Kirk Herbstreit: Georgia’s Kirby Smart ‘really close’ to winning a national title

“As an outsider, as a guy who watches, I don’t feel that with Kirby,” said Herbstreit, who referred to himself as “a Kirby guy.” “I feel like Georgia has been close. I think it’s been more about the quarterback situation, which last year was very unusual.”

Herbstreit was in the booth for Georgia’s Rose Bowl win over Oklahoma in 2017 and referred to it as “one of my favorite games I’ve ever called.” He watched the championship game against Alabama the following week and was sure Georgia was going to win after building a 14-3 halftime lead and controlling most of the third quarter in Atlanta.

“Then Tua (Tagovialoa) becomes Tua and saves the day,” Herbstreit said. “But that game went into overtime, too. That’s how close they were.”

And that’s how close the Bulldogs remain, Herbstreit said. He was not one of the panelists who picked Georgia to win the 2021 national championship on ESPN College GameDay’s set last Saturday. He, Desmond Howard and Rece Davis all picked Oklahoma, while Lee Corso and David Pollack went with Smart’s Bulldogs.

But after studying Georgia and interviewing players and coaches for this Saturday’s game, Herbstreit believes the Bulldogs will be serious contenders again. And while winning or losing against Clemson won’t dictate whether that happens or not, he is looking for Georgia to answer concerns he has about the team in this game.

“We’re the lucky ones because we get to watch it,” Herbstreit said. “But anytime you get two powerhouses together like that without a game or two to warm up, it’s going to come down to who has done a better job in August of hitting each other and going through camp in a physical way. So, who wins the line scrimmage, and which of these two quarterbacks plays well. Both are expected to have great years. It’s not so much who makes the plays, it’s who avoids the disastrous play who’s gonna win it.”

Both teams are loaded on the defensive front. Herbstreit points out that Georgia’s greatest weakness appears to be its secondary. The Bulldogs are having to replace six defensive backs, four of whom are now on NFL rosters and two others who transferred to other teams.

Herbstreit said he’s not allowed to pick a winner for Saturday’s game because he’s calling it. But he said his concerns for Georgia are in the matchups of those DBs with Clemson’s receivers and with the injuries in the Bulldogs’ offensive line, which will have to contend with the Tigers’ exceptional defensive line.

“How about a tough start,” Herbstreit said. “I mean, you’ve got an offensive line with some injuries, (including) the center, and here comes Clemson. Clemson’s front is back to being what Clemson’s front four normally is. So, that’ll be an interesting challenge to me, the line of scrimmage for Georgia’s offensive line against one of the best defensive lines in the country. And then as far as Georgia’s defense, what do that do? They’ve got to be themselves, which is be tough to run on.”

Then again, this is where Herbstreit doesn’t buy the criticism and doubt of Smart. He says few coaches are better when it comes to preparing his team for big games.

“Kirby Smart has been around and he gets it,” Herbstreit said. “He’s played a lot of heavyweight games early, especially when he was at Bama. So I think both these guys will do a good job of getting their teams ready. Then, it’s just a matter of their teams executing and going out and doing it.”