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Kirby Smart explains decision to stay ‘aggressive’ before critical Gunner Stockton fumble
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Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs had their season ended on Thursday night in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs were hoping to punch their ticket to the Orange Bowl, but instead fell to Notre Dame by a score of 23-10.
A crucial sequence of the game happened with under a minute to play in the 1st half. The Bulldogs got the ball back with around 30 seconds to play in the half, down 6-3. Instead of kneeing the ball or playing conservatively, Smart opted to run the 2-minute drill to try and get some points. Instead, Gunner Stockton fumbled the ball and allowed the Irish to add a TD before the half.
So, the Bulldogs could have gone to the half facing a 3-point deficit. Instead, the team was in a 10-point hole that they never climbed out of. After the game, Smart said he didn’t regret the “aggressive” play-calling.
“Typically when you’re down, you need every possession you can have,” Kirby Smart said. “We made a decision that we were going to be aggressive and we were going to try to go 2-minute. That’s what everything says you should do, you can’t give up possessions when you’re trailing.”
Things went from bad to worse, however, as Irish return man Jayden Harrison took the 2nd half kickoff 98 yards to the house. This put the Irish up 20-3 early in the 3rd quarter.
“We don’t play passive here,” declared Smart. “We play to be aggressive and we’re trying to go score. We had timeouts, we had an opportunity to go score.”
Smart also mentioned that his defense should’ve kept the Irish out of the end zone even after the turnover. Unfortunately for Smart, though, the Bulldogs couldn’t do enough on offense even as the defense held the Irish to 10 points in the 2nd half.
Bryce Lazenby covers college football for Saturday Down South. A Nashville native, his previous stops include FanSided, Dimers, and The Leaf-Chronicle.
