Georgia

Opinion: One missed Peach Bowl field goal keeps Georgia’s Kirby Smart from being Ohio State’s Ryan Day

Published

3 months ago

October 1, 2024

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Opinion: One missed Peach Bowl field goal keeps Georgia’s Kirby Smart from being Ohio State’s Ryan Day

Imagine if Ohio State had made the field goal to beat Georgia in the 2022 Peach Bowl. Then, Kirby Smart and Ryan Day would be equals.
Kirby Smart is 1-6 against Alabama. Ryan Day is 1-3 against Michigan. The difference between the two coaches? Smart’s two national championships.
If ‘if’ was a fifth, we’d all be drunk, and Ryan Day would have as many national titles as Kirby Smart.

The ball dropped in the Big Apple, the kick hooked in Atlanta, the clock struck midnight on the East Coast, and Kirby Smart claimed a victory that cemented our perception that Georgia’s coach stands as a resolute winner.

When Ohio State’s field-goal attempt in the final seconds of the 2022 Peach Bowl sailed left while the calendar rolled into a new year, it affected perception of Ryan Day, too. Day persistently falls short in his biggest games.

But, what if the Buckeyes had made that 50-yard attempt? Then, we’d view Smart and Day a lot more similarly.

Georgia’s dramatic 42-41 comeback victory against the Buckeyes 21 months ago came in a College Football Playoff semifinal, but it served as the de facto national championship. Georgia crushed overmatched TCU nine days later.

Ohio State would have done the same to TCU if it had made the field goal to beat Georgia. TCU’s defense was not equipped to handle the Buckeyes’ firepower that pushed Georgia to the brink.

In that alternate universe, Smart and Day would have one national championship apiece.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda, right?

As the saying goes, if ‘if’ was a fifth, we’d all be drunk. And Day would have as many titles as Smart.

Day doesn’t, so we view each differently. That’s appropriate, because national championships form the ultimate metric of coaching success. But, when I reconsider that New Year’s Eve night, one field goal separates Smart from being Day, and from Day being Smart.

The Buckeyes whipped Georgia for three quarters. Then, Ohio State’s star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. exited with a concussion, and the Buckeyes failed to protect a 14-point lead. Day didn’t have his best coaching moments in the fourth quarter, and that damaged his reputation, especially on the heels of his loss to Michigan one month previously.

I started thinking about Day and his Buckeyes after Georgia lost 41-34 at Alabama on Saturday.

Why?

Because, like Day, Smart persistently beats nearly everyone he faces.

Except that, like Day, Smart consistently loses games against the other premier program in his respective conference.

Smart, though, does not face the same degree of big-game scrutiny that Day encounters, in part because that field goal missed in Atlanta.

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Kirby Smart fizzles vs. Alabama, much like Ryan Day against Michigan

Smart only scaled the Alabama mountain one time. He’s now 1-6 against the Tide. Day, to the great chagrin of Buckeyes fans, is 1-3 against Michigan.

If Day loses to Michigan this season, fuming Buckeyes fans undoubtedly will issue demands to, fire everybody! Other than perhaps a few crazies, no one issued such edicts after Smart’s latest disappointment against Alabama.

Smart’s two national championships provide the ultimate shield. They uphold his reputation in a way that Day’s 11-0 combined record against Penn State and Michigan State does not.

Also working in Smart’s favor: Alabama, while sharing comparable footing with Georgia inside the SEC, is not Georgia’s biggest rival. Smart is 20-4 against rivals Florida, Auburn and Georgia Tech. He’ll go for an eighth consecutive win against Auburn on Saturday.

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Michigan is, literally, The Game for Ohio State, and so what if Day’s Buckeyes thumped Sparty 38-7 last weekend?

Day’s .882 winning percentage trumps Smart’s .851 clip, but they’re not on the same plane, because that all-important national championship tally shows two to zip in Smart’s favor.

Anybody can win one national championship. OK, not anyone, but Gene Chizik and Ed Orgeron won one. To win two placed Smart into rarefied air and built a layer of reputational defense against repeated losses to Alabama.

Smart won his first national championship came in his sixth season. He previously lost a national championship – to Alabama, who else? – in Year 2.

Day also lost a national championship to Alabama to culminate his second season. He’s now in his sixth season. His No. 3 Buckeyes are undefeated entering a game against Iowa. And that’s just dandy, but it’ll mean squat if he loses again to Michigan.

One more point in Kirby Smart’s favor in Ryan Day comparison

It’s also relevant to distinguish that these coaches inherited programs in different places of their trajectory.

Day grabbed the keys to Urban Meyer’s sportscar. Comparatively, Smart stepped into a Georgia garage that, for years, housed Mark Richt’s sturdy but unremarkable Toyota Camry. Smart transformed Georgia into a mean machine. He accelerated the program with elite recruiting and by instilling a higher degree of urgency. He also catapulted Georgia to the elite stratosphere while Nick Saban’s dynasty hummed and while LSU produced one of college football’s best seasons ever.

Smart’s Bulldogs elbowed their way to the top and then stayed on top for a second season.

Smart’s achievements are undeniably impressive, and they’re superior to Day’s.

And still, Smart melts against Alabama, while he gets red in the face, and he becomes a meme in a cockeyed visor.

Kalen DeBoer proved that Nick Saban isn’t the only Alabama coach who can win a chess match against Smart.

“We had a solution to everything they were going to present to us,” Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe said after torching Smart’s defense with 491 yards of offense.

Smart shrugged it off. Asked about his repeated losses to Alabama, Smart offered this gobsmacking response: “What’s everybody else’s record against them, you know? Has anybody got one better than 1-6 that’s played them (that many times)?”

Imagine if Day spoke so flippantly about his losing record against Michigan. He can’t, because Michigan is Ohio State’s top rival. And he can’t, because a field goal sailed wide of the uprights at midnight.

These two coaches compare in some ways, and, in other ways, not at all. One missed kick relegates Day to a crowded rung of accomplished coaches with no national championships, while Smart belongs to an exclusive back-to-back club that provides him the ultimate credibility and reputation protection, even as he succumbs to the Tide.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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Georgia

Texas ran all over Clemson, and the Longhorns may have Georgia to thank for that

Published

3 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Texas ran all over Clemson, and the Longhorns may have Georgia to thank for that

AUSTIN — Yeah, yeah, sure. Georgia has beaten Texas twice already this year. The Bulldogs have done their best to ruin a perfectly good season on the Forty Acres. If not for Georgia, well, Texas wouldn’t even have had to go to work Saturday.

But hear us out: Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

After all, Texas got another Bevo Walk, one more time for an experienced senior class to soak in the atmosphere of 101,150 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. It gave the Longhorns one more opportunity to hear Matthew McConaughey get weird on the sound system. Most importantly, it gave the Longhorns another opportunity to get back to what they actually do really well: Run the damn ball.

In a 38-24 win over Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Texas outmuscled and then outran the overmatched Tigers defense for a season-high 292 yards and four touchdowns. Texas will take its regrouped ground game back to Atlanta, site of the most recent loss to Georgia, to play Arizona State in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl on Jan. 1.

Texas split things up pretty evenly: Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue each got two. Wisner did most of the hard running early; Blue — who had touchdown runs of 38 and 77 yards, the latter coming after Clemson had closed within one score — did the speed work. End of the night: Blue had 146 yards, Wisner, who didn’t play in the fourth quarter to rest a knee he “banged” late in the first half, had 110.

It was, in a lot of ways, just like coach Steve Sarkisian drew it up after Georgia held the Longhorns to 31 yards 10 days ago in a 22-19 overtime loss in the SEC Championship.

“One of the first bullet points I put up in the room was ‘run to win,’” Sarkisian said of his workweek message to his team. “We needed to run to win this game. And we’re going to need to run the football to advance in these playoffs. That’s what playoff football is about. So, we really challenged them on the run game.”

They responded. Just as they did the first time Georgia beat them back in October and held the running game to 29 yards. Texas followed that up with three 200-plus-yard games on the ground in the five games ‘twixt Georgia meetings.

Against Clemson, it was important to demonstrate that the issue was just a Georgia thing. Clemson was the perfect opponent for Texas to reestablish the ground game. Clemson entered the playoff ranked 73rd in the country — last among the playoff teams — in run defense. There was a weakness to exploit and eventually a message to send to the rest of the remaining playoff field: Sarkisian may have been a quarterback once and may remain a quarterback at heart, but Texas will run to win. Arizona State, consider your Sun Devils warned.

“The run game is really important for us on a lot of levels,” Sarkisian said. “One, our offense is better when we can run it, because then the balance can really kick in for us. It opens up a lot that we do. When we can run it effectively, teams have to prepare for a lot when they’re getting ready to play us.”

On Saturday, this is how effective Texas’ running game was: It literally didn’t matter who was where on the offensive line. Texas got left tackle Kelvin Banks, who missed the SEC championship game, back Saturday, but lost center Jake Majors and right tackle Cameron Williams on successive plays late in the first half. Guard Hayden Conner moved over to center and Cole Hutson moved into the offensive line, which was jumbled to say the least. Worked good enough to spring Blue on a 77-yard TD run through the right side three plays after Clemson had cut a onetime 28-10 lead to 31-24. On both of Blue’s long touchdown runs, Ewers had checked off a pass play after reading the Clemson defensive set.

It was also good vindication for Blue, who dealt with issues holding on to the ball earlier this season, and had fallen into more of a secondary role to Wisner.

“The guys up front, those guys paved the way for me,” Blue said. “We made a big emphasis that we’re going to have to run the ball in order to win this game.”

For that, Texas can somehow thank Georgia for the reminder.

So far, so good: See photos from Texas’ first-round College Football Playoff win over Clemson in Austin

Find more Texas coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Georgia

Notre Dame vs. Georgia: Odds and how to watch the Allstate Sugar Bowl

Published

10 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Notre Dame vs. Georgia: Odds and how to watch the Allstate Sugar Bowl

The first round of the College Football Playoff lived up to expectations, as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish claimed a quarterfinal spot after defeating the Indiana Hoosiers in snowy South Bend, Indiana. The Fighting Irish will face the No. 2 seeded Georgia Bulldogs in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish secured their first playoff victory in the new era of the College Football Playoff with a 27-17 win over Indiana. Quarterback Riley Leonard delivered a stellar performance against the Hoosiers, completing 71.9% of his passes for 201 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while also scoring a touchdown on the ground. On defense, safety Xavier Watts was the standout player, recording 10 tackles and an interception to help the Fighting Irish clinch the victory.

The Bulldogs, who received a bye, are gearing up for a run at the College Football Playoff without their starting quarterback, Carson Beck. He will likely be sidelined due to an elbow injury on his throwing arm, which he sustained during the final play of the first half in the SEC Championship game against Texas. This injury forced him to leave the game early. Sophomore Gunner Stockton stepped in and successfully led the Bulldogs to a 22-19 victory. Gunner has a completion rate of 78.1% and has thrown for 206 yards in the three games he played this season. He is expected to lead the offense moving forward.

Here is everything to know ahead of kickoff at the All-State Sugar Bowl.

Allstate Sugar Bowl odds, lines: Notre Dame vs. Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs are favorites to defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, according to the BetMGM college football odds.

Odds as of afternoon on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Spread: Georgia (-1.5)
Moneylines: Georgia (-120); Notre Dame (+102)
Over/under: 44.5

How to watch Notre Dame vs. Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 1
Time: 8:45 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Stream: Fubo
Where: Caesars Superdome (New Orleans, LA)

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Georgia

Georgia Disaster Recovery Centers to be closed for Christmas, New Year holidays

Published

18 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Georgia Disaster Recovery Centers to be closed for Christmas, New Year holidays

ATLANTA, Ga. (WALB) – All Georgia Disaster Recovery Centers will be closed for the holidays.

For the upcoming Christmas holiday, the centers will be closed from Tuesday, Dec. 24, until Thursday, Dec. 26.

The centers will be closed from Tuesday, Dec. 31, until Thursday, Jan. 2, for the New Year holiday.

All centers are also closed on Sundays.

While the centers are closed, you can call the FEMA helpline at (800) 621-3362, or apply or check your application on https://www.disasterassistance.gov/. The helpline will be closed on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.

Survivors may visit any one of the FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers throughout the state to apply for assistance. Click here to find a center near you.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.