Georgia coach Kirby Smart may have assumed the mantle of SEC king now that Nick Saban has retired. But Smart clearly has a fondness for Texas’ Steve Sarkisian and how he’s built the Longhorns.
Maybe he’s just spreading around the rat poison, but Smart waxed eloquent about No. 1 Texas during his Monday press conference.
“I mean, the consistency you watch them play with, it reminds me of, you know, some of our better teams here,” Smart told reporters. “They’re good on D. They’re good on O. They’re good on special teams. And they’re playing at a high level.”
Smart spoke at length about the Longhorns’ talent in the trenches and surmised, “They’re built like an SEC team.”
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Smart and Sarkisian are more than just enemy coaches. They’ve become personal friends. Both worked for Saban at Alabama, although not together.
“Lot of respect for Sark,” Smart said. “I’ve gotten to know Sark really well over the last couple years. We take a trip every year together and really enjoy getting know him and have a lot of respect for the job he does.”
Georgia reporters drilled down on Smart’s opinions about the Longhorns (6-0, 2-0 SEC). Smart revealed how much he likes Sarkisian’s offensive creativity.
Texas enters this week ranked seventh nationally in scoring (43.2 points per game) and seventh in total offense (495.7 yards per game). The Horns have scored 26 touchdowns on 33 trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
“His offense, I mean, it is complicated, because it has motion shifts and a lot of window dressing,” Smart said. “But he gets back to the plays that he’s going to run, and he’s able to be versatile enough to say, OK, I’ve got to get this guy the ball. And some of the plays are like ours now, where they’re not built for one player. They’re built for, what does the defense do? I’m going to get it to my weapons.”
Smart said his coaches aren’t spending my time focusing on the differences between Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and backup Arch Manning. They both run the same system. Sarkisian doesn’t dramatically alter his play-calling based on who is in the game.
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The biggest difference is that Manning is unafraid to take more downfield shots. He’s completed nine passes of at least 30 yards or more. Manning also has better running ability while Ewers is a true pocket passer.
“They’re both really good,” Smart said. “I’ll say this. You watch the games that Arch played, he played really well. He did some really good things. I mean, look at his numbers.
“Quinn's a great player, and they got a great quarterback. They got a great situation, because they’ve got two guys that really both are capable of winning and playing.”
Smart’s team has yet to find its true footing this season. Georgia struggled in sobering fashion against Kentucky before winning 13-12. Smart’s club got down big against Alabama, came roaring all the way back to take the lead and still ultimately lost 41-34.
Wins over Auburn and Mississippi State were more like it, but Saturday is a totally different test. If Georgia (5-1, 3-1) suffers another loss, the Dawgs are likely out of the College Football Playoff chase.
“I want to see them play their best game against Texas,” Smart said. “I mean, we have not played our best game. We have not put a complete game together.”
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