Since coming on as head coach in 2016, Kirby Smart has flipped the Georgia football script completely.
Things got off to a rocky start, finishing 8-5 in his first year, but Smart managed to rebound, having some of the most successful following three seasons in Georgia history.
Smart is the first head coach to lead the Dawgs to three straight SEC Championship appearances. He won a Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl and also guided Georgia to a national championship for the first time since 1980.
An amazing coaching career Smart has had in Athens that is only just beginning.
Let’s take a look at coach Smart’s five biggest wins in his four years as the Bulldogs’ head coach.
5. GEORGIA VS. #8 AUBURN (2016): BULLDOGS WIN 13-7 AT SANFORD STADIUM
The Dawgs came into this game with a record of 5-4 and critics all over first year head coach Kirby Smart. In one of the worst years in recent Georgia football history, Smart and the Dawgs came out strong between the hedges for the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
Freshman quarterback Jacob Eason went 20/31 with 208 yards passing, helping the Bulldogs convert seven third downs, including two on the final drive of the game. Junior running back Nick Chubb put up 98 rushing yards and Rodrigo Blankenship hit what would be a 45-yard game winning field goal.
Smart’s defense was the real difference in the game, holding an Auburn offense that averaged 500 yards of total offense a game to just 32 in the second half, along with zero first downs. The then #8 team in the country had averaged 43 points per game over their last five contests and were held to just 7. A statement game for Kirby Smart that changed the trajectory of his coaching career.