Paul Finebaum Addresses Kirby Smart Calling Out ESPN After Texas Win

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart did not pass up an opportunity to call out ESPN following a massive 30-15 win over the No. 1 Texas Longhorns on Saturday night.

The Dawgs entered the matchup ranked No. 5 in the country with a lone loss at Alabama in Week 4. The undefeated Longhorns were listed as 4.5-point favorites, per ESPN BET, and ESPN hosts and analysts predicted Texas to come out on top in Austin.

ESPN signed a 10-year deal with the SEC in 2020 to hold exclusive broadcast rights for the conference beginning this season.

"Nobody gave us a chance," Smart told Katie George in an ESPN interview after the game. "Your whole network doubted us. Nobody believed us. And then they tried to rob us with calls, in this place... Our intent was to eat."

ESPN "College GameDay" hosts Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee and Lee Corso each picked the Longhorns on Saturday morning, as did guest picker and Texas graduate Scottie Scheffler.

Smart's son, Andrew, was featured holding up a screenshot of the "College GameDay" picks in an Instagram post by Georgia tight end Oscar Delp after the game.

Georgia's underdog approach ultimately worked, as the Bulldogs played considerably better than they had for the better part of eight weeks. Texas' star-studded offense, led by quarterback Quinn Ewers, was suffocated by the UGA defense. Ewers and company totaled 259 yards of offense and allowed seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss on the night.

Smart, a former defensive coordinator, was obviously extremely pleased with his team's performance and wasn't afraid to remind the doubters that the Dawgs haven't gone anywhere.

For ESPN host Paul Finebaum, though, he took Smart's comments about his network in a unique way.

"It reminded me of stuff I've heard from Nick Saban," Finebaum told ESPN's Matt Barrie on Sunday.

Smart spent nine seasons under Saban as defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator at Alabama, winning four national championships and three SEC titles before taking the job at Georgia in 2016.

"These guys now, Matt, always want to blame someone," he continued. "It's easier that way. It's how they get their players fired up."

Despite Smart's comments about his own company, Finebaum did not take offense. In fact, he thought it was "pretty funny."

"Kirby was just simply channeling his inner Nick Saban there," he said. "It was pretty funny. I thought Katie George just, you know, instead of doing what some would have done and pushed back and ended up with a pie in the face, she just kind of laughed like, ’I don't make predictions.’"

While Finebaum might not have taken issue with Smart's quip, ESPN did cut out the comments when posting the interview on the "SportsCenter" X account on Saturday night.

Smart's Dawgs moved to No. 2 in the AP Poll following the win over Texas, with the Longhorns dropping to No. 5. Georgia is off next week before taking on Florida (4-3) on Nov. 2 in Jacksonville.

Related: Georgia Receives Great News Ahead of Texas Game