Kirby Smart sends message to Georgia fans after perfect regular season

Looking to secure a perfect regular season, the Georgia Bulldogs made the hour trip to Atlanta for a 45-0 rout against Georgia Tech. The rivalry game was one-sided from the opening kickoff, both on the field and in the crowd. Despite listing the matchup as a Georgia Tech home game, Georgia coach Kirby Smart felt the Bulldogs’ fans presence.

“What an incredible turnout from our fanbase,” Smart told reporters, via Dawg Post’s Matt DeBary. “It felt like a home game.”

Now 12-0, Georgia can turn its focus to the postseason run, which starts with an SEC Championship bid against SEC West champion Alabama. Barring some crazy events across the college football world – and questionable decisions from the CFP selection committee – they will then line it up in the College Football Playoff.

With the SEC Championship set for Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, the Bulldogs’ fans can help create another home-field advantage in their next matchup.

Kirby Smart on Georgia Tech rivalry

On Monday, Kirby Smart spoke with the media about the historic matchup, what it means to Georgia fans, and why the word “rivalry” can be overused to a detrimental point.

“I wasn’t a big college football fan as a recruit, so it’s hard for me how I viewed it,” Smart said when asked how he viewed the annual contest with Georgia Tech prior to moving to Athens. “I didn’t come to the Georgia-Georgia Tech game. I didn’t grow up going to those. I grew up going to high school football games and watching TV on Saturdays.”

Smart is a Southern Georgia native. He grew up in a small town called Bainbridge and went on to play defensive line for the Bulldogs from 1995-1998. An All-SEC defender as a senior, Smart notched 13 career interceptions, which ranks fourth all-time in the Georgia record books. Smart went undrafted in 1999 and signed a contract with the Indianapolis Colts shortly thereafter.

“It’s not about the history of the rivalry because our guys weren’t even born when I was playing,” he added.

Next, the sixth-year head coach shared an interesting perspective on rivalries.

“Once I got here, there was an ingrained, built-in belief that you had to beat your in-state rival, but you also had conference rivals,” Smart said. “You play on something so many times that it falls on deaf ears sometimes… We don’t get into that because it really loses its effectiveness if you use it all the time. Who isn’t our rival?”