Kirby Smart saw his Georgia team allow something it hadn’t all season. Kent State scored in every quarter and raised some eyebrows despite Georgia ultimately winning 39-22.

“It was what we needed, a hard-fought football game,” Smart told ESPN. “I thought their kids fought hard and ours did, too. They are executing well, (but) we can’t turn it over. That’s the Achilles heel in any game.”

Georgia lost a pair of fumbles and threw an interception, but Smart liked how the Bulldogs responded.

“We came out in the second half and responded really well,” Smart said. “Our team needed this. We had a better week of practice than we did game.”

Smart later to reporters called it a “growth week” and that Georgia knew Kent State was a good team and it proved it in Sanford Stadium.

About the defense, Smart said, “A lot of places to improve … They did a good job in the RPO game. We didn’t leverage the ball properly on a couple plays on the sideline.”