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    • While Kirby Smart devours doubt, Georgia football devours Texas
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    While Kirby Smart devours doubt, Georgia football devours Texas

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    • For someone who says he doesn’t watch ESPN’s talking heads, Kirby Smart sure seemed to know a lot about what those talking heads were saying about Georgia.
    • Steve Sarkisian seizes opportunity for a rematch between Georgia and Texas.
    • Believe this: Georgia has restored its SEC frontrunner status. After Saturday there should be no doubt about that.

    AUSTIN, Texas — For someone who says he doesn’t watch ESPN’s talking heads, Kirby Smart certainly seemed to know a lot about what those talking heads were saying about his team this week.

    Mostly they said Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs wouldn’t beat No. 1 Texas.

    Georgia bottled up that doubt and turned it into fuel.

    “Our entire program was called into question,” Smart said Saturday after No. 4 Georgia’s 30-15 win that quieted critics. “I mean, did you watch the show this morning?”

    The show he’s referring to is ESPN’s “College GameDay,” and the vote on that pregame program was unanimous, 5-0, in favor of Texas winning this game.

    Smart said he was busy with morning meetings and wasn’t watching “GameDay,” but he received “8,000 texts about it.”

    “Someone doubted us,” Smart said.

    Lots of someone.

    And that’s when Georgia blooms.

    “No problem,” Smart said of his team. “They’re not backing down.”

    Georgian football dines on doubt, feasts on Texas

    Two years ago, Georgia’s Nolan Smith memorably squealed to a reporter after the Bulldogs repeated as national champions that the undefeated season had proven people wrong who thought Georgia would finish 7-5. No one knows who those people were, because Georgia opened that 2022 season at No. 3.

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    During that season, Smart and quarterback Stetson Bennett IV also played up the idea that Georgia was being doubted, even though the Bulldogs were on the short list of teams expected to compete for the national championship.

    Last season, it became nearly impossible for Georgia to use doubt as a lightning rod, as the Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 for three straight months before losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship.

    Then Georgia opened this season at No. 1. The doubters had gone to bed, but they returned after Georgia, a slight favorite in the sportsbook, lost 41-34 at Alabama last month.

    Georgia disappointedly outlasted Kentucky and Mississippi.

    Where did the Georgia team that dominated Clemson in the season opener go?

    Lo and behold, the Bulldogs were definitely the underdogs against Texas.

    “Nobody gave us a chance. Your whole network doubted us,” Smart told ESPN afterward. “Nobody believed us.”

    Is it time to start doubting the Texas Longhorns?

    This result should restore the widespread belief that Georgia has enough talent to win a national championship – and the doubt shifts to Texas. Are the Longhorns for real, or did they benefit from a manageable schedule in the first half? None of Texas’ first six opponents will appear in the rankings next Sunday.

    Texas bullied those overwhelmed opponents, but Georgia’s defensive front tore apart the Longhorns’ experienced, stout offensive line.

    Seven bags. Ten tackles for loss. Twelve stops on third downs. Four stops on fourth downs. And a three-hour nightmare for the Texas quarterbacks.

    The Georgian defense repeatedly turned its attack on gimme putts. That came in handy and helped offset Carson Beck’s three interceptions. None of Georgia’s first five scoring drives traveled more than 34 yards or lasted more than three minutes. The Bulldogs needed just 283 yards of offense to earn a statement victory.

    Quinn Ewers or Arch Manning? Steve Sarkisian offers an answer

    Texas coach Steve Sarkisian shut down the idea of ​​quarterback controversy with both his actions and his words. He returned to Quinn Ewers after halftime after trying Arch Manning in the second quarter. Sarkisian stated after the game that Ewers remains Texas’ starter.

    “We have to do better in his environment,” Sarkisian.pi said

    The fact is, neither of Texas’ quarterbacks did well, and it wouldn’t have mattered who started because of how poorly the offensive line protected them.

    The Longhorns’ defense kept Texas in the game and they rallied after trailing 23-0 at halftime. Sarkisian seemed to relish the idea of ​​a potential rematch with Georgia, either in the SEC Championship, the College Football Playoff or both.

    “Hopefully we’ll get another chance to get them,” Sarkisian said.

    The second crack won’t go any differently than the first unless Texas finds a way to slow down Jalon Walker, who had three sacks, one fumble recovery and one boast after destroying Manning.

    When asked why Texas had trouble containing Georgia’s defensive front, Sarkisian started listing numbers — as in, the jersey numbers of Georgia’s striking personnel.

    “You’re not recruiting as well as Georgia did for six straight years and you don’t have good defensive personnel,” Sarkisian said.

    That’s true, but Texas’ offensive line has been a team strength through six games. If that line can’t match the elite defensive fronts, you might question whether the Longhorns are among the ranks of the elite.

    “We can sit here and throw ourselves a pity party,” Sarkisian said, “but I don’t know what good that will do for us. How should we recalibrate?’

    To help with that recalibration, take it from Georgia: a dose of doubt can do a program good.

    “Maybe they didn’t doubt us,” Smart said, continuing to discuss the TV pundits he says he doesn’t watch. “They just believed in Texas more than we did.”

    Believe this: Georgia has restored its SEC frontrunner status. After Saturday there should be no doubt about that.

    Blake Toppmeyer is the national college football columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

    Subscribe to read all his columns.

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