Since coming on as head coach in 2016, Kirby Smart has flipped the Georgia football script completely.
Things got off to a rocky start, finishing 8-5 in his first year, but Smart managed to rebound, having some of the most successful following three seasons in Georgia history.
Smart is the first head coach to lead the Dawgs to three straight SEC Championship appearances. He won a Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl and also guided Georgia to a national championship for the first time since 1980.
An amazing coaching career Smart has had in Athens that is only just beginning.
Let’s take a look at coach Smart’s five biggest wins in his four years as the Bulldogs’ head coach.
5. GEORGIA VS. #8 AUBURN (2016): BULLDOGS WIN 13-7 AT SANFORD STADIUM
The Dawgs came into this game with a record of 5-4 and critics all over first year head coach Kirby Smart. In one of the worst years in recent Georgia football history, Smart and the Dawgs came out strong between the hedges for the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
Freshman quarterback Jacob Eason went 20/31 with 208 yards passing, helping the Bulldogs convert seven third downs, including two on the final drive of the game. Junior running back Nick Chubb put up 98 rushing yards and Rodrigo Blankenship hit what would be a 45-yard game winning field goal.
Smart’s defense was the real difference in the game, holding an Auburn offense that averaged 500 yards of total offense a game to just 32 in the second half, along with zero first downs. The then #8 team in the country had averaged 43 points per game over their last five contests and were held to just 7. A statement game for Kirby Smart that changed the trajectory of his coaching career.
4. #8 GEORGIA VS. #6 FLORIDA (2019): BULLDOGS WIN 24-17
In a rivalry named the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail featuring two SEC teams ranked top-10 in the country, ESPN’s College GameDay decided to go to Memphis for the Memphis vs SMU game.
That ended up being their loss because they missed one of the most intense Georgia vs Florida games of all-time.
This matchup was essentially a playoff game, both teams tied in conference play, playing for the SEC East title and a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship.
Georgia senior wide receiver Lawrence Cager had a career day, coming off a leg injury from the previous week. Cager caught 7 balls for 132 yards including a 52-yard reception for a touchdown, career highs in all those categories. He would also go on to catch a 2-point conversion from Dawgs QB Jake Fromm to give Georgia a 24-10 lead.
Florida receiver Freddie Swain would score once more in the 4th but it was too little too late as Kirby Smart and the Dawgs claimed their 3rd straight win over the Gators.
Fromm’s third down pass to Eli Wolf put the game on ice.
3. #15 GEORGIA at #24 NOTRE DAME (2017): BULLDOGS WIN 20-19
This game was the first major non-conference road game that Kirby Smart has been a part of as the Dawgs head coach. I’m only assuming many residents of South Bend, Indiana have probably never seen an ocean, but I can guarantee you they’ve never seen a sea of red that DawgNation brought into college football’s holy land. It is rumored that there were more Georgia fans in attendance than Irish fans, making for a loud game to say the least.
Kirby Smart made the call that freshman quarterback Jake Fromm would make his first start on the road, coming in for an injured Jacob Eason. Fromm threw for 141 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception in the matchup. His touchdown pass to Terry Godwin, who just barely reeled in a one-hander falling out of the corner of the end zone, will always be one of Fromm’s biggest plays of his collegiate career.
Rodrigo Blankenship hit a 26 yarder early on to tie the score at 3-3. Then with 3:34 remaining in the 4th, down 19-17, Hot Rod hit what would be the game winner, securing the Bulldogs 20-19 road win in their first matchup with the Fighting Irish since the 1980 National Championship.
Honorable mention: #5 GEORGIA VS. #15 NOTRE DAME 2019 (BULLDOGS WIN 23-17)
This game was tough to leave out of Kirby’s top-5, but we thought a road win earlier in his career against Notre Dame looks better on his resume.
Don’t undermine the importance and hype of this game, which was the debut of the 4th quarter red lights in Sanford. The closest possible thing to a riot ensued in the streets of downtown Athens after Kirby and the Dawgs took care of business in Sanford Stadium.
2. #6 GEORGIA VS. #2 AUBURN (2017 — SEC CHAMPIONSHIP): BULLDOGS WIN 28-7
In a year that Georgia lost to Auburn by a whopping score of 40-17 in the regular season, Kirby Smart got his chance at revenge on the Tigers in the SEC Championship, the winner going to the College Football Playoff.
Smart clearly lit a fire underneath his defense that only allowed seven points and 259 yards of total offense by Auburn.
Jake Fromm threw for 183 yards, completing over 72% of his passes for 2 touchdowns on the night. A 64-yard touchdown run by D’Andre Swift capped off the 28-7 win by Kirby and the Dawgs in the school’s first SEC Championship since 2005.
Revenge is best served in championship form.
1. #3 GEORGIA VS. #2 OKLAHOMA (2018 ROSE BOWL): BULLDOGS WIN 54-48 IN DOUBLE OVERTIME
This game is not just Kirby Smart’s biggest win, it is Georgia’s biggest win since the 1980 National Championship with Herschel Walker and Vince Dooley.
The two-headed-monster of Sony Michel and Nick Chubb absolutely went off that night, combining for 326 yards and 5 touchdowns. The game went back and forth, eventually going into overtime.
In thrilling double overtime fashion, Sony Michel took a 27-yard run to the house to secure a Rose Bowl title and the Dawgs first trip to a national championship since 1980.
Rodrigo Blankenship also helped the Dawgs to Rose Bowl victory, going 2/3 on field goals that game, including his 55-yarder that set the Rose Bowl record for longest field goal made. Blankenship went 6/6 from extra points for a total of 12 points.
This game was nothing but electric, and will remain as head coach Kirby Smart’s best win, that is until Smart gets his national championship he’s been longing for.
