Given an opportunity to condemn or defend Notre Dame’s alleged defensive stalling tactics late in Saturday’s game, Kirby Smart chose instead to do neither.
Georgia's fourth-year head coach remained decidedly neutral when asked if he thought the Fighting Irish were faking injuries to slow the Bulldogs' offense, which was going fast gaining big chunks of yardage after taking a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter. Running low on timeouts, Notre Dame came close to pulling off the upset. The game ended only after a fourth-down pass break-up by the Bulldogs with 48 seconds remaining in a 23-17 Georgia win.
"No. 1, my opinion does not matter whether I think they did or they didn't," Smart said Tuesday following the Bulldogs' first practice since Saturday night's game. "It has no bearing whatsoever, so I don't think I even need to answer that question. But whether it goes on in college football or not, sure, I think it goes on."
Judging from social-media reactions after the game, the rest of the nation certainly thought Notre Dame players were faking injuries to get the clock stopped and catch their breath. Twice in the fourth quarter, replays show players appearing to react to signals from the Notre Dame sideline and dropping to the ground as if they suddenly got a leg cramp. In one case, Irish defenders Shaun Crawford and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah dropped at the same time. Crawford popped back up when he realized his linebacker teammate already was on the ground.
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly vehemently denied the accusation.
“We’re not going to fake injuries,” Kelly told reporters back in South Bend. “We’re going to make sure protocol is followed based upon what out training staff wants.”
Kelly claimed the players had legitimate injuries and they were instructed by medical staff to get down so they could come out of the game.
“We want them to get medical attention,” Kelly said.
Count CBS analyst Gary Danielson among those who aren’t buying that excuse.
“The fans were right,” he said during the telecast. “That was not an injury. That was from the bench right there, a signal.”
Back to work: The Bulldogs practiced returned to Woodruff Practice Fields on Tuesday for a two-hour practice in "shells," or shorts with shoulder pads and helmets. Not surprisingly, a lot of banged-up players from Saturday's game were not present.
Among those missing from action Tuesday were cornerbacks Eric Stokes (knee) and Tyson Campbell (foot), guard Solomon Kindley (left ankle) and defensive end David Marshall (foot).
In every case, Smart said he thought the players will “be fine.” However, he labeled Kindley, a starter and an All-American candidate who could not put weight on his left foot after the game, as “day-to-day.”
Marshall played “10 or 11 plays” Saturday, but is still battling effects of the Lizfranc fracture that sidelined him for the last eight games last season.
The Bulldogs will have through next week to heal. They're off until traveling to Tennessee (1-3, 0-2 SEC) on Oct. 5.
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