Dogs’ Smart enjoys this win

Just where Georgia's 13-7 upset of Auburn Saturday ranks in Bulldogs history is debatable. Sugar didn't fall from the sky as Larry Munson famously proclaimed in 1982. Nor is it likely that the Dogs will ascend back into the national rankings.

There is no question, though, where it ranks for first-year head coach Kirby Smart or freshman quarterback Jacob Eason.

That was evident in their faces as they exited the Sanford Stadium field.

An exhausted Eason cradled the football in his left arm as he walked off, turning around once to hug tight end Isaac Nauta. Eason was soon followed into the locker room by an exuberant Smart.

Smart tried to play down the personal significance of what is clearly the biggest win of his first 10 games as a head coach.

“I’m happy for the team,” Smart said. “I’m happy for the kids because they’re the ones who did it. I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

But defensive back Maurice Smart has played his entire career under Smart, the first three at Alabama before following him to Athens. The Crimson Tide won a lot of big games during that time, including two SEC championships and one national championship. Smith said he’s never seen Smart any happier than he was Saturday night.

“I’m so proud of him and I’m happy for him,” Smith said. “Getting this win is special.”

No, it doesn’t erase the sting of losing to Tennessee on the final play of the game or the frustration of losing to Vanderbilt on homecoming. All they can hope for is to beat Louisiana-Lafayette and Georgia Tech and improve their bowl standing.

“Our goal all along has been to make this team become what they’re capable of,” Smart said. “We wish it would have happened earlier. What matters most is that it does happen. We’re starting to see some of that resiliency and push to get better we talked about all year. We still got a way to go. We have a lot of young puppies out there. We still made some mistakes tonight, but we were able to overcome them.”

Those mistakes included Eason taking sacks in field-goal range, an interception in the end zone thrown by receiver Terry Godwin on a trick play and a holding call on offensive Tyler Catalina that nullified a 41-yard pass by Eason to Javon Wims that would have set up the Dogs in point-blank field goal range, and a false start penalty that pushed the Dogs just out of Rodrigo Blankenship’s field goal range.

But, unlike the losses to Vandy and Florida, the offensive line held its own against Auburn’s mighty defensive line. While the Bulldogs didn’t score an offensive touchdown and managed only 343 yards offense, they did churn out 21 first downs. It was just enough to keep Auburn’s offense on the sidelines for most of the second half.

The Tigers took an early lead on a 15-play, 80-yard drive. They had 74 yards on 34 plays for the rest of the game, including a mere 32 yards on 22 plays in the second half.

“Everybody wants to criticize the offensive line,” Smart said. “But they play hard. They’re really smart kids. They play with toughness. They do the things we ask them to do. I’m proud of the way they compete. There’s some really good leaders in that group.”

Eason’s maturation continued. He completed 20 of 31 passes for 208 yards, including a 57-yard strike to Riley Ridley, yet another true freshman. At times in the first half, it looked like Auburn’s pass rush, led by Carl Lawson, was going to overwhelm Eason. In the past, Eason has buckled under such pressure. For the most part Saturday, Eason played with poise.

“Give credit where credit’s due. He’s getting better,” Smart said. “We can’t take sacks in field goal range. We’ve got to get rid of the ball. We’ve got to make better decisions. But he’s improved. He’s got to continue to improve.”

But the play of the game belonged to Smith. It came on the third play from scrimmage in the second half. He read Auburn quarterback Sean White perfectly and stepped in front of Will Hastings for the pick and weaved his way to the end zone. Just like they do it in Tuscaloosa.

“He works, man. There’s nobody that I’m seen in my coaching career that works as hard, day in and day out,” Smart said. “I’ve been coaching for a long time. He works hard. I saw him work hard all those years. Now, he’s mature. He knows what play is coming before it comes a lot of times. He’s a mature kid and he’s become one of the leaders on this team.”

Smith is a senior and will not be around if the Bulldogs return to prominence. But he believes in Smart.

“There’s going to be so much in store,” Smith said. “People are actually buying into what Coach Smart is saying. Once they keep doing that, it’s unbelievable what’s going to happen for them.”

This story was originally published November 12, 2016 at 9:42 PM with the headline "Dogs’ Smart enjoys this win."