Kirby Smart: Intel from Michigan coaching staff helped UGA defeat 'Bama in 2021 NCG
After defeating Michigan in the 2021 CFP Semifinal, Georgia's coaches called Michigan's coaches to pick their brains. Michigan's coaches had previously done the same with Alabama's coaches to gather intel on Georgia. Apparently, Alabama had told Michigan that Georgia seemed "sluggish" in the SEC Championship Game. Michigan relayed this information to Georgia, prompting Kirby to kick the intensity of their practices and conditioning up a notch during the week between the semifinal and the NCG. According to Kirby, that was was a big factor in giving Georgia the edge it needed to avenge the loss to Alabama and win the NCG.
So I guess Kirby now owes us a favor, though it comes at the expense of having possibly burned a bridge with Nick Saban and Alabama.
That whole one week of conditioning might have been the difference. Or maybe it was this ...
Maybe the Georgia nutritionist added more dietary fiber to team meals. Nothing like constipation to make you feels sluggish.
There was a pregame video of Kirby firing up his team in the locker room -- f-bombs, let's kick some ass, and the like. An OP shared the video here, commenting that was the key to their victory and lamented that our coach wasn't more like that. Maybe he was on to something...
Edit: /s
Did he give a subpar speech before the SEC title game, then?
Perhaps it wasn't the pregame speech. Maybe GA players were just accustomed to being too much more athletic than the opponent in the first game.
Then, that week of having your coach beat you into the ground with the appropriate bulletin board material made you a special kind of angry to motivate you in the second game.
Bran...........nature's broom
Colon Blow works for the regular season. When you get to the playoffs, it’s time for Super Colon Blow.
Absolutely. Still, Alabama scored 41 against them in the first game that year.
None of the UGA players did as much as Hutch did last year in his rookie year. Nor Micah the year before. We will see on the 23 class but Harrison Jr probably cost Ringo 2 draft rounds by turning him into a pretzel. So it's Nolan Smith or Carter.
Maybe it's just the accumulation of athletes at every spot on the field but I can't recall an amazing Georgia defender in the NFL past 3 years. Maybe I am wrong.
202211Travon WalkerDEJacksonville Jaguars
2022113Jordan DavisDTPhiladelphia Eagles
2022122Quay WalkerLBGreen Bay Packers
2022128Devonte WyattDTGreen Bay Packers
2022132Lewis CineSMinnesota Vikings
2022383Nakobe DeanLBPhiladelphia Eagles
20223102Channing TindallLBMiami Dolphins
2021129Eric StokesCBGreen Bay Packers
2021233Tyson CampbellCBJacksonville Jaguars
2021250Azeez OjulariEDGENew York Giants
2021392Monty RiceLBTennessee Titans
20215169Richard LeCounte IIISCleveland Browns
Also, Alabama was without John Metchie III and lost Jameson Williams in the 2nd quarter. I'd say those were bigger factors.
It's going to be hell when Alabama calls Ohio State now and tells them we don't think they like playing in the cold. We're doomed.
Ryan Day: "Uh yeah... based on our math we actually beat them. If it weren't for five plays it would have been a blowout actually. I mean, did you SEE the 1st Quarter? Best advice? See if you can get them to agree that you get to pick which plays count and which plays don't count."
Why would they call Michigan for Intel on....Bama. Michigan calling Bama leading into UGA makes sense. The former does not.
As Rob stated above....that week (err, more like 3.5 days) of conditioning really must've been a doosie.
I would imagine that semifinal teams do extensive prep work on all three other teams since they have a month to do it. It wouldn't make sense to wait until after the semis to even start looking at them.
They were probably self scouting and asking what weaknesses U of M found in Georgia during the game/scouting and we probably also scouted Alabama in the month leading up to the playoffs and they may have wanted to compare notes.
King Tot, Thank you for the pithy explanation. I don't doubt that they talked and found the discussion valuable, but I doubt it happened as stated in the initial post above.
Reading the article, it seems like this happened:
- Prior to the Michigan-Georgia game (Dec 31, 2021), someone from Michigan called someone from Alabama, since M was going to play Georgia and Alabama just did play Georgia.
- At some point between the Georgia - Alabama game, Georgia called M for any tips as part of a self-scout. M shared what Alabama had said, which became fuel for the fire.
Go Blue beat an ohio state
You may have solved the "THE" Ohio State dilemma.
While some think "tOSU" mocks the school, team and fans, others believe it reinforces their pretentious "The."
But "an Ohio State"? Maybe that's something we can all agree on.
Kudos to you. Or maybe THE kudos to you.
Or AN kudos.
According to the secretary of (the worst) state, Ohio has 14 four-year public universities with 24 branch campuses. Ergo, calling the Buckeyes "an Ohio state university" is both correct and proper. They can take their definitive article and shove it.
I almost always upvote the use of ergo. Especially if it’s used to make fun of Ohio State.
I've been calling those bastards aOSU for years!
I guessed the use wasn't new but did want to call attention to it, after the "the" squabbles.
An kudos to you too!
Nine out of ten times it’s just a dildo that tripped the bomb sniffers. They always us the indefinite article “the dildo” in their reports, never “your dildo”.
Just keep them off the basketball court or Bob Huggins will say bad things.
I was thinking the same thing before reading your comment. You need the university on there to be correct. An Ohio State University hasn't beat Michigan in 1000+ days.
And if anyone wants to refer to a team of that school—the football team of The Ohio State—standard usage requires using "the The Ohio State football team."
Or, if one wanted to be a completist, "the The Ohio State University football team."
In either case, that ridiculous double "the" follows normal usage of the English language.
(That's why I favor "tOSU," to mock their pretentious "t/The." However, too many in the MGoBlogosphere dislike it so better we focus our animus not on each other but on TASTSOG, i.e., That Alleged School That's South of Greatness.")
If those OSU alums could read, they'd be really offended right now.
WOTS is that OSU is considering changing its name to simply THE.
That is an alternate version I'm fond of, simply "The."
Could we pile the mockery together and call them "an THE."
If they really insist on "the" being capitalized (as it is allegedly the preeminent public university in Ohio), then technically it should be "The Ohio state university"... or TOsu for short.
Apparently, Alabama had told Michigan that Georgia seemed "sluggish" in the SEC Championship Game. Michigan relayed this information to Georgia, prompting Kirby to kick the intensity of their practices and conditioning up a notch during the week between the semifinal and the NCG.
Yeah, I think Georgia may know more about Alabama than does Michigan. I suppose there may have been a professional discussion to reinvigorate their internal reviews and planning.
I like Georgia (Uga is the best live mascot since Bennie and Biff) and loathe Little Nicky, so I choose to believe we played a helpful role.
Uga has always looked slow and sluggish to me. Great pad level though.
Why do you think MeLLLLLLL was involved?
Well played.
Is SHE an East German judge?
I vote for her…
No, a contestant.
May the odds be ever in her favor
Yeah well it couldn’t have been that valuable intel because we got our asses kicked.
Michigan staff to UGA staff, "What did your scouting say about us?"
UGA, "We are bigger and faster. If we play our game, we win."
Great? Super valuable "intel".
"Hey... you know what? Saban said you looked "sluggish".
Oh, they did, DID THEY? Well.. we'll show them! Thanks, Michigan we owe you one! WTF?
Kirby after talking to the Michigan staff:
I can't wait to find out what our coaches told them about TCU.
We didn't make good use of Alabama's intel, Alabama didn't provide any intel worth a damn, we didn't listen, or it was really juicy stuff and we put it to use but it didn't matter. One or more of these has to be true.
It doesn't matter who they have on the roster, Michigan wasn't going to beat UGA regardless. UGA has NFL players in every position.
Michigan could've gotten UGA's playbook or signal, but they still would not beat them because UGA is a better team. Just accept it and move on.