and Tennessee, the latter of which is at home. As long as they don't lose all three of them, it's hard to see Georgia falling out of the top 12. Their blowout win over Clemson to start the season is aging very well, and their body of work will likely get them there in the end.
There's no doubt that Georgia has some things they need to fix to make noise in the playoffs. Their offense has struggled at times, and their defense isn't quite the same suffocating unit that we've come to expect out of Georgia. However, those things shouldn't limit Smart and company from at least earning a shot at competing for a championship.