You'd think when your team wins a game by 50 points that you'd be all smiles in your postgame presser. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was anything but that, as he expressed his frustration with his team's performance.
For the second week in a row, Georgia scored over 60 points. Their 133 combined points in the first two games are the third-most ever by any college football team. The Bulldogs outscored Tennessee State and Western Kentucky 84-9 in the first half of the games.
Yet, to hear Kirby Smart on the podium, you'd think Georgia had to squeak by on a last-second field goal.
Smart rattled off a list of "If you can't" scenarios that he saw from his team (mostly in the second half) and concluded it with "not ready to play in the SEC".
Kirby Smart didn't hold back despite the 70-20 win, where he saw players show their lack of readiness to play in the SEC. pic.twitter.com/7MAbwZYXEm
— UGASports.com (@ugasportscom) September 12, 2026
Georgia's sloppy second half with the backups got Kirby Smart's blood boiling.
There wasn't much bad to say about the performance from the starters in the first half. It was an impressive display from Gunner Stockton and his cohorts, and the defense looked absolutely ferocious.
Once the starters were pulled, however, the wheels...well, they didn't come off, but let's just say there was some serious wobbling going on.
Late in the first half and into the second half, the reserves looked average at best. With just over a minute remaining in the half, backup quarterback Ryan Puglisi lost a fumble, and in an averted disaster, Blake Stewart fumbled near the goal line during the return after intercepting a pass in the third quarter; luckily, Tyriq Green recovered it for a chaotic touchdown.
The defense, with primarily backups on the field, gave up a late touchdown drive as the first half closed out, including a 15-yard touchdown run by Hilltoppers quarterback Brock Glenn, then surrendered a second touchdown at the end of the fourth quarter.
Of the eight third-down conversions Western Kentucky had in the game, six of them were against Georgia's backups, as was their one and only fourth-down conversion. The holes that were opened up by the offensive line in the first half were practically non-existent later in the game.
The only real highlights of the second half were Ryan Puglisi's 70-yard touchdown run -- bettering even the career long of one Stetson Bennett IV -- and the 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Tyriq Green, the first since 2016.
Georgia's depth will be tested in conference play, and they need to be better
Kirby Smart has every right to be irked at the performance given by the backups in this game. Western Kentucky was a tune-up game, and the reserves needed to show as much dominance as the starters. They'll be asked to do much more once the Bulldogs begin conference play, and what was seen today simply won't get it done.
The good thing is that Kirby Smart recognizes the shortfalls seen today, and those will be addressed at this week's practices as Georgia prepares for a trip to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas.
This will be Georgia's first SEC road test of the year, and while Arkansas may be considered a bottom-tier SEC team, the level of competition will certainly go up from what the Dawgs have seen in the first two games of the season.
Georgia is built different, and a coach who shows annoyance and aggravation after a 70-20 win is proof of how true that statement really is.
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