Kirby Smart denies Gatorade bath for good reason
The Georgia Bulldogs posted a blowout win over the Michigan Wolverines in Friday’s College Football Playoff semifinal, but coach Kirby Smart was in no mood to celebrate.
With time running out in the final minute of Georgia’s win, Georgia players were preparing to give Smart the traditional Gatorade bath. Smart, however, was not having it. In fact, he even called timeout to put a stop to it.
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ESPN’s Holly Rowe said Smart told his players that winning a semifinal was not the time to celebrate that way.
In his postgame interview, Smart told Rowe that the Gatorade bath is “not what it’s about right now.”
Smart’s message was a clear one: the real goal is beating Alabama and winning a championship. The Bulldogs’ SEC Championship loss to the Crimson Tide still stings, and Georgia players will want to put that right. That is where Smart wants the focus.
Smart’s attitude isn’t really a shock. The game was essentially over at halftime, but the coach was not letting up even then.
