Kirby Smart Bizarrely Criticizes Stetson Bennett After Beating Ohio State

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Georgia coach Kirby Smart had an interesting reaction after beating Ohio State when talking about Stetson Bennett.

The senior QB struggled earlier in the game against the Buckeyes, but eventually gathered his footing. With the game and his legacy up in the air, Bennett orchestrated an incredible drive to score what would be the game-winning TD.

Kirby Smart rips into Stetson Bennett after beating Ohio State.

Yet, instead of showering Bennett with praise and criticizing behind closed doors after the 42-41 win, Smart chose a very different path.

"He showed great competitive character, but he's got to play within our system and he's got to do what he's coached to do or you can't win games ... He must play better if we expect to win the next one," Smart said on the field after the game was done.

Smart was also picked up on a broadcast camera appearing to be in a tense exchange with his star QB and Heisman finalist.

While fans couldn't hear what was said, Bennett's expression didn't appear to be a happy one.

Seriously, does this look like the face of a man who just punched a ticket to another national title game? I think the answer to that question is obvious and it's no.

Stetson Bennett looks like a man absolutely crushed and defeated during this exchange. Fans would probably pay a lot to know what was said.

Kirby Smart didn't seem happy with Stetson Bennett after Georgia beat Ohio State. (Credit: Screenshot/Twitter Video https://twitter.com/nocontextcfb/status/1609417190591336456)

A simple rule in life is to handle issues internally. You shouldn't ever crush a guy publicly, especially after he engineered a drive to win and advance to the national title game.

Bennett finished the game with 398 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. Yes, he threw an incredibly ugly interception and made some mistakes, but overall, he won the damn game.

You can guarantee the conversation continued once Georgia left the field. I would give just about anything to know what was said. Next time, Smart should choose a bit of a classier path. There was no reason to do that to Stetson Bennett after earning a tough win.