Top 10 wins under Kirby Smart 2016-2020

I've always enjoyed seeing the classic wins Kirby gave us before 2021, but there was always nagging feeling with knowing we still hadn't climbed the mountain fully.


Winning the National Title has really let me look back and enjoy the crazy run Georgia has been on since 2017. We've been a damn wagon pretty much every season (outside the middle of 2020).


I'm not sure what else we could have asked from Kirby at this point. Dude is slaughtering it and has "fully awoken the sleeping giant". Now we just need the GOAT (Saban) to step aside in a few years, and we'll be cooking with some gas.

1. bama NC Game
2. OU Rosebowl
3. All wins vs UF
4. All the rest.

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It really is insane to think about how much better of a program we'd be if saban never existed.

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The obvious response is that without Saban there would be no Kirby as we know him. Not the coach he's become, at any rate.

That said, no Saban likely means a BCS championship in 2012, and none of the Georgia Way folks in B-M would've fired Richt in 2015, just 3 years removed from a NC.

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I always go hindsight 20/20 on this part, but I am lowkey glad we didn't win in 2012 for that very reason.

The title would have been nice in the moment, but Kirby is the horse that can take us A LOT further than Richt ever could.

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I've thought abotu this before and I'm not so sure things wouldn't have played out relatively similar anyway. Obviously teh big variable is recruiting, but it's not like we necessarily recruited poorly during that time. Really it would all come down to QB recruting..without a megastud at the position I don't know how much different things would be.

2013- Offense was elite for a month before injuries derailed the whole season. defense was lousy. Still probably end up relatively similar to what we did.
2014- We had a good team this year adn still won 10 games. Does hutson mason start or a stud freshman? The freshman wouldn't have played much in 2013 bc of murray so we may win 10 games or maybe not
2015- this is the crucial year. We almost surely have better QB play than lambert, either from the now sophomore or maybe a different freshman. Similar to 14 though, we somehow won 10 games. We still get slaughtered by bama and likely still lose to UF. Probably beat tennessee. The dreadfully boring close wins are likely bigger wins. So who knows.

Fun to think about but like everyone else I wouldn't trade kirby or our trajectory for anything.

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bviously teh big variable is recruiting, but it's not like we necessarily recruited poorly during that time.

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No, but as other programs are now seeing, Top 20 in recruiting doesn't amount to much if you're still in the bottom half of the SEC.

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really is insane to think about how much better of a program we'd be if saban never existed

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Let's not forget 2014.Although nothing to do with Saban,the metrics and power ranking of that team was excellent. A bullshite grounding call vs SC cost us a chance to prove how good that team could have been vs the Bama '14 team.Woulda loved our chances if we were playing our A game that day.

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Winning the National Title has really let me look back and enjoy the crazy run Georgia has been on since 2017.

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Yep, Now can watch all the games. The only negative side is LSU still have bragging rights.

Not that Bainbridge,Ga is a bastion of academic prowess or anything, but as a native I never doubted Kirby. As football coaches go he is as sharp as they come. He was the salutatorian in a pretty big graduating class. This was before the days of more than one Valedictorian. Just saying.

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Also A list of top coaches Kirby Smart has beaten since he has took the reins
Gary Patterson(TCU)
Brian Kelly(ND)
Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma)
Matt Rhule(Baylor)
Luke Fickell (Cincinnati)
Dabo Swinney (Clemson)
Jimbo Fischer(A&M)
Jim Harbaugh (Mich)
And most importantly


Nick Saban
Exciting times Boys

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But....but...Kirby can't win the big games.