With a road win over the Auburn Tigers, the Georgia Bulldogs officially won the SEC East for the third-straight year in 2019. It was quite the accomplishment for head coach Kirby Smart, but that's not what Saturday was really about. The victory on The Plains at Jordan-Hare Stadium meant something much simpler.
The Dawgs were tested once again. There's no doubt about it. Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn and his team put up a fight against Georgia, including scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and Smart acknowledged that during his postgame press conference. He also took a page straight out of Ed Orgeron's book.
Earlier this month, after the LSU Tigers beat the Alabama Crimson Tide, Orgeron gave an explicative-filled postgame speech in the locker room. He caught some heat for it, too, but as it turns out, Smart did the same thing.
Once he left the sideline, Smart told his UGA players "How about them f—in' Dawgs?" Here's the non-bleeped out version below.
(WARNING: The video below contains some NSFW language that will make you want to run through a red-and-black brick wall.)
Kirby Smart: "How About Them F***ing Dawgs?"
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Whether you love it or hate it, this is what NCAA college football is all about. Winning the Auburn game was huge for the University of Georgia, and you better believe the emotions were high in the locker room. None of it was shown, but Smart was quick to tell everyone his message.
But did he mention anything about the SEC East title?
"I don't think so. I don't even think I said anything about it. I gave credit to Auburn and told our guys to handle it with you the right away. I told them, 'How about them f—in' Dawgs?" That's what I told them. Excuse my language, but I didn't say anything about the SEC East because that wasn't the goal coming in here, you know what I mean? The goal for us was to continue to get better, grow, play in a tough environment, but it really wasn't about the SEC East. That's a helluva accomplishment and I'm proud of our guys, but that's not what it's about."
— Georgia Coach Kirby Smart
Georgia football still had regular season games against Texas A&M at Sanford Stadium in Athens and at Georgia Tech left on the schedule, but they went on to play LSU in the SEC Championship Game in December, which they ultimately lost.
With quarterback Jake Fromm, running back D'Andre Swift and an incredible defense, the Bulldogs fell just short of another College Football Playoff berth and played Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. That Georgia-Auburn game to clinch the SEC East played a big part in getting there.
Kirby Smart's press conference after beating Auburn will always be a legendary moment to Georgia fans.
This post was originally published on November 18, 2019 but it remains a Georgia treasure.
