College Football

Kirby Smart goes after ESPN, referees after Georgia beats Texas: ‘Tried to rob us’

Kirby Smart didn’t hesitate to deliver his true thoughts in a postgame interview after Georgia overcame a brutal overturned call and still managed to knock off No. 1 and previously undefeated Texas on Saturday♓.

𓄧In an interview with ESPN’s Ka🐼tie George, Smart started an answer by saying that “nobody gave us a chance” during their 30-15 win.

𒐪The Bulldogs, ranked No. 5 entering th🍷e showdown, had already lost to a top-five team this season.

Kirby Smart is interviewed by ESPN after Georgia’s win on Oct. 20. Screengrab via X/@awfulannouncing

🤪But then Smart looped in ESPN and the referees into his 🍰answer, too.

“Your whole network doubted us,” Smart said. “Nobody believed us. And then they tried to rob us with calls in this place, and these guys are so resilient, you know what I mean? We talked about intent. What was our intent when we wa💞lked on the field? Our intent was not to take pictures, not to do all the superstar stuff. Our intent was to eat.”

During his response, it became clear that Smart was still fuming over a chaotic sequence in the third quarter when Texas defensive back Jahdaeღ Barron’s interception was negated due to pass interference, only for it to get overturned after a review while the Longhorns’ st🙈udent section threw bottles, cans and other trash onto the field.

Carson Beck #15 and Nate Frazier #3 of the Georgia Bulldogs celebrate after defeating the Texas Longhorns on Oct. 19, 2024. Getty Images

The Bulldogs held a 15-point lead at the time, but after the officials flipped the call and Carson Beck’s pick prompted a possession change, Texas — which had already ꦉtried a quarterback change to Arch Mannin🗹g before inserting Quinn Ewers again in the second half — trim🥂med its deficit with a quick touchdown strike from Ew🍃ers to Jaydon Blue.

Beck, though, responded with an 11-play, 89-yard drive, and Georgia helꦆd off any late attempt by Texas to mount a comeback.

“I will say that now we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the fiel༒d and endanger athletes, that you have a chance to get your call reversed,” Smart told reporters postgame. “That’s unfortunate because to me that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want. That’s not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.”

Georgia coach Kirby Smart Getty Images

Smart and the Bull💦dogs will certainly move up inꦛ the Associated Press Top 25 following the win in Austin, Texas.

The Longhorns w💯ill certainly drop — maybe out of the top five,ꦬ maybe just down a spot or two — after the loss.

With the College Football Playoff’s new 12-team format, there’s �⛎�certainly a chance the pair of teams could meet again during the 2024 season, too.

And iওf that happens🧸, Smart would want more people to give his Bulldogs a chance.