Kirby Smart has another ‘never quit’ Georgia football team

The No. 9-ranked Bulldogs will look to make sure they continue to make their coaches and fans proud when they play host to the No. 5-ranked Rebels at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday as a 6 1/2-point favorite.

Georgia’s favored status might have been hard to imagine watching the first half at Auburn, as the Bulldogs went from being dominated on The Plains of Auburn to soaring high like the War Eagle mascot in the span of 30 seconds when CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson say they combined to force a fumble at the Bulldogs’ 1-yard line.

Calling it a goal-line stand doesn’t do the play justice, because stopping an elite running dual-threat quarterback like Jackson Arnold is one thing, but forcing and recovering a fumble is quite another in the most impressive of ways.

And for that play to suddenly translate into a 12-play, 88-yard scoring drive — for an offense that had generated only 20 yards to that point — was truly game-changing.

So now you can add nine wins in a row for Georgia over Auburn to a season resume that already includes a ninth win in a row over Tennessee and a 16th win in a row over Kentucky.

There’s still a 24-21 home loss to Alabama, the Bulldogs’ seventh in the past eight games against the Tide, hanging over their season.

But there’s suddenly a more realistic possibility that Georgia could get another shot at Alabama this season in the SEC Championship Game or the College Football Playoff, and the Bulldogs are 1-0 against the Tide when afforded a same-season rematch.

First things first, Lane Kiffin will be bringing his Ole Miss football show to Athens, and ESPN’s College GameDay set will be arriving to hype the matchup.

Kiffin’s social media account on “X,” formerly known as Twitter, is sure to be active with some new, likely clever, social media dance and song.

Smart’s Bulldogs are sure to remain buttoned-up and tight-lipped with company lines.

Come Saturday, anything can happen, because as college football knows, just when it appears safe to count out Georgia, the Bulldogs hunker down.

Kiffin, whose Rebels scratched out an unimpressive 24-21 home win over 3-3 Washington State last Saturday, knows that better than anyone, especially when it comes to playing the Bulldogs in Athens.

“Try going to 100 Sanford Drive,” Kiffin said last November, when validating the strength of the SEC. ” … It’s different.”

Georgia looks ahead knowing it owes Ole Miss a payback after the 28-10 beat down the Rebels put on a tired, worn-down Bulldogs team that Smart said was lacking “mental bandwidth” last season when it traveled to Oxford.

This season’s Bulldogs, led by a new quarterback and reloaded most everywhere else after 16 players moved on to the NFL and several others hit the portal, appear refreshed.

The “Fire, Passion and Energy” Smart preached throughout the offseason finally took hold on Saturday night, sparked by the goal-line moment.

There will be echoes from Auburn of highway robbery and a blown call, but ESPN analyst Dari Nowkhah was among those pointing out that Georgia had just as much — if not more — of a beef.

“Georgia is the team that has more gripe than Auburn does,” Nowkhah said. “The refs, where they really screwed up, was by blowing the play dead — it should have been a 99-yard recovery and touchdown for the other side.”

Indeed, because safety Kyron Jones recovered that fumble and fell on top of a teammate — not the ground — before returning the ball 99 yards for a touchdown.

Nowkhah’s explanation on the College Sports Sunday show on SiriusXM on Sunday provides Georgia fans with a snappy answer if challenged, at the very least.

But like the head coach, the Bulldogs’ followers will likely be looking ahead at a schedule filled with the promise of more prime-time opportunities for Smart and his program to shine.

After all, there’s still the annual Cocktail Party matchup with Florida in Jacksonville ahead, followed by a trip to cowbell-crazy Mississippi State, home dates with Arch Manning’s Texas and cream puff Charlotte and then a familiar drive to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to play a potential top 10-ranked version of Georgia Tech.

“Really proud of this team, guys,” Smart said in conclusion before loading his team on the bus. “That’s the message. Nothing else needs to be said.”

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