KIRBY SMART

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart sent two late-night tweets on Sunday remembering Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy just hours after they died.

Devin Willock, 20, and Chandler LeCroy, 24, were killed in the accident. Two other members of the football program were injured but are in stable condition, the school said.

Player Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy died early Sunday. Two others from the football program were injured, the university said.

Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and a recruiting staff member have been killed in a car wreck hours after the Bulldogs celebrated their second straight national championship.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart told reporters Tuesday that a third straight championship is "going to be much tougher" after winning back-to-back titles.

Joel Klatt explains how one play, which came late in the fourth quarter of Georgia's dominant win over TCU, sent a message to the college football world.

Georgia running back Kendall Milton brought over a plate of food to the sideline during the Bulldogs blowout victory over TCU in the national championship game on Monday.

Smart might not want to discuss it, but he couldn't deny he is already thinking about Georgia's chance to do something unprecedented in the last eight-plus decades of college football after obliterating TCU 65-7 in the most one-sided postseason college football game in history. But Georgia is only the fourth team since 1980 to win two straight national titles and to reach this precipice of history. The last team to get this close to a three-peat also was Alabama, which won national titles in 2011 and in 2012. College football is always changing, and Georgia got another reminder Tuesday when beloved quarterback Stetson Bennett elected not to come to the traditional morning-after news conference. ___AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25Copyright 2023 The Associated Press.

Kirby Smart didn't really want to discuss his Georgia Bulldogs' chances for a three-peat on the morning after they won their second straight College Football Playoff championship game.

Kirby Smart told reporters his son was "bawling" after the national championship game as he realized that quarterback Stetson Bennett would be leaving school.

Georgia became the first team to repeat as College Football Playoff national champions, beating TCU by a whopping 58 points.

With another thrilling college football season in the books, it's time to announce our top performers from this season's bowl games.

The Bulldogs are back-to-back champs, but don't call them the next Alabama. "We don't want to compare ourselves to anybody else,” DB Kelee Ringo said.

Georgia’s remarkable recruitingOne of the easiest ways to explain the talent gap between Georgia and TCU is a look at Rivals' recruiting rankings. Georgia has nearly filled a football team over the past four seasons with the best players in the country. TCU, meanwhile, has signed just 13 four and five-star players over the same four-year period. The scout team is pretty damn good too, apparently. That's a dangerous combination for the rest of college football.

At least that’s what the Georgia roster says of Stetson Bennett. “People slept on Stetson Bennett for a long time,” Coach Kirby Smart said. “I know he gets a lot of doubters but seeing him day to day, I believe he can be a NFL quarterback,” Ringo said. Yet here we are, at the end of Stetson Bennett’s college story, one of greatest and grandest ever written. Stetson Bennett needs a job, and the NFL may not be such a far-fetched idea any longer.

Ladd McConkey, who scored two touchdowns in the 65-7 win over TCU to win back-to-back national championships, spoke about Stetson Bennett's leadership after the win.

After dispatching No. 3 TCU with ease at SoFi Stadium on Monday night, Georgia has fully shed its underachieving label and earned a new one: the gold standard of the sport.

3 TCU 65-7 Monday night to become the first team to win consecutive College Football Playoff national championships. TCU (13-2), the first Cinderella team of the playoff era, never had a chance against the Georgia juggernaut. It looked a lot like the Bennett-to-Mitchell touchdown that gave Georgia a fourth-quarter lead it would not relinquish against Alabama in last year’s CFP title game. Georgia vanquished the Tide to break a 41-year national title drought last season, avenging its only regular-season loss in the process. They were within a victory of the program’s first national title since 1938.

The Georgia Bulldogs rewrote the college football record books, totaling the most points ever scored in a national championship game in their 65-7 beatdown of TCU on Monday.

The offense scored on every first-half possession while the defense forced three turnovers as the Bulldogs cruised to their third national championship in program history. At 10-7, it looked like TCU may have shaken off the early nerves and would give Georgia a game. On the ensuing possession, Georgia needed just four plays to go 70 yards and put another touchdown on the board. Todd Monken, Georgia’s play-caller, had the TCU defense completely off-balance. Bennett somehow avoids TCU blitz, keeps drive aliveWhen the score was still 17-7, TCU decided to punt on a fourth-and-6 play from Georgia’s 47.

Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores in the first half as No. 1 Georgia demolished No. 3 TCU 65-7 to become the first team to win consecutive College Football Playoff national championships.

In a beatdown reminiscent of 1980s Super Bowls, Georgia outmuscled, outclassed and outplayed TCU en route to a 52-7 third-quarter lead in Monday's CFP national championship. But it was a blip on the screen as a Stetson Bennett-led Bulldogs offense steamrolled the Horned Frogs to in insurmountable lead. The margin was so wide, in fact, that Georgia didn't need its All-SEC quarterback in the fourth quarter. With 13:25 remaining in regulation, head coach Kirby Smart called a timeout so he could pull Bennett from the game. A former walk-on, Bennett earned offensive MVP honors in leading Georgia to its first national title since 1980 in last year's championship win over SEC rival Georgia.

For Georgia, maintaining greatness isn't just about recruiting. It's also about building a culture and convincing players to buy in.

LOS ANGELES — (AP) — Georgia coach Kirby Smart said his father, former high school football coach Sonny Smart, won’t be at the College Football Playoff national title game because of health issues. “It hurts me that he and my mom won’t be here,” Kirby Smart said Saturday, during CFP media day. Sonny Smart has been a regular at his son’s game since Kirby became head coach at his alma mater in 2016. Kirby Smart played for his father while growing up in south Georgia. “He’s taught me so much just about the way you handle things, the right way, the wrong way,” Kirby said.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart said his father, former high school football coach Sonny Smart, won’t be at the College Football Playoff national title game because of health issues. “It hurts me that he and my mom won’t be here,” Kirby Smart said Saturday, during CFP media day.

3 TCU is the most lopsided in the nine-year history of the College Football Playoff. “Yo, man, in football, stars don’t matter at all,” TCU star cornerback Tre Hodges-Tomlinson said Saturday during media day for the CFP title game. Hodges-Tomlinson is in many ways the epitome of what TCU football has been for much of the past two decades. "TCU has a team full of really good football players," he said. Who cares?”___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com___AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25Copyright 2023 The Associated Press.

Based solely on the recruiting rankings, this national championship game between No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 TCU is the most lopsided in the nine-year history of the College Football Playoff.

Damar Hamlin's health scare occurred just one week before the national championship game, so Kirby Smart felt it was important to educate his Bulldogs on what happened.

Georgia’s quarterback that season was Jake Fromm, who’d led the Bulldogs to the national championship game two years earlier but sputtered down the stretch in 2019. That something: an itinerant, then-unemployed career coordinator who has unlocked Georgia’s offense, turned a walk-on into a Heisman finalist, and positioned the Bulldogs as college football’s next great dynasty. When Smart went looking to level up his struggling offense, he rung up Todd Monken, and that has made all the difference. Under Monken’s guidance, Georgia went from being ranked 59th nationally in total offense in 2019, the year before he arrived, up to eighth this season. So sometimes he's not very patient, but he's very consistent, and we hear the same thing every single day.

Here's what to look for when either Georgia or TCU has the ball in our Xs and Os breakdown of the CFP Championship Game.

The 2022 college football season was filled with storylines. Let's take a look at all that happened in the sport starting in January 2022 as we wrap up the year.

This is not how Ohio State wanted to ring in the New Year, with the Bulldogs' late rally crushing the Buckeyes' upset hopes in the Peach Bowl.

Jon Petrie's official title is coordinator of creative video for TCU's social media team. He was hired to film an ESPN+ series called “TCU Football: Carter Boys," documenting this past season in Fort Worth, Texas. Petrie only dabbles in memes, but his have gone viral this season and captured the "Hypnotoad" ethos of TCU's unlikely CFP run. For a TCU team picked seventh in the Big 12 that won seven straight game by 10 points of fewer, the memes matched the vibe of the season. That's a very chaotic ending and to lean into that with a very chaotic meme I think is, like, perfect."

1 Bulldogs will take a group of four running backs, led by Kenny McIntosh, into the Peach Bowl semifinal against No. McIntosh has started 12 games for Georgia (13-0) and leads the Bulldogs with 709 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. “We don’t want to get into this part of the season and not have depth,” Smart said. “That’s what the rotation provides us.”Ohio State linebacker Tommy Eichenberg said the Georgia running backs boast similar skills and strengths. “Some are faster than others, but I’d say overall they’re all great running backs,” Eichenberg said.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s plan for a deep running back corps was based on more than making it through a 12-game regular season.

Newton and Hodges-Tomlinson are two examples of TCU's success in the transfer portal during the offseason. Stroud and Georgia coach Kirby Smart have talked this week about their warm relationship, which continued even after Stroud signed with Ohio State. 4 Ohio State faces top-seeded Georgia in the CFP semifinals on Saturday at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Trayanum was given a look at linebacker at Ohio State following his transfer from Arizona State before his return to offense. Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said Williams “had a really good go” in Monday’s practice, but Trayanum could still be a factor.

Josh Newton and Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson are two examples of TCU’s success in the transfer portal during the offseason.

TCU’s Sonny Dykes is The Associated Press Coach of the Year after leading the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoff in his first season with the school.

Georgia, Michigan, TCU and Ohio State have made the College Football Playoff, giving the Big Ten multiple programs in the four-team field for the first time.

The defining image from Saturday’s SEC Championship wasn’t LSU players standing around while Georgia’s Chris Smith turned a blocked field goal into a Bulldogs touchdown. “I don't want one kid to walk out of our program without an SEC championship ring for their career,” Smart said. “That was about to happen if we didn't get that one.” Georgia’s last SEC championship came in 2017, before most of the seniors now in uniform arrived on campus. But being the perfectionist he is, Smart also zeroed in on some perceived deficiencies in Georgia’s game on Saturday night. Georgia is the fifth team to score 50 or more points in the SEC championship; the other four – Alabama and Auburn twice apiece – all appeared in national championship games.

With all sorts of turmoil behind them, No. 1 Georgia left no doubt about the top team heading into the College Football Playoff.

Kenny McIntosh rushed for a career-best 143 yards, including a crucial 9-yard score late in the third quarter, and top-ranked Georgia withstood Kentucky’s fourth-quarter rally Saturday for a 16-6 win and its second consecutive unbeaten season in the Southeastern Conference.

Georgia added another title to its growing collection, yet didn't see a whole lot of reason to celebrate.

“I'm super proud of our offense because I personally felt coming in Tennessee's defense was peaking,” Smart said. But Tennessee's defense didn't look so strong against Georgia (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference). Compare that to a year ago, when Georgia leaned on its strong defense to win its first national championship since 1980. Georgia ranks among the top 10 teams in the nation in total yards, scoring and even passing. “Georgia’s offensive line is a great offensive line,” Tennessee defensive tackle Omari Thomas said.

Georgia leaned on its defense in winning its first national championship since 1980 last season.

Georgia's defense and Tennessee's offense have been elite this season, so something has to give on Saturday. But by the sounds of practice, we might know what will.

Three key takeaways from the state’s football scene this weekend.

Top-ranked defending national champion Georgia is far from assured of a return trip to the Southeastern Conference championship game. With the SEC East making its biggest AP Top 25 power play since Florida's Steve Spurrier and Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer ruled the division 25 years ago, Georgia is facing a grueling series of games in the second half of the season. In that AP Top 25 poll, No. 2 Florida was one spot ahead of No. 3 Tennessee, the eventual SEC champion led by senior quarterback Peyton Manning.

Stetson Bennett threw for 289 yards and two TDs as Georgia stamped its return to No. 1 with a 55-0 rout of Vanderbilt.

1 Georgia survived a sloppy performance and surprisingly gritty effort from Kent State, holding off the Golden Flashes 39-22 Saturday. Kent State had a chance to make it a one-score game with less than 13 minutes remaining after Marquez Cooper scored on a 1-yard run to cap a 12-play, 75-yard drive. Georgia then finished off the Golden Flashes, driving 75 yards for Kendall Milton's 1-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal with 5 1/2 minutes to go. Georgia settled for three field goals by Jack Podlesny after driving inside Kent State's 20-yard line, which allowed the Golden Flashes to hang around. “I’m really pleased with the way that our kids fought,” Kent State coach Sean Lewis said.

Brock Bowers scored two more touchdowns and No. 1 Georgia survived a sloppy performance and surprisingly gritty effort from Kent State, holding off the Golden Flashes 39-22.

Kent State head coach Sean Lewis had high praise for the Georgia Bulldogs as his Golden Flashes prepare to take on the No. 1 team in the nation in Week 4.

Kent State coach Sean Lewis is in awe of the players Kirby Smart has recruited to and developed at Georgia. It’s not easy to disagree with Lewis after Georgia beat Alabama for the national title and the way it’s started the 2022 season. Georgia is a 46.5-point favorite over the Golden Flashes at BetMGM and is -10000 to win straight up. That means if you bet $10 on a Georgia win by any score, you would make a 10-cent profit on the bet if Georgia wins. Kent State, meanwhile, is +2500 on the money line and tied with Vanderbilt — who plays at No.

"I obviously did a horse-crap job of getting our team ready to play today regardless of how many guys we had out," said South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, who was missing six defensive players. Maybe I had a bad grape.”THE TAKEAWAYGeorgia: Struggles against teams like South Carolina used to define the Bulldogs. At one point when Steve Spurrier was Gamecocks coach in the early 2010s, South Carolina won four of five in the series. South Carolina: Beamer appears to be breathing life into a program that had lost 13 of its last 16 when he took over in 2021, but there is still a big gap to the best. South Carolina: The Gamecocks dip out of the SEC for a home game next Saturday against Charlotte.

Stetson Bennett went 16 for 23 for 284 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score to lead No. 1 Georgia to a 48-7 victory over South Carolina.

Stetson Bennett passed for 300 yards while throwing and running for touchdowns and No. 2 Georgia’s rebuilt defense delivered another dominant performance in the Bulldogs’ 33-0 win over Samford.

3 Georgia proved its offense is ready to lead. But a deep offense showed it can take some pressure off the defense during the transition. Georgia showed impressive depth at running back, wide receiver and tight end while quarterback Stetson Bennett accounted for three touchdowns. For one game, at least, Georgia was content to rely on its passing game. Georgia scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions and averaged 9.2 yards per play.

Third-ranked Georgia made a statement that its offense is ready to take the lead.

The defending national champions came into the season ranked No. 3 in the country and hardly overlooked behind No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Ohio State. The Bulldogs crushed No. 11 Oregon with stunning ease, unleashing a more dynamic offense and a defense that was just as salty as last season's wrecking crew. Stetson Bennett passed for 368 yards without playing a down in the fourth quarter.

Stetson Bennett threw for 368 yards and accounted for three touchdowns and Georgia's revamped defense didn’t miss a beat.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart will see another familiar face on the opposing sideline Saturday when the reigning national champion Bulldogs open the season against No. Smart's former defensive coordinator, Dan Lanning, is now guiding the Ducks. My job, as well as the players' job, is to focus on the task at hand.”As Smart heads into his seventh season as the Bulldogs' boss, the list of assistants-turned-head coaches is growing. “I knew he was going to do a great job," Smart said. “Kirby Smart is not going to play a single snap on Saturday, and neither is Dan Lanning," the Oregon coach said.

When you build a powerhouse program, it’s inevitable that others will try to copy your success.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — (AP) — Alabama coach Nick Saban is getting a new eight-year contract worth at least $93.6 million, eclipsing the recent megadeal of Southeastern Conference rival Kirby Smart. Saban's deal averages out to $11.7 million per year, topping Smart's $11.25 million pay at defending national champion Georgia. The announcement comes a month after Smart agreed to a 10-year deal worth more than $110 million. His contract ensures his pay will remain at or near the top of the heap among college football coaches. ___ More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 Sign up for the AP’s college footballCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Alabama coach Nick Saban is getting a new eight-year contract worth at least $93.6 million, eclipsing the recent megadeal of Southeastern Conference rival Kirby Smart.

ATLANTA – Three years ago, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey began touting the book “The Club,” the origin story of soccer’s wildly successful Premier League. The 2022 iteration of SEC Media Days lacked the seismic upheaval of last year’s version, when news broke that Texas and Oklahoma would be coming to the SEC in the coming years. We are confident in our collective strength.”That collective strength is what should have every conference that’s not the Big Ten concerned. “I’m competing all across the SEC, who host recruits at their biggest game,” Smart said on "SEC Now." When LSU and Alabama play, that’s where the biggest recruits want to go.

Subscribe to The College Football EnquirerApple Podcasts • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • SpotifySEC Media Days wrapped up in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon and there was one common theme: the coaches don't like NIL. Kirby Smart (with a fresh 10-year, $112 million extension) worried that young athletes may be getting too much money, too fast. Overall it was more of the same posturing from superstar coaches, but the train on NIL has left the station. Dan Wetzel & SI's Pat Forde discuss the latest round of comments from these coaches, weak comments from ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, a new proposal on transfers & the end of the turnover chain in Miami. Stay up to date with the latest college football news and coverage from Yahoo Sports on Twitter @YahooSportsCFB.

NCAA Football: Georgia at Florida Oct 30, 2021; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Georgia Bulldogs fans cheer in the second half against the Florida Gators at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports - 17061671Georgia head coach Kirby Smart re-upped his desire to move the annual Florida-Georgia game from Jacksonville to the school’s respective stadiums at SEC Media Days on Wednesday. “I’m competing all across the SEC, who host recruits at their biggest game,” Smart said on "SEC Now." They’d like to see Georgia play Florida, but they can’t do that. "I'd like to see that game in Jacksonville, experience that game before I have an opinion on that."

ATHENS, Ga. — (AP) — Georgia coach Kirby Smart has agreed to a contract extension through the 2031 season that strengthens his status as one of college football's highest-paid coaches. Under the deal announced Thursday, Smart will be paid $10.25 million this season in base salary and supplemental compensation. The extension comes after Smart led the Bulldogs to last season's national championship, the first for Georgia since 1980. Under Smart, Georgia has finished first in the SEC East four times and has won six bowl games. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.

On the heels of winning a national championship, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has been rewarded with a new contract. Georgia announced Thursday that Smart has agreed to a contract extension through the 2031 season. From there, Smart’s salary increases annually, culminating at $12.25 million for the 2031 season. According to ESPN, Smart’s new contract is worth $112.5 million in all, a record for a college football coach. "I'm thankful to president Jere Morehead and Josh Brooks for their continued support of Georgia football.

Georgia's Kirby Smart has agreed to a contract extension through the 2031 season worth more than $110 million that strengthens his status as one of college football's highest-paid coaches.

Under Smart, Georgia has spent $175 million on football facilities, including a still-new $80 million facility that features a 24,000-square-foot weight room, the largest in the country. He already enjoyed buy-in from the university's administration and athletic department, and the first national championship has bought him years of goodwill. Georgia redeemed a humiliating loss to Alabama in the SEC championship. Staying on the mountaintop requires a whole different set of skills than getting there. "Our leaders have done a good job of transitioning from [the national championship]," Bennett said.

Alabama's 2021 season has been described as a disappointment even though the Crimson Tide won the SEC title and played in the national championship game. Georgia won its first national championship since 1980 by beating Alabama. Alabama, Ohio State and possibly others are more popular picks in early national championship projections. “I think that’s the biggest thing because everybody keeps bringing up you won a national championship, so do you worry about complacency. “The biggest goal of our team is always to win a national championship and we didn’t meet that goal last year,” Anderson said Tuesday.

Life at the top of the Southeastern Conference can be difficult, especially when anything short of a national championship in football is considered unsatisfactory.

Nick Saban tried to put an end to his feud with Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher at the Southeastern Conference meetings.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart told a near-capacity crowd at Sanford Stadium the Bulldogs don’t plan to wait another 41 years for their next national championship.

Kirby Smart learned from his former boss that the time for celebrating is short in college football.

Alabama had plenty of chances in the College Football Playoff championship Monday — but rarely turned those opportunities into touchdowns.

Georgia won its long-awaited national championship the way it dominated during an undefeated regular season — by relying on its defense.

Stetson Bennett delivered the biggest throws of his storybook career and Georgia’s defense sealed the sweetest victory in program history, vanquishing rival Alabama 33-18 to win the College Football Playoff title game.

Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes to lead Georgia to a 33-18 win over Alabama for its first national championship in 41 years.

The Georgia Bulldogs defense has a chance at redemption.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart sees challenges everywhere for his defense — even with Alabama missing one of its top receivers.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart got an inside look at what it takes to build a college football juggernaut working for Nick Saban at Alabama for eight years.

A mere 37 days after they last played, Alabama faces Georgia again with a national football championship on the line.

By bringing the Bulldogs to another national title game, coach Kirby Smart has made Georgia a regular part of the championship picture.

The national championship game quarterbacks are a former five-star recruit already with a Heisman Trophy and a former walk-on ending a long journey with his home state team.

Stetson Bennett threw three touchdown passes, Nakobe Dean led an angry Georgia defense and the third-ranked Bulldogs returned to their dominant ways, beating No. 2 Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl to advance to the College Football Playoff championship.

Alabama has a chance to repeat.

For years, college coaches have worried about players partying too much ahead of big games.

Texas A&M holds the lead in the race for the national recruiting title in college football.

Georgia's proud defense is seeking to redeem itself after the Bulldogs' ugly loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Alabama once again collected a Southeastern Conference title and two big league-wide individual awards.

A person familiar with negotiations says new Florida coach Billy Napier agreed to a seven-year, $51.8 million contract that makes him the fifth-highest-paid coach in the Southeastern Conference.

Bryce Young stunningly carved up the nation’s best defense, giving Nick Saban and Alabama a shot at another national championship.

It's rivalry week across the Southeastern Conference, with plenty of stakes beyond bragging rights.

Standout defensive tackle Jordan Davis scored his first career touchdown and No. 1 Georgia’s stout defense was again dominant in a 56-7 rout of Charleston Southern.

Stetson Bennett ran for a touchdown and threw for another as top-ranked Georgia remained perfect, wrapping up its Southeastern Conference schedule by routing Tennessee 41-17.

Top-ranked Georgia and No. 3 Alabama appear headed for a showdown in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Stetson Bennett passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns before giving way to former starter JT Daniels, leading No. 1 Georgia to a 43-6 win over Missouri.

No_ 1 Georgia and its top-ranked defense dominated Florida in the annual rivalry known as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party."