Georgia stock report: Bulldogs rising despite not dominating South Carolina as expected

ATHENS — Kirby Smart wants to see his team dominating football games as much as any coach in the nation.

But the eighth-year Georgia coach knows it’s not that simple, particularly as his program is replacing several stars and working through several key injuries this season.

The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs are 3-0 this season and riding a 20-game win streak, but Smart is the first to admit there is plenty of room yet to grow and improve after a 24-14 win over South Carolina.

“My expectation is we go out and dominate and create a nightmare and make people want to never play you again,” Smart said. “We didn’t do that (Saturday) …. But we did respond to adversity, and that’s all it is.”

Smart has noted how there appears to be more parity in college football this season, perhaps as a result of the more liberal transfer rules and schools’ ability to lure premium players with NIL deals.

“It’s going to happen all over the country, guys, go look,” Smart said of the close games taking place.

“People have to play close games to get better, and the expectation that’s created of these teams that are the top-tier teams, it wasn’t created by them — it was created by perception.”

Indeed, Georgia capped last season with a 65-7 win over TCU in the CFP Championship Game that might have led some to forget the team’s struggles in wins over SEC middlings Kentucky and Missouri.

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