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Kirby Smart explains what cost Georgia in the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame
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Kirby Smart didn’t want to make excuses for Georgia after it lost Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs, like each of the other 3 teams that received a first-round bye, lost their first Playoff game after a multi-week layoff. But Smart told reporters after the game that Notre Dame was simply the better team.
Notre Dame beat Georgia 23-10 in the Sugar Bowl. And yet the Bulldogs outgained the Irish on a per-play basis, 4.9 to 4.0. Typically, the more efficient team wins. That wasn’t the case in New Orleans. In fact, Notre Dame only had 90 passing yards all game.
Smart was asked if he’d ever been part of a game where the winning team was so one-dimensional on offense.
“Yeah. When you have 2 turnovers and a kickoff return touchdown, that’s what happens,” Smart responded. “I have been part of those games. I’ve been part of really good defenses. They stop people and we weren’t able to get a lot going. The turnovers were the difference in the game, guys. It’s not an exact science. You should know when you turn it over twice and they return a kickoff for a touchdown, you are not going to have a lot of success.”
Georgia was a more productive team on Thursday, but Notre Dame was the cleaner team.
The Bulldogs fumbled the football inside the Notre Dame 10 on their second possession of the game. They fumbled it again with less than a minute to go in the first half. Notre Dame scored on the very next play. They turned it over on downs on each of their final 3 possessions, committed costly penalties at inopportune times, and went 2-for-15 on third and fourth down.
Quarterback Gunner Stockton threw for 234 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. He wasn’t really the issue. Georgia couldn’t protect him or provide him with a ground game to keep the Irish at bay.
And the 2 touchdowns Notre Dame scored in a manner of plays in the second and third quarters were largely the difference in the game.
Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs have plenty to work on this offseason, but Thursday’s result wasn’t exactly tough to figure out.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
