Kirby Smart reacts to Georgia setting SEC record with 29th consecutive win
With the win over Georgia Tech, head coach Kirby Smart officially led the Georgia Bulldogs to an SEC-record 29th straight win. It’s a winning streak that goes back to the 2021 season when Georgia suffered its last loss in the SEC Championship Game.
After the game, Smart chose not to revel in the record but did caution that the Bulldogs are only a week away from being humbled.
“It says we’ve got a tough one next week,” Kirby Smart said. “I mean, it’s humility is a week away. That’s what we say around our place. It’s a great honor.”
The previous SEC record for a winning streak was 28 games. That was held by Alabama, which had won 28 games straight on two occasions, under Bear Bryant and Gene Stallings. During that stretch, Georgia has won the national championship twice and the SEC Championship once.
“I mean, it’s something we’ll look back on. It’s not one person. You know, if I’m thinking right, that’s three different teams, right? There’s a lot of kids that aren’t in that locker room that were a part of that. That’s not the focal point for us. The focal point for us is to get better, you know, and we’ve got to continue to get better,” Smart said.
“Our kids have a lot of pride, and they want to get better. You know, the offense felt like they left points out there. The defense feels like they didn’t play the quarterback run game as well as they should. So, the good thing about that locker room is a lot of guys know there’s work to be done.”
Next up for Kirby Smart and Georgia is Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. In 2021, Alabama gave Georgia its last loss in this exact game.
Heather Dinich explains why Georgia is ‘not a lock’ for CFP
Despite Georgia’s 29-game winning streak and being one of the best teams in the game, Heather Dinich cautioned that Georgia isn’t a lock for the College Football Playoff if the Bulldogs lose to Alabama.
“Not a lock. Absolutely not because, like I said, conference championships matter. If you don’t win your conference you face a much higher bar in that selection committee meeting room to prove you are unequivocally one of the four best teams in the country, and if Texas does win the Big 12, Texas would have something Georgia does not, a win against the SEC Champs. That is huge,” Dinich said.
“Now, head-to-head isn’t everything. That Week 2 win in Tuscaloosa will continue to resonate, but there’s also coaches in the room, and there are people who will have a conversation saying, ‘Hey, guys. Is Georgia better than Texas? If they played today, would that happen?’ And you also have to consider the fact that a one-loss Oregon is hanging around. Is a one-loss Pac-12 champion a lock?”