Steve Spurrier Takes Aim at Georgia, Praises Kirby Smart
The ever snarky "Head Ball Coach" Steve Spurrier is no stranger to blasting zingers at his rivals and offered another one in the direction of the Georgia Bulldogs on Monday.
Speaking with AJC's Dawg Nation's Mike Griffith, Spurrier took aim at Georgia's 26-23 2018 National Championship loss to Alabama, the Bulldogs' lone National Championship appearance since 1980.
"I still feel sorry for all the Georgia Bulldogs when Tua (Tagovailoa) hit that pass on, what was it, second-and-28, or something like that? That was a hard one,” Spurrier said. “But they’ll bounce back from it. He’s got a team this year that possibly could go all the way … When you have strong powerful teams the way he has built them, pretty soon they will get to the top of the pile.”
Spurrier, 76, coached the Florida Gators from 1990-2001, winning a National Championship in 1996 and amassed an 11-1 record against the Dawgs during his tenure in Gainesville.
The famous sideline visor wearing Spurrier also let his thoughts known on Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, praising the job he's done in Athens.
"I like Coach Kirby, I like the way he wears that visor all the time, I don’t know if the Georgia people gave him any crap about it, but he’s a visor guy. I like all those visor guys out there in the coaching profession,” Spurrier said. “He’s done very well, he hasn’t hit the top yet. He’s got teams that are always capable. They are probably gonna hit the top pretty soon.”
To hit the top of the college football mountain, Georgia will have to run through the ever-mighty SEC, as well as face a grueling challenge right out of the gate.
Smart and the No.5 Bulldogs will travel to play the No.3 Clemson Tigers this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on ABC at Memorial Stadium. The Bulldogs enter the showdown as a 3.5-point underdog, according to FanDuel.