Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was a good sport after Auburn's historic 27-24 win over his Dawgs at Sanford Stadium.
Smart pinned some blame on costly mistakes by his team down the stretch. No play was a bigger self-inflicted wound than UGA quarterback Gunner Stockton's fumble after being stripped by Tigers defensive tackle Cody Sigler with 1:04 left in the contest and the game tied at 24. Stockton also threw two interceptions to Elijah Melendez and AnQuon Fegans.
Of course, the Bulldogs were getting many favorable penalty flags thrown at Auburn's expense, though, so not a ton of credence should be given to the self-inflicted Georgia wounds. If anything, the refs almost aided in another screw job like the 2025 Deep South's Oldest Rivalry game was.
Smart recognized the pair of key reasons for the historic Auburn win in Athens at the postgame presser.
Kirby Smart gives specific props to Byrum Brown and Auburn's discipline
Smart gave props to Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown for his ability to extend plays with his legs in the open field and escape collapsed pockets.
"Their quarterback is really hard to tackle. We knew that coming in. He did a tremendous job of yards after contact, getting out of sacks, keeping them in good, normal down and distances," Smart said about Brown.
Smart then blamed his own team while lauding Alex Golesh's guys for being more disciplined and less penalty-prone.
"We helped them. We gave them three turnovers and some really critical, undisciplined penalties. Like I say, humility is a week away. Auburn played better than us today, executed better than us today, didn't turn the ball over, and hit the red area plays. We had some really, really untimely, undisciplined, uncharacteristic penalties. I give them credit, but at the end of the day, we pick it up," Smart said.
Brown had 265 all-purpose yards, a touchdown pass to Chas Nimrod, and a touchdown run. After offensive coordinator Joel Gordon claimed the adjustment to the SEC was coming but not there yet for the Group of Six transfers this past week, Brown connected with one of his former USF teammates in the end zone and had his best game on the ground in orange and blue. Two ex-Bulls, Christian Neptune and Keshaun Singleton, connected with each other as well. Neptune threw his second touchdown pass of the season.
The adjustment has been made. The bye week was a smashing success on the Plains.
Funny enough, most assumed that Auburn lost the bye week after suspending linebacker Xavier Atkins. No sir.
While it wasn't a perfect performance by any stretch, and doubts linger for players like center Cole Best and the entire secondary as a whole after quickly giving up two touchdowns on the first two drives of the game, this was a Golesh masterclass that Smart could do nothing but respect.
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