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Putting a better foot forward

Even head coach Kirby Smart admits that his Bulldogs didn’t put their best foot forward in last year’s Sugar Bowl against Texas.

Take nothing away from the Longhorns, but after just missing out on the College Football Playoffs, there were certainly times where it appeared that Georgia would have rather been anywhere else than playing in what historically has been one of college football’s most prestigious bowls.

Making sure history doesn’t repeat itself has been first and foremost on Smart’s mind.

Similar to last year, the Bulldogs (11-2) face a team in Baylor (11-2) that will be making its first appearance in the Sugar Bowl since 1957, a huge deal for a program that’s certainly endured its share of hard times and embarrassment under former head coach Art Briles, following the much-publicized scandal at the school a few years ago.

According to Smart, steps have been taken to hopefully keep similar mistakes from happening this time.

“As far as us, we did a quality control when we got back. If we had to do it again, what would we do better? What would we do different?” Smart said. “We made some changes—some subtle, some major. I’m excited about the opportunity. That’s why you do that, because it’s fresh on your mind.”

One of the things Smart did to hopefully get his team’s attention is to totally sequester it from any interaction with the media.

Historically, Georgia has made players available for post-practice interviews throughout the course of bowl practice while still in Athens. Not this year.

Instead, the only interaction with the media was last week’s early signing day/bowl preview press conference with Smart. No players were available.

Players, along with Smart, offensive coordinator James Coley and defensive coordinator Dan Lanning, will make mandatory appearances starting once the team arrives in New Orleans Friday afternoon.

Smart was asked why he put the kibosh on player interviews during the team’s practice time in Athens.

"Well, a lot of it comes from our players. Our players have really felt like during the year, there was a large burden, and taxing of them with schoolwork and a lot of the things they had,” Smart said. “A lot of the same guys doing the media, and the younger guys not doing it. That's just philosophical, to be honest with you. Our guys have enjoyed the break, and we're going to focus on us. We're going to do that in-house. That's just a choice I get to make."

Smart said he believes lessons were learned.

"I think we’ve got really good leaders on this team, and a lot of those guys have addressed the attitude, and the practice habits, and all those things,” Smart said. “They’ve been really great, they’ve been awesome; they’ve handled that really well.”

Come Jan. 1 (8:45, ESPN) in the Superdome, we’ll see.

Baylor won’t be a pushover. The Bears' only two losses came at the hands of Oklahoma, losing 34-31 in the regular season and 23-20 in overtime at the Big 12 Championship, finishing with a College Football Playoff ranking of No. 7, just behind the No. 5 Bulldogs.

“I thought we approached it seriously last year. We didn’t play really well. But we had a bunch of young guys who got to play on defense, and offensively we had turnovers. When you have turnovers, you don’t win football games,” Smart said. “So certainly, we’re excited to give our guys the opportunity. They’ve all embraced the challenge. That’s what you do as a leader. You confront, demand, and say this is how we’re going to do it. And if you don’t do it to the standard, then you don’t play. And all these guys have been great, they’ve done a good job of that.”

Kirby Smart hopes his team puts a better forward in this year's Sugar Bowl
Kirby Smart hopes his team puts a better forward in this year's Sugar Bowl (USA Today)
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