Kirby Smart reacts to Georgia's blocked field goal against Auburn

Kirby Smart asked his team to get off to a fast start, but went into the locker room with only 14 points to their name. Fortunately, Auburn couldn't find much on offense itself, as a field goal is their only success. But three more points could have been added Georgia blocked it and sent the first half clock to zero.

It's not usually something that frustrates head coaches when they don't make it, but Smart was relieved by the blocked field goal. He says Georgia is working on getting her hands on kicks but hasn't gotten one in quite some time. When he saw it blocked on Saturday, it was a sigh of relief for him.

“Well, it’s about time,” Smart said during an in-game interview with ESPN’s Molly McGrath. “We haven’t blocked a field goal in a whole year and we’re very proud of that. I’m really pleased with the work we put in to make this happen.”

Had Auburn converted the kick, it would have been a one-possession game on the other side. Instead, Georgia maintains its 11-point lead and will get the ball early in the second half. A nice win for the Bulldogs.

To get the fast start Smart wanted from his offense, he also evaluated their performance. He is expected to do more in the running game, which leads to more consistency.

“Good and bad, hot and cold,” Smart said. “I feel like we can run the ball better than we have. We had two runs in which an explosion almost occurred, it was probably explosives. Both teams are floundering a bit.”

Trevor Etienne is Georgia's leading rusher at the break, rushing for 54 yards and scoring a touchdown on just nine carries. As Smart mentioned, some of his runs were almost home runs and were seemingly rushed in at the last moment. He hopes there will be a few long goals in the second half.