How Kirby Smart gave Josh Heupel and the Vols some extra motivation this offseason
If there's one thing we learned from the Georgia Bulldogs' 65-7 thrashing of TCU in the national championship game earlier this week, it's that motivation is extremely important in college football. Georgia became the first program to win back-to-back championships in the playoff era with the win over TCU. One of the reasons the Bulldogs […]
If there's one thing we learned from the Georgia Bulldogs' 65-7 thrashing of TCU in the national championship game earlier this week, it's that motivation is extremely important in college football.
Georgia became the first program to win back-to-back championships in the playoff era with the win over TCU.
One of the reasons the Bulldogs went 15-0 this season is because Kirby Smart was able to keep his team motivated all season despite winning the national championship the previous year.
One of the ways he did this was to make his team believe that they were doubted all year long, even though that was nowhere close to being the case.
Kirby wants to dominate college football. He wants to go 15-0 every season and he wants to embarrass teams. And he uses various slights — real or imagined — to keep his team motivated.
That's why Georgia never stopped trying to score against TCU. Smart was proving a point in the national championship game (remember those comments from TCU's Sonny Dykes about non-conference scheduling in the SEC…Kirby definitely heard them).
And he wants to keep proving it.
After the Bulldogs beat TCU, Smart held up two fingers which signified Georgia's second straight championship.
Then he held up a third finger, signifying Smart's desire to win a third straight championship next season.
If I'm Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel, I'm playing that clip on repeat around UT's facilities for the next 12 months.
A couple of years ago, a bowl game appearance was the goal for the Vols.
Heupel, however, has changed the expectations at Tennessee. The goal is now to win an SEC Championship and/or a national championship.
The Vols flirted with the playoff this year — something most folks didn't expect.
In 2023, there's no doubt that reaching the playoff will be Tennessee's top goal.
But to get there, they'll likely have to go through Georgia.
The Bulldogs are the class of college football right now. And they're in that position not just because of talent — though that certainly is a big part of it — but also because of their mindset.
And the Vols need to keep pace with that mindset.
We saw in 2022 that Tennessee will use things that opponents say as motivation. They did it with Alabama linebacker Henry To'o To'o's "it's just business" comments and Kentucky quarterback Will Levis' "real football" comments.
In 2023, though, the Vols need to take it up a notch. They need to be pissed off about Georgia going 15-0 and Kirby acting like a third championship is already in the bag.
And they should be mad about folks questioning the style of football they play.
Comments like the ones made recently by Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi, who wants to take tempo out of the game, should anger Tennessee's players and coaches.
"Then we can actually huddle on offense, huddle as a defense, and now we can talk to the Mike linebacker and give a defense," said Narduzzi to ESPN. "And now all of a sudden we have a real game."
A real game?
Is Narduzzi insinuating that teams like Tennessee aren't playing "real games" because of their style of play?
Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. It doesn't matter. That's how the Vols should take it. They need to make it personal.
Because just like Alabama head coach Nick Saban said during the 2022 season, if you don't make it personal, you're at a disadvantage because the other team is likely making it personal (we know that's true in Georgia's case).
There will be folks who doubt Tennessee in 2023 because Hendon Hooker is gone. They'll doubt the Vols because Jalin Hyatt, Cedric Tillman, Darnell Wright, and Byron Young aren't on the roster anymore. There will be predictions for Tennessee to go to 8-5 next season.
The Vols need to use every bit of that as motivation. They need to go full Michael Jordan in "The Last Dance" and take everything personally — because every other team competing for a championship will be taking that approach. And if Tennessee doesn't, they'll be at a disadvantage.
The Vols received plenty of fuel for the 2023 season this week. They can't let it go to waste.
Featured image via USA TODAY Sports
