Georgia
Opinion: One missed Peach Bowl field goal keeps Georgia’s Kirby Smart from being Ohio State’s Ryan Day
WATCH: Kirby Smart Press Conference after loss to Alabama
WATCH: Kirby Smart Press Conference after loss to Alabama
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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As temperatures rise across Georgia, cooling costs are also expected to climb this summer. The Georgia Public Service Commission is set to hear one of Georgia Power’s proposed agreements aimed at saving customers money on their power bills.
Georgia Power says its proposed agreements could save the typical customer about $4 a month if approved by the commission.
The proposals involve two separate cases before the PSC. One focuses on fuel costs used to operate power plants, while the second deals with storm recovery costs tied to Hurricane Helene.
Georgia Power and the PSC’s Public Interest Advocacy Staff recently reached agreements in both cases. If approved, the company says the typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month could save about $4.04 per month or nearly $50 per year beginning in June.
The proposal comes as a new national report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association and the Center for Energy Poverty and Climate projects cooling costs could rise about 8.5% nationwide this year. The report says hotter temperatures and increased energy demand are helping drive costs higher.
Reliable Heating and Air said it is already seeing an increase in service calls across metro Atlanta as more people start using their air conditioning systems.
HVAC experts said homeowners should watch for warning signs, including strange noises, weak airflow, homes cooling slowly or higher-than-normal power bills.
“Biggest mistake they make is not getting a system maintenance,” said Joshua Kelly with Reliable Heating and Air. “A lot of people feel like, ‘Oh no, I don’t have to get maintenance,’ but you most definitely do.”
Experts recommend changing air filters regularly, scheduling maintenance checks, keeping thermostats between 74 and 77 degrees on hot days and addressing airflow problems early.
Resources for Georgia families needing help with cooling costs:
- Georgia LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) — Helps eligible low-income households pay heating and cooling bills and may assist during energy emergencies.
- United Way 211 — Connects families with local resources, including utility assistance programs, emergency financial help and community services.
- Partnership for Community Action — Offers utility assistance, energy support programs and other services for eligible families in metro Atlanta.
- Local Community Action Agencies — Many agencies across Georgia provide emergency utility assistance, payment support and additional family resources during extreme heat and high energy demand periods.
ATLANTA – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Emory University Hospital are monitoring two Georgia residents following a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship that resulted in three deaths.
Atlanta hospital monitoring
What we know:
A couple returned to Georgia last week and was moved Monday to Emory University Hospital for specialized monitoring. One of the passengers showed mild symptoms of the virus but has since tested negative. Both individuals were passengers on the MV Hondius, a ship where the Andes variant of hantavirus was identified.
The CDC confirmed the patients are being kept in a biocontainment unit designed for highly infectious diseases. Doctors at Emory said one individual is receiving treatment while the other is being monitored, though they emphasize there is no risk to the general public.
Monitoring and travel status
What we don’t know:
Health officials have not confirmed if the passengers will be cleared to leave the hospital or return home before a 42-day period is over. While one test was negative, authorities have not said how many additional tests or how much more observation time is needed before the couple is fully cleared. The exact names and ages of the Georgia residents have not been released due to privacy concerns.
Cruise ship outbreak
The backstory:
The outbreak began in April on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius during a voyage from Argentina. Nine cases have been confirmed and three people died after the virus spread, likely through human-to-human transmission of the Andes strain. This specific strain is known for causing Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a severe respiratory illness.
Low public risk
Big picture view:
While the Andes variant is serious, the CDC and World Health Organization assess the risk to the general public as low. The virus typically spreads through close contact with bodily fluids or respiration rather than everyday social contact. Federal and state health departments are using established protocols to manage the repatriation and monitoring of the 18 Americans who were on the ship.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered from FOX 5 reporter Kevyn Stewart, who attended a news conference with the CDC and Emory University Hospital, as well as official statements from the Georgia Department of Public Health and the World Health Organization.
Georgia and Florida State appear to be honoring their word in that they will end up playing each other.
According to Brett McMurphy of On3, Florida State athletic director Mike Alford has said Georgia and Florida State will play at a neutral site game in 2028.
While Georgia has not yet commented on the news, Alford also revealed that there are seven possible neutral venues they are eyeing for the game.
Those venues are Atlanta, Nashville, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Charlotte and New Orleans.
With the exception of Orlando, Georgia has some history — or a future game — with all of the possible venues.
Below, we rank the possible venues from Georgia’s perspective as to where the game could be played.
Georgia-Florida State possible neutral site games
- Atlanta: The most obvious choice from a Georgia perspective. The Bulldogs have consistently played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, including neutral site games against North Carolina, Oregon, Clemson and Georgia Tech. The 2028 game was set to be a Georgia home game, so making the short trip to Atlanta could be a reasonable consolation.
- Charlotte: Of the non-Atlanta options, this one is the closest to Athens. Georgia has history in this venue, as it beat Clemson to open the 2021 season in the venue. This option may not be high on Florida State’s list of preferences for the game.
- New Orleans: Georgia does not have a great recent history in this building, as its last two seasons have ended in the Caesars Superdome. One thing worth noting is that this game will be played early in the season, possibly in Week 0. New Orleans, Atlanta and Nashville are the only stadiums with Dome options, which could be beneficial with the heat.
- Nashville: What makes Nashville’s inclusion on this list interesting is that the Tennessee Titans will have opened up their new stadium in 2027, giving Nashville a state-of-the-art facility. This stadium will also be enclosed, providing shelter against the heat. Working against this selection is that Georgia is already scheduled to make one trip to Vanderbilt in 2028, as Georgia faces Vanderbilt in Nashville that season.
- Orlando: In terms of possible stadiums, Orlando is at the bottom. Georgia also already has one neutral site game scheduled to be played in Florida in 2028, as the Bulldogs will take on Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. Maybe a possible weekend at Disney could excite some fans about this possible venue.
- Miami: The last time these two met was in Miami, with Georgia rolling to a 63-3 win. Florida State has played Miami on an annual basis as it is one of the biggest games in the conference. Florida State has played at Miami in even years, which would be the case in 2028.
- Tampa: Georgia will make a trip to Tampa in 2027, when the Bulldogs take on the rival Florida Gators in their annual rivalry game. SEC media days will be in Tampa in 2026.
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