Athens celebrated homecoming in Week 6, and Georgia welcomed one of its most vile opponents for the event. On a steamy day at Sanford Stadium, the Bulldogs cruised to a 31-13 victory in the 129th installment of The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, but head coach Kirby Smart wasn’t pleased with the outcome.
After the game, Smart said to a reporter, “To be honest, I’m a little disappointed, and I’m probably disappointed in our fans for the first time.” “I felt that the noise level, passion, and energy of the game crowd were lacking significantly.”
Smart acknowledged that everyone inside Sanford Stadium was affected by the weather on a sweltering October Saturday, but he won’t excuse his team in front of the spectators if he doesn’t offer them that explanation.
“I can’t get crowd noise, but it was hot, and our players were pushing to get a home-field advantage like we’ve had when we’ve played against teams. They had on full pads and helmet pads.” “I’ll just be honest about it—that frustrates me,” Smart went on. I believe that as fans, we need to perform better.”
“I know I have to do a better job as a coach, but these players need their support, and we need theirs,” Smart continued.
Coach Smart is not the first to criticize his home crowd and want more from the atmosphere on the field. An effective strategy for any college football coach looking to make the most of every advantage at their disposal is to call out opposing fans. Though it might not work for every coach, the fan support will be far more accepting of tough love if you have already won two national titles for them.
That’s the luxury that comes with being successful, yet there are costs associated with being successful. Fans no longer feel the same way after 42 straight regular-season victories; an unimpressive 18-point victory over Auburn doesn’t inspire the same level of enthusiasm. especially for the supporters who have only experienced domination since arriving in Athens in 2021 or 2022.
Indiana’s 6-0 start to the season is one of college football’s major narratives. First-year head coach Curt Cignetti has been pleading with the student body for support through emails that have gone viral during that run. Positive reinforcement works well when reconstructing a previously failing program, but for Kirby Smart, this may be the only way to encourage supporters to pay attention.
Even Kirby Smart, though, is only able to use the card maybe once a year, if even then. Georgia’s most important games of the season are virtually all away from home, which is what makes this sincere moment of dissatisfaction so intriguing. Perhaps Smart ought to have saved his tough coaching until right before Georgia’s November 16 match against Tennessee, rather than the week after when Mississippi State visits the state.
Kickoff time for Texas vs. Georgia has been revealed.
The kickoff time for the much awaited game between the No. 1 rated Texas football team and the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs next weekend at DKR on October 19 was revealed. The UT football team’s only home game in October will be against Texas-Georgia.
In Week 8, Texas football will play host to Georgia in primetime at DKR in a huge SEC clash.
On October 19, at 6:30 p.m. CT, Texas and Georgia will kick off at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. It was also revealed that ABC will stream live, in primetime, the highly anticipated clash between Texas and Georgia the following week.
This will be the Longhorns’ third primetime night game at DKR under the lights this season. Additionally, it will be the Longhorns’ first-ever night game in SEC conference play.
Texas has an opportunity to enter the Georgia game unbeaten if it wins its Red River Rivalry game this weekend in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas against the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners. Following several upsets that gave unexpected losses to conference leaders like Alabama and Tennessee, Texas is currently the lone unbeaten team in the SEC.
After a bye week, Texas comes into Week 7 with an unbeaten 5-0 (1-0 SEC) record. On September 28, the Longhorns defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 35–13 to earn their first-ever SEC victory at DKR.
The Longhorns, under head coach Steve Sarkisian, have already won one game this season, defeating the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines 31–12 on the road at the Big House in Ann Arbor on September 7.
For the first time in more than a century, since 1958, Texas and Georgia will face off in a regular season contest in Week 8. Texas has an all-time record of 4-1-0 against Georgia in football games. During the 2018–19 season, Texas prevailed in the final meeting between the two teams in the Sugar Bowl.
