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The Georgia football program came away with an emphatic 30-15 win over No. 1 Texas on the road on Saturday, and after the game, Paul Finebaum compared head coach Kirby Smart to Nick Saban in how they both used everything to make their teams believe that they were doubted.
“It reminded me of stuff I've heard from Nick Saban,” Paul Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show, according to Nick Kosko of on3.com. “These guys now always want to blame someone. It's easier that way. It's how they get their players fired up. I mean, remember Georgia two years ago, when they won the title, one of the players on Georgia said, you know, I can't believe you guys disrespected them. Said we're going 7-5. They were the preseason number one team in the country. But that's how I remember Alabama last year. The whole thing, that's the new thing the players and coaches work on. … And I mean, it was kirby was just simply channeling his inner Nick Saban there. It was pretty funny. I thought Katie George, instead of doing what some would have done and pushed back and got ended up with a pie in her face. She just kind of laughed, like, I don't make predictions.”
Finebaum is right that even during Georgia's most dominant period a few years ago, when the Bulldogs steamrolled to a national championship, Kirby Smart's team still believed it was doubted. Despite being a heavy favorite, Smart and the Georgia staff were likely still able to find predictions from some out there who said the Bulldogs would lose.
Kirby Smart on Georgia football being doubted
Coming into this weekend, there were undoubtedly some who believed Texas would beat the Georgia football program. Some concerns cropped up with the Bulldogs after the loss on the road to Alabama a few weeks ago. Smart spoke on the messages he gets regarding predictions for his team.
“Our whole program was being doubted,” Kirby Smart said, according to Kosko. “Did you watch the show this morning? I didn't because I was in meetings, but I got 8,000 texts about it. Somebody was doubting us. Maybe it wasn't y'all, but there's a lot of people doubting our kids and the ability to go on the road and win. … Look, we were able to win this game because of what we had done before this. Like, going to Kentucky and playing and going to Alabama and playing. We didn't flinch. You don't flinch when you've been in these battles.”
The win against Texas is huge for Georgia, and has the Bulldogs back up to No. 2 in the country behind undefeated Oregon. Big tests remain against Ole Miss on the road and at home against No. 7 Tennessee down the stretch, but it appears Smart's team is once again in play for a national title.
