As Kirby Smart devours doubt, Georgia football feasts on Texas

• For a guy who says he doesn’t watch ESPN talking heads, Kirby Smart sure seemed to know a lot about what those talking heads said regarding Georgia.
• Steve Sarkisian relishes chance for Georgia-Texas rematch.
• Believe this: Georgia restored its SEC frontrunner status. After Saturday, there should be no doubting that.

AUSTIN, Texas — For a guy who says he doesn’t watch the ESPN talking heads, Kirby Smart sure seemed to know a lot about what those talking heads said regarding his team this week.

Mostly, they said Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs wouldn’t beat No. 1 Texas.

Georgia bottled up that doubt and turned it into fuel.

“Our whole program was being doubted,” Smart said Saturday after No. 4 Georgia’s 30-15 victory that quieted critics. “I mean, did you watch the show this morning?”

That show he’s referencing is ESPN’s “College GameDay,” and the vote on that pregame program went unanimous, 5-0, in favor of Texas winning this game.

Smart said he busied himself in morning meetings and didn’t watch “GameDay,” but he received “8,000 texts about it.”

“Somebody was doubting us,” Smart said.

A lot of somebodies.

And that’s when Georgia thrives.

“No flinch,” Smart said of his team. “They’re not backing down.”

Georgia football dines on doubt, feasts on Texas

Two years ago, Georgia’s Nolan Smith memorably chirped to a reporter after the Bulldogs repeated as national champions that the undefeated season proved people wrong who thought Georgia would finish 7-5. Who those people were, nobody knows, because Georgia opened that 2022 season ranked No. 3.

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Throughout that season, Smart and quarterback Stetson Bennett IV also played up the idea of Georgia being doubted, even though the Bulldogs were on the shortlist of teams expected to vie for the national championship.

It became almost impossible for Georgia to use doubt as a lightning rod last season, because the Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 for three straight months before losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship.

Then, Georgia opened this season ranked No. 1. The doubters had gone to the mattresses, but they returned in force after Georgia, as a slight sportsbook favorite, lost 41-34 at Alabama last month.

Georgia survived Kentucky and Mississippi State in underwhelming fashion.

Where had the Georgia team that dominated Clemson in the season opener gone?

Lo and behold, the Bulldogs were decided underdogs against Texas.

“Nobody gave us a chance. Your whole network doubted us,” Smart told ESPN afterward. “Nobody believed us.”

Is it time to start doubting Texas Longhorns?

This result should restore widespread belief that Georgia possesses enough talent to win a national championship – and the doubt relocates to Texas. Are the Longhorns for real, or did they benefit from a manageable first-half schedule? None of Texas’ first six opponents will be ranked come Sunday.

Texas bullied those overwhelmed opponents, but Georgia’s defensive front tore apart the Longhorns’ veteran, beefy offensive line.

Seven sacks. Ten tackles for loss. Twelve stops on third downs. Four stops on fourth downs. And a three-hour nightmare for Texas quarterbacks.

Georgia’s defense repeatedly set up its offense for gimme putts. That came in handy and helped offset Carson Beck’s three interceptions. None of Georgia’s first five scoring drives traveled more than 34 yards or spanned more than three minutes. The Bulldogs needed just 283 yards of offense to produce a statement victory.

Quinn Ewers or Arch Manning? Steve Sarkisian offers answer

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian shut down the idea of quarterback controversy, with both his actions and words. He returned to Quinn Ewers after halftime after trying Arch Manning in the second quarter. Sarkisian declared after the game that Ewers remains Texas’ starter.

“We’ve got to do a better job around him,” Sarkisian said.pi

Fact is, neither Texas quarterback fared well, and it wouldn’t have mattered who started, for as poorly as the offensive line protected them.

The Longhorns’ defense kept Texas in the game, and it rallied after trailing 23-0 at halftime. Sarkisian seemed to relish the idea of a possible rematch with Georgia either in the SEC Championship, the College Football Playoff or both.

“Hopefully, we get another crack at them,” Sarkisian said.

The second crack won’t go any differently than the first unless Texas finds a way to slow Jalon Walker, who had three sacks, one fumble recovery, and one swaggering strut after he wrecked Manning.

 Asked why Texas struggled to handle Georgia’s defensive front, Sarkisian started rattling off numbers – as in, the jersey numbers of Georgia’s standout personnel.

“You don’t (recruit as well as Georgia did) for six straight years and not have good defensive personnel,” Sarkisian said.

True enough, but Texas’ offensive line had been a team strength for six games. If that line isn’t up to handling elite defensive fronts, then it’s fair to doubt whether the Longhorns belong in the ranks of the elite.

“We can sit around here and throw a pity party for ourselves,” Sarkisian said, “but I don’t know what good that will do for us. How do we recalibrate?”

To help with that recalibration, take it from Georgia, a dose of doubt can do a program good.

“Maybe they didn’t doubt us,” Smart said, while continuing to discuss the TV pundits he claims not to watch. “They just believed more in Texas than us.”

Believe this: Georgia restored its SEC frontrunner status. After Saturday, there should be no doubting that.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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