After winning the SEC and earning the No. 2 overall seed in the 12-team College Football Playoff, Georgia’s season is coming to an end in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal against Notre Dame. The story coming in was backup quarterback Gunner Stockton replacing the injured Carson Beck for his first career start, but coming out of Notre Dame’s convincing win, it’s about head coach Kirby Smart and his counterpart, Marcus Freeman.
The game turned just before halftime when Georgia began a drive at its own 25 with 39 seconds left, down 6-3. Smart had Stockton, his inexperienced backup, come out throwing, and on the first play of the drive, Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka beat left tackle Monroe Freeling and caused a fumble with a strip-sack of Stockton. Notre Dame recovered and two plays after kicking a field goal, scored a touchdown to take a 13-3 lead into the break.
Georgia was not ready for this game. And that's not on Gunner Stockton. It's on Kirby Smart and the rest of his coaching staff. You had a month to prepare for this and you fell flat. Kirby has to answer why that is.
— Carter (@ATLCarterC) January 3, 2025
That quick halftime interview is exactly why I love Kirby Smart.
— Tom Loy (@TomLoy247) January 2, 2025
“Well, we tried to get aggressive, and we probably regret it…” 🤣
In the halftime interview, Smart acknowledged that he regretted his decision to be aggressive, but that wasn’t the only moment that Smart was outcoached in this game, and that has Georgia fans frustrated. The halftime lead was extended on a kickoff return TD to open the second half, but the bigger moment came in the fourth quarter.
No need to mince words.
— Barstool SEC (@SECBarstool) January 3, 2025
Marcus Freeman has coached circles around Kirby Smart today.
Facing a fourth down and backed up in their own end, Marcus Freeman sent out his punt unit, then raced out his offense to confuse the Georgia sideline. Smart, who recognized he was allowed to substitute to match, rushed his defense onto the field, instead of calling a timeout or slow-walking his substitutes to run down the play clock, a common trick in college football. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard drew Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker offside, the penalty gave the Fighting Irish a first down, and for all intents and purposes, it sealed the game.
Marcus Freeman just COOKED Kirby Smart.
— Bryson Stricker (@BryBryStrick) January 3, 2025
You cannot have your players SPRINTING OFF THE FIELD. You should be walking off the field taking as much time as possible so Notre Dame burns a timeout/takes a penalty.
Notre Dame was 100% trying to get them to jump/burn TO.
While it’s a disappointing end to the year for the Dawgs, it does seem that some Georgia fans have amnesia and have forgotten the back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022.
Kirby smart got straight out coached today like he has almost every big game he’s played. How are ppl excusing the constant penalties his teams make in big games and the lack of adjustments
— TJ (@HawkTJFanAtl) January 3, 2025