“The standards don’t change,” Smart said Friday on the eve of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl matchup against No. 4 Ohio State.
But Smart acknowledged the difficulty of trying to replicate as a national champion, something that hasn’t happened in college football since Alabama won the championship in 2011 and 2012.
Smart left Alabama to become Georgia’s head coach before the 2016 season, but remembers his experience as an assistant to Nick Saban’s staff at the Crimson Tide.
“I knew what year it was going to be,” Smart said. “It’s always a little bit difficult to get everyone back home. With so many players leaving this year and a starving young team, it was a lot easier for us.”
Smart used an in-house sports psychologist to talk with players during the offseason about “how the power went down” and “several different models in which egos have made the most of business organizations.” He said he had a conversation.
Georgia’s 15 draft picks in the 2022 NFL Draft (including five first-round defensive players) is the most since it was cut to seven rounds.
Still, the Bulldogs were undefeated during the regular season, won the SEC championship, and allowed the second fewest points in the FBS.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day said, “Georgia’s defense is flawless.” And when it comes to the front, athletic linebackers run from sideline to sideline.Their front is strong.
“If you look at the stats, you can see how they’ve played all year. They’re full defense. But when you get into this level of competition, that’s what you get.”
Day said his team experienced mixed emotions after losing to Michigan in the final weekend of the regular season. maybe I didn’t.
“When something is taken away from you, it gives you a little more appreciation,” Day said.
But like Smart, Day was under less pressure than usual and said earlier in the season, “This is exactly the situation you saw.”
“The expectations for Ohio and Georgia are at the highest level,” Day said. “We accept that. The players accept that. That’s why we come to Ohio State. We’re in this situation, we’re going to play in a game like this, we’re going to fight for a national championship.” It is.”