Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart Comments on Orange Bowl Matchup Against Florida State

As the Florida State Seminoles conclude their 2023 season in the 90th Capital One Orange Bowl, the fifth-ranked team in the country will face what will likely be their most difficult matchup this season with the Georgia Bulldogs.

Under head coach Kirby Smart, the Bulldogs won the previous two national championships, going undefeated in the 2022 season. Despite reaching 12 wins and holding the No. 1 ranking going into their conference championship, the Bulldogs lost their first game in over a year to Alabama and fell to No. 6 in both the CFP and AP polls. 

In a press conference held on Friday, Smart, alongside FSU head coach Mike Norvell, commented on what it means for both programs to be playing in such a historic bowl game and the challenges the team has faced throughout the season and will face playing an undefeated FSU team.

"I have a lot of respect for Mike and his staff. We've learned more and more about them recently as they've returned to prominence, and having grown up watching Florida State play, I went to a lot of their games, so I have a lot of respect, and I think it's great for college football when Florida State is always in the conversation," Smart said. "His staff has done a tremendous job. They recruit in our state; we recruit in their state. Have a lot of respect for them and looking forward to an outstanding game, an exciting game, to go play in Hard Rock." 

Although much of Smart's success in the football world can be credited to the University of Georgia, where he coached two national champion squads. He was a defensive back on the field as a four-year letterman for UGA. What is less known, however, is that a few years after his playing days ended, Smart took on a graduate assistant role at FSU from 2002 to 2003.

"I was a defensive coordinator at Valdosta State and decided to go be a graduate assistant, which people would say was a step-down, but to be in a room with Mickey Andrews, Odell Haggins, Joe Kines, Jody Allen, Kevin Steele, a lot of really good minds in college football, it helped shape me," Smart said. "To be sitting in a staff room with Coach Bowden for two years getting to see how he ran the team and commanded the respect of the team was really instrumental in my upbringing as a coach. Two of the best years I had, I got a graduate degree from FSU and was able to be 45 minutes from my hometown and just a tremendous experience for me."

While the Orange Bowl is a prestigious game, it marks the end of the season for both teams, with no playoff hopes on either side. For FSU, the ACC Championship marked the end of their Seminole careers with offensive weapons like Keon Coleman, Johnny Wilson, and Trey Benson, as well as defensive standouts like Jarrian Jones, Renardo Green, and Jared Verse all declaring for the NFL Draft. The Seminoles also took a major hit in the transfer portal, with even more starters absent in the bowl.

The losses are undoubtedly significant for FSU, it also means that Georgia will be playing a team that is largely different than anyone has seen throughout the season."

"Yeah, it's hard to prepare for the unexpected. That's what I've learned in coaching. You can't really prepare for it. You're better off spending your time blocking and tackling and getting better at fundamentals, and that's what we try to do and adjust to what we get and try to prepare for what we've seen and use all the tape we can to have different options, different looks, try to use a lot of time between the games," Smart said. "Our last game, their last game, same day, and then you go all the way forward, and there's a lot of things that can change and go on in kids' heads. For us, it's been about fundamentals and just trying to be better at blocking and tackling because that's what you see in bowl games: people don't tackle well, people don't block well."

The Bulldogs remain a complete national powerhouse going into the game and are a largely complete team with minimal opt-outs outside of transfers. Smart credited his players for this decision as they look to close out the season on a high note.

"Well, I think the leaders of the team kind of spearheaded that. I stay out of it. I met with each player that was draft eligible, seniors that have draft grades, and just spoke with them very honest and talked to them, and they had to make the decision with their family members. They want to go out on top. They don't want their last Georgia outing to be what was the SEC Championship."

"They put their minds to it, and it was a little bit of almost a contagious deal. One guy did it, another guy did it, and they wanted to play. Certainly very proud of that, but I do think we're going to have more guys get more opportunities in this game than we normally would have had just because of injuries," Smart continued. "We've had significant injuries and a lot of guys who have not been able to practice during the bowl run just because of the injuries coming out of the SEC Championship."

 "I'm certainly proud of the guys that decided to, and they want to finish together. I think finishing is important. I don't think enough people talk about it and everybody says this is what you should do, this is what you should do," Smart concluded. "For kids that love football, they want to play football. This is the Orange Bowl. You've got an opportunity to go play in the Orange Bowl, and that's not given to everybody."

The Bulldogs and Seminoles will meet in Miami Gardens on Saturday, December 30th, for the 90th edition of the Orange Bowl. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM EST, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.