BY PAUL NEWBERRY
ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia Bulldogs are hurting.
Kirby Smart doesn’t mind a bit.
From his perspective, a crushing loss to Alabama will go a long way toward determining if this team has what it takes to make another championship run.
So far, the coach likes what he sees.
“The more invested you are, the more you hurt,” Smart said. “I know more about my team right now than I did a week ago. I can guarantee you that. That’s what fires me up. And I got a lot of optimism after that game, because I learned a hell of a lot more about my team than I had the previous week.”
The No. 12 Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) will be looking to bounce back when they host Kentucky (2-2, 0-2) on Saturday.
“If I could play right now, I would,” defensive lineman Jordan Hall said early in the week. “I’m just optimistic about what’s in front of us. We’ve got a long season waiting for us. We can’t be mad about the past. We’ve just got to use that as fuel.”
Still in championship picture
While discouraging, the first loss of the season was hardly a death blow to Georgia’s hopes in the national championship race. A year ago, the Bulldogs lost a pair of SEC games — to Alabama and Ole Miss — but still managed to claim the conference title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
That said, they can’t afford another slip-up against one of the SEC’s lesser teams, especially with games against No. 4 Ole Miss and No. 9 Texas still lurking on the schedule.
“Different year, different season. I think what’s applicable is that college football teams are going to have this parity,” Smart said. “What’s going to separate teams is how they either fracture or don’t fracture, or how their infrastructure’s built to sustain losses. We’re built for this. We have infrastructure, we have plans, we know the pathway, so I’m excited to see where this team goes.”
A work in progress
The Bulldogs have plenty of things to work on, starting with their propensity for sluggish starts.
They fell behind Tennessee 21-7 in the first quarter before rallying to win in overtime. Against the Crimson Tide, Georgia faced a 24-14 deficit at halftime. Even when taking on overmatched Austin Peay, the Bulldogs were only up 14-3 at the half.
“We’ve got to do better at it. I don’t really know why it’s happening,” Hall said. “We’re going through practice trying to come out with a little bit more energy.”
But Smart likes what he sees in the trenches. Georgia rushed for 227 yards against Alabama, while limiting the Tide to 117 on the ground.
Chauncey Bowens has become the leader in the backfield, ripping through Alabama for 119 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries, averaging a whopping 9.9 yards each time he got the ball. His emergence has been especially important as Nate Frazier deals again with fumbling issues.
“We can run the ball, and we can stop the run.” Smart said. “The two things that we struggled with last year, so we have to continue to improve in those areas.”
A pesky opponent
Georgia has dominated the series with Kentucky, holding a commanding 64-12-2 lead with a 15-game winning streak. The Bulldogs haven’t lost to the Wildcats since 2009.
Still, the lopsided numbers only tell part of the story.
Kentucky has been a troublesome opponent at times for the Bulldogs, who struggled to a 13-12 victory a year ago in Lexington.
Smart expects his team to be fired up on Saturday.
“There’s a lot of college football teams right now that have teams that the kids don’t care,” he said. “When people hurt, you usually get a better response.”
