Kirby Smart seemed to forget about the time his defense lost to Josh Heupel's offense
Maybe it really just slipped his mind, but Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart this week seemed to forget about the time that his defense was shredded in the Sugar Bowl by Josh Heupel's offense. Smart was asked on Wednesday during the SEC coaches teleconference if he's surprised in the changes in Heupel's offense at […]
Maybe it really just slipped his mind, but Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart this week seemed to forget about the time that his defense was shredded in the Sugar Bowl by Josh Heupel's offense.
Smart was asked on Wednesday during the SEC coaches teleconference if he's surprised in the changes in Heupel's offense at Tennessee compared to his time at Oklahoma as the Sooners' offensive coordinator.
The Georgia head coach said he wasn't really familiar with Heupel's offense at Oklahoma.
“Well, I don’t really know what he was in those days you’re referencing because the Oklahoma experiences that he had, I wasn’t really a part of," said Smart. "He’s always, to me, been really good at running the ball and making sure that the toughness and the run element is part of his offense. But he also has the ability to stretch the field horizontally and vertically. So that’s been consistent. I can’t speak to the Oklahoma days.”
Smart was Alabama's defensive coordinator when Oklahoma beat the Crimson Tide 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl after the 2013 season.
There have been plenty of folks who have suggested Alabama didn't care about winning that game against the Sooners after they were left out of the BCS Championship game.
That theory, of course, doesn't excuse the 14 point loss to Oklahoma. After all, the Crimson Tide's offense did its part, putting up 516 total yards in the loss.
It was Smart's defense that dropped the ball.
At the time, Smart suggested that he was very familiar with Oklahoma's offense, even noting that Alabama's staff had visited with the Sooners' staff several times during previous off-seasons. Smart also pointed out Oklahoma's ability to run the ball before the Sugar Bowl, too.
"Playing a really good team in Oklahoma," said Smart ahead of Alabama's matchup with Oklahoma in the 2014 Sugar Bowl. "We have a lot of respect for their staff. We’ve actually visited a lot of offseasons with their staff and their team. They come from a great conference, and they present a lot of great challenges with some of the things they do offensively, especially their ability to run the ball."
It's been 10 years since that game. And it's a game that I'm sure Smart doesn't have fond memories of. But to suggest he's not familiar with what Heupel did at Oklahoma is a bit of a fib from the Georgia head coach.
Tennessee HC Josh Heupel sends reassuring message to fans ahead of big game against Georgia
A reassuring message after the tough loss to Missouri
