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Is Georgia rooting for Kirby Smart to lose against Michigan State?
By John Hollis
Published:
There probably will be some Georgia fans who won’t be all that upset if Michigan State upsets heavily-favored Alabama in the College Football Playoff national semifinal on New Year’s Eve.
SEC pride only goes so far, and Bulldogs fans eagerly awaiting incoming new coach Kirby Smart’s full-time commitment to the Dawgs would probably take exception to Smart’s comments in Dallas earlier this week that there’s nothing better for Georgia “than winning a national championship at Alabama.”
That’s because the national championship game won’t be played until 12 days later on Jan. 11, meaning Smart, the current Crimson Tide defensive coordinator, will have his focus exclusively on that game until that date.
It’s a precarious time for Smart, one that’s never really going to completely pacify the win-now-at-all-costs Georgia fan base or that of the Crimson Tide.
That extra days will likely seem like an eternity to Georgia fans keenly aware that Smart still has four vacancies to fill on his coaching staff as National Signing Day looms closer and blue-chip recruits begin finalizing their college decisions.
Make no mistake: Knowing who their position coaches will be in college is a big deal because those are the coaches with whom the athletes have the most daily interaction and personal relationships. You can bet schools recruiting those same kids are reminding them as much every day. The longer that uncertainty lasts in Athens, the riskier it becomes for Georgia’s recruiting efforts.
In fact, Georgia and Alabama are in serious contention for a lot of the same athletes, putting Smart in a very awkward position.
But for how long remains to be seen.
Should the Spartans win Thursday evening, Smart will likely be in Athens the following day, working on putting the finishing touches on his staff and reassuring nervous high school prospects who want to be certain of what they’re getting into before committing to Georgia or anywhere else.
Another national championship will certainly help in the long run by adding to Smart’s growing legend, but it’s doubtful the long run is what most Georgia fans have in mind right now.
So there’ll likely be a few more Sparty fans in Athens on Thursday night.
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
