Georgia has been a model of consistency under head coach Kirby Smart since he arrived on campus almost seven years ago. Still, even as the Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 nationally and remain undefeated after seven games this season, he knows his squad can improve.
Georgia heads into its bye week after dismantling Vanderbilt 55-0 this past Saturday. The Bulldogs have five regular season games remaining.
However, of those contests, Georgia will have to face conference opponents Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State and Kentucky. The Bulldogs’ matchup with the No. 3Volunteers in two weeks at Sanford Stadium could decide the fate of the SEC East.
Smart isn’t too worried about Tennessee right now, although he is laser-focused on what he can do to make the Bulldogs better during their off-week.
“Just keep getting better. That’s the ultimate goal,” Smart said when asked about his team Saturday evening. “What’s the end goal? We’re trying to look at it tomorrow. We talked about what we’re going to do tomorrow. I’m focusing on that. I’m not worried about Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. I’m worried about tomorrow and how much rehab we can get and how much recovery we can get.”
Georgia offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran echoed Smart’s sentiment about always striving to get better.
“I think we’re always trying to improve because you’re never going to be perfect,” Van Pran said. “I think we have spurts throughout the season where we’ve struggled, and spurts where we’ve been really good. And I think for us, it’s just trying to be consistent. It’s how can we make our peak our consistent play level all of the time? I think that’s what we’ve been trying to focus on.”
The Bulldogs now enter the most challenging part of their schedule. First, they will face Florida in Jacksonville for a neutral site game before hosting Tennessee at home on Nov. 5. Then Georgia plays two straight road games at Mississippi State (Nov. 12) and Kentucky (Nov. 19), before finally returning home to face in-state rival Georgia Tech Nov. 26, to close out the regular season.
Smart not only wants to use this bye week to improve but also as a time to rest.
“Yeah, we definitely [will] reset,” he said. “I mean, there’s going to be an off period there towards the end of the week that everybody gets to go away, get away from the building for two days, 48 [hours], whatever, 60-something hours off. That’s a big reset because it’s taxing, you know?
“We stretch the limit of what stamina you have. That’s mental focus stamina, that’s physical toughness stamina. We stretch that rubber band out, and we’re going to let that recoil a little bit, then get back after it.”
Georgia also will look to get some players healthy before the annual rivalry game against Florida. Hopefully, players such as Jalen Carter, AD Mitchell and Smael Mondon, among others, will be returning to the gameday lineup.
“Some of these guys I don’t know if we’ll get them back. I mean, there’s no off week that says you magically get everybody back. It’s time; each injury’s different,” Smart said.
“We have to see how they progress and how much pain tolerance they have. Ultimately, some players handle injuries better than others. I want them all to get better and get well, but it’s not realistic to think that all these kids are going to be back by Florida week. I don’t know that we’ll be completely healthy. I don’t know that you’re ever completely healthy. Hopefully, we can get more healthy.”
Regardless, for Smart, growth is always on his mind. The mentality of improving as a team and the Bulldogs playing their best brand of football in November is evident.
Georgia inside linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson has that mindset instilled in him.
“We take it week by week. In that locker room, the coaches said we just need to talk about this game, and what we did well this game,” Dumas-Johnson said after the win over Vanderbilt. “Next week is a bye, so we’re still going to be working on ourselves before we get to our next game. We’re in no hurry or rush to get to our next game.”
Smart reiterated the gauntlet of four straight SEC contests isn’t at the forefront of his mind.
“I’m worried about tomorrow, man,” Smart repeated. “I’m not looking down that run, because you start looking at that, and you get caught up. I’m looking solely at one thing. It’s not Florida or anyone else. It’s us. I’m gonna dig, chew, and claw to get every player on our roster better. Because one of those guys is gonna be counted on to make a play in a tough game.”