Kirby Smart was in hot water on Saturday night for something he did during Georgia’s 41-31 win over Mississippi State at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.
Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. had run for a gain in the fourth quarter and went out of bounds into Georgia’s sideline. Smart came running over toward defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann and bumped Van Buren out of the way.
Kirby Smart shoves Mississippi State QB Michael Van Buren while arguing with official.
(via @SECNetwork)https://t.co/3JH351c7HR pic.twitter.com/zHYpnyClCg
— On3 (@On3sports) October 12, 2024
No penalty was called on Smart despite his conduct. The Georgia head coach said after the game that he didn’t even know what had happened, and that he was just trying to get to Schumann to change personnel.
Regardless of Smart’s explanation, many Mississippi State fans were not happy about what had happened.
So Kirby Smart can shove one of our players in front of an official and nothing happens?
— Todd4State (@Todd4State) October 12, 2024
Kirby Smart is just allowed to shove our QB who is an 18 year old kid and doesn’t even get a flag?? While Hunter Washington #21 gets an unsportsmanlike conduct as he’s on the ground getting screamed at
— Pablo Escoball (@PabloEscoball) October 12, 2024
Hey @GregSankey why did Kirby Smart just make physical contact with our QB and the refs do nothing????
— Brooks Hill (TBD fan account) (@brooks13hill) October 12, 2024
Georgia won the game 41-31 to improve to 5-1. But you won’t convince many people that Smart’s behavior was OK.
