Kirby Smart Explains Controversial Decision That Led to Notre Dame TD Before Half

The Georgia Bulldogs received the football with less than 40 seconds remaining in the first half of the Sugar Bowl after Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter hit a field goal to give the Fighting Irish a 6–3 lead. Though the Bulldogs had limited time before the end of the half, head coach Kirby Smart opted to be aggressive to see if his team could sneak a score in before the half. Instead, a nightmare unfolded for Georgia.

On their first play of the drive, quarterback Gunner Stockton was strip-sacked by Notre Dame defensive lineman RJ Oben. Junior Tuihalamaka recovered the fumble, and the Notre Dame offense capitalized with a touchdown before the half.

After the game, Smart broke down the reasoning for not letting the clock run out at the end of the first half.

"Typically when you're down, you need every possession you can have. And we made a decision that we were going to be aggressive and we were going to try to go two-minute."

I asked Kirby Smart about why they were throwing with 33 seconds left in the first half only down three. He said when.

"Typically when you're down, you need every possession you can have. And we made a decision that we were going to be aggressive and we were going to try to go… pic.twitter.com/t5bxohamB8
— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) January 3, 2025

"And that's what everything says you should do. You can't give up possessions when you're trailing.
So we're down 6–3. We felt like we had a little quick-game pass. Certainly not counting on getting beat that quick at left tackle."

The Bulldogs aggression came back to bite them, and instead of trailing by just three at the half, Georgia found themselves down by 10 points. When Notre Dame returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown, that deficit grew to 17 points. Georgia wasn't able to overcome that deficit, as Notre Dame went on to win 23–10 and advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals against Penn State.

Though Smart was criticized for continuing to play with less than 40 seconds left in the half, it's not uncommon for coaches to try and make a quick drive for a score at the end of the first half. 40 seconds is enough time to lead a scoring drive, and while it backfired for Georgia, Smart could have also received criticism for coaching too conservatively if the Bulldogs let the clock run out at the end of the half. Unfortunately for Smart, Georgia experienced the worst-case scenario and his decision will be scrutinized accordingly.