Anyone that follows college football knows the drama surrounding Notre Dame. The Irish were the first team left out of the College Football Playoff this season, and they had every right to be upset. But the last thing anyone expected was for them to quit, but that is exactly what they did.
Instead of taking their anger out in their bowl game, Notre Dame opted out of the bowl season altogether. This was met with a lot of backlash from the college football community because there isn’t anything weaker than quitting when something doesn’t go your way.
Notre Dame’s scenario this year is awfully similar to Georgia’s during the 2023 season, but the Bulldogs handled their disappointment in a much better way. This comparison between Notre Dame and Georgia was all anyone could talk about the last few days, and former Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley emphasized how much better UGA handled this situation.
“All of us Georgians should be damn proud of the leadership at UGA over there,” Dooley said via dawgpost.com. “And I’m not just talking about Kirby Smart. Hell, we know he’s the best in the country. I’m talking about Josh Brooks and Jere Morehead. It reminded me of several years ago when Georgia was No.1 in the country and they get beat in the SEC Championship and get knocked out of the playoffs even though they were clearly one of the best four teams. “And what did they do? They went to work.“
“That’s why still today, the Dawgs are the gold standard of college football,” Dooley continued. “Not only do they have the best players, but they have the right kind of leadership, teaching young people how to respond when things don’t go their way.”
Former Tennessee coach thinks Notre Dame should aspire to be like Georgia
Dooley pointed out that Georgia took out their anger against Florida State in 2023 and beat them by a 60 points in their bowl game. This is the exact opposite of what Notre Dame did this season because the Irish just quit because one thing didn’t go their way.
Dooley made the argument that this speaks to how great Georgia’s culture under Kirby Smart is compared to Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman because Smart never once thought about opting out of the bowl season. He and Georgia were just as furious as Notre Dame is, but their culture wouldn’t allow them to just give up on the season. They put their heads down and used that bowl season to create momentum going forward, and that has led to back-to-back SEC Championships.
Notre Dame and their fans don’t seem to care what anyone thinks of them, but that is part of the problem. They should aspire to be more like Georgia and Smart because that is what a good culture and great leader looks like.