Kirby Smart challenges his team every week.

Following Saturday’s 31-13 win over Auburn, he took a moment during his post-game press conference to challenge Bulldogs fans.

“I want our fan base to appreciate what we have and give their all. I want it to be unbelievable with crowd noise, make energy, and make home games tough because we need it to be tough on other teams to play here. But it's not, it's not the same as it's been in the past.

“It’s got to be electric; it’s got to be. It was hot today; it was hot on our players, too, and our players pushed through it.”

That wasn’t all Smart was proud of.

Long before Georgia kicked off its game Saturday against Auburn, Smart expressed concern about the effect last week’s game at Alabama might have.

“I'm gonna be honest because all people talked about all week was what? That, right?” Smart said. "That's all people talked about all week. I mean, it was all over every Twitter feed, all over every social media, everything.”

Fortunately, his Bulldogs weren’t paying as much attention.

Although Georgia had to grind out its win over a tough-minded Auburn team, Smart was proud that his Bulldogs were able to put the game out of their mind.

“I told y'all before we played them, I said, when we win or lose this game, there is a tough physical game after it,” Smart said. “Guess what? There is an escalator. Another one, humility is a week away in our league at all times.”

Smart said he was pleased with the performance of Carson Beck, who bounced back from last week’s four-turnover game with a solid effort to help the Bulldogs defeat Auburn.

“I mean, he has a routine, he does, he trusts that routine. I don't disagree (that he struggled at times at Alabama), but I also think he did play really well against Alabama at times. He got a lot of confidence in that game,” Smart said of Beck, who completed 23 of 29 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns with zero turnovers.

“There were a lot of good things he did (against Alabama) And he did a lot of good things today. Nobody really understands what Carson does in our offense, and you can't appreciate it unless you know it,” Smart said. “So, I understand the scrutiny that he's under, just like me. He's the quarterback and I'm the head coach. We're gonna be under immense scrutiny. But Carson Beck is a tough winner, a competitor, and a leader. And I'll go to war with the guy anytime.”

Jared Wilson, Mykel Williams, and Jordan Hall were each listed as game-time decisions in Saturday’s final availability report.

But only Williams played, as both Hall and Wilson dressed but did not see any action.

With Wilson out with a foot injury, sophomore Drew Bobo made his first career start.

…Christen Miller went out with an apparent knee injury, but Smart seemed unconcerned after the game.

…Tight guard Tate Ratledge (left ankle) is still a few weeks away after undergoing tightrope surgery. However, he has ditched his scooter and is wearing only a boot.

After not playing last week at Alabama, freshman Nate Frazier took the first snap of the third quarter for the Bulldogs. He ultimately finished with seven carries for 38 yards.

“Yeah, it's great, but I don't won’t to just use him in the third and fourth quarter,” Smart said. “I want to use him as much as we can. But it's hard when you're trying to feed three guys there, and I got tremendous confidence in all three of those guys. And each one of them, sometimes you just got to ride the hot hand with who's going, and each one of them is going to continue to get better.”

…Former Bulldog wide receiver Ladd McConkey “called the Dawgs” before the game.

…Freshman linebacker Chris Cole received some early reps, coming in on third down.

…Georgia shook up its offensive line in the second half, sliding right tackle Xavier Truss to right guard with Monroe Freeling taking over at right tackle. Dylan Fairchild slid over from right guard to left guard.

…Xzavier McLeod had a pass deflection.

…The Bulldogs extended their home winning streak to 27 games dating to 2019, which leads all of FBS.

…Georgia now leads the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry 65-56-8 including 3-1 on homecoming. Under Smart, the Bulldogs are 9-1 against the Tigers. The Bulldogs improved to 82-18-2 on homecoming including 8-1 in the Smart era.

…The Bulldogs have now won 43 of its past 44 games including 29 of its past 30 SEC regular season games. Georgia is now 50-3 in their last 53 games.

…Georgia tallied 381 yards of total offense on 66 plays in a 31-13 win.

…The Bulldogs’ opening touchdown drive covered 75 yards on 11 plays in 4:58 for a 7-0 edge. Beck was 6-for-7 for 60 yards on the first touchdown drive including a 33-yarder to sophomore Lawson Luckie to convert a third-and-2 at the UGA 43.

…Georgia had 141 rushing yards. Junior Trevor Etienne had a team-high 88 yards on 16 attempts. He had a career-high six catches for 36 yards.

…The Bulldogs made it 28-10 following a fourth down stop of the Tigers. It led to a 40-yard touchdown drive on five plays in 2:40 capped by a three-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Bell, his third of the year. Bell had four catches for 18 yards and a score plus one rush for 18 yards.

…The Tigers finished with a season-low 13 points, gaining 337 yards of total offense on 58 plays. In the first half, the Tigers had three points on 147 yards of total offense on 27 plays. Coming in today, the Bulldogs ranked 18th nationally in Scoring Defense at 14.8 ppg. Auburn came in averaging 33.4.

…Down 21-10 to start the fourth quarter, Auburn was stopped on fourth-and-1 at their own 44 as quarterback Peyton Thorne lost four yards on a keeper by Raylen Wilson.

…In the first half this year, Georgia now has allowed 39 points. Georgia has allowed just 23 points in the second half this season.

…Auburn got the football to start the game after Georgia deferred the football until the second half. Tyrion Ingam-Dawkins registered a sack on the first play from scrimmage for a loss of five yards. Auburn’s first drive covered 14 yards on six plays before punting. Ingram-Dawkins notched his second sack on Auburn’s second drive, resulting in a loss of seven yards. The Tigers managed a 27-yard field goal on their second possession to cut it to 7-3 with 56 seconds left in the 1st quarter.

…Georgia’s leading tacklers were senior Dan Jackson with seven while junior Malaki Starks had six. Jackson blocked a field goal too. Last week at No. 4 Alabama, Jackson posted a career-high 10 tackles.

…Brett Thorson had three punts for a 42.3 average with no returns. The first two punts were placed inside the 20 including one downed at the Auburn 3. After a defensive stop, Georgia took over at the Auburn 49 and led to a five-play, touchdown drive in 45 seconds and a 14-3 edge.

…Sophomore place-kicker Peyton Woodring tallied seven points on four points after attempts and a 47-yard field goal plus handled kickoffs too. He is 7-for-7 on field goals this year.

… Sophomore Anthony Evans had two kickoff returns for 25 yards and one punt return for five yards. Coming in today, Auburn along with Georgia and Ohio State were the only three teams in FBS to hold opponents to negative punt return yards on the year.

…Jackson blocked a 54-yard field goal attempt to end the first half. In 2021, Jackson blocked a punt against Arkansas. Jackson became the first Bulldog to block a field goal since 2022 when Nazir Stackhouse did it against LSU in the SEC Championship Game.