Why the genius of Kirby Smart’s success at Tennessee is in the simplicity

ATHENS — Kirby Smart knows what he’s stepping into on Saturday, the noise that will rain down from the 101,915 fans packed into Neyland Stadium’s vertically inclined seating.

Smart’s Georgia program has conquered Tennessee’s home football stadium before, in 2017, when it has applied the “Checker Neyland” effect, color-coordinating its orange-and-white clad fans by section on game day.

College GameDay will set the stage for the 3:30 p.m. game (TV: ABC) between the No. 6 Bulldogs (2-0) and the No. 15 Vols (2-0).

“It’ll be important that our players understand that the environment is something you don’t have to worry about,” said Smart, who is 4-0 at Neyland Stadium as Georgia’s head coach and was 4-0 in Knoxville as a defensive coordinator in Nick Saban’s Alabama program.

“You got to worry about how you play, and sometimes that’s easier said than done, especially with young players.”

Indeed, and that’s why Smart indicated that less may be more when it comes to his Georgia offense, in terms of the scope of the game plan.

“There’s certain things you can do at home that you can’t do on the road,” Smart said, likely referring to the amount of verbal checks quarterbacks often make at the line of scrimmage.

“You have to be smart as a game planner, what kind of situations you put your team in, where the field position is, that’s the down and distance.”

To this point, that is how Smart has deployed Gunner Stockton, with conservative game-planning that has featured shorter, safer passes, while giving the first-year starting quarterback the green light to scramble for yardage when feeling pressure.

Stockton, for his part, has not thrown an interception or been sacked through the first two games.

Smart is aware that Tennessee and other SEC teams have a different level of talent than the Marshall and Austin Peay teams his Bulldogs faced so far, and the cushion to throw the ball underneath the coverage will shrink.

“It’ll be interesting to see as people creep up in our league,” Smart said, “are we able to throw it beyond them.”

Smart has said Stockton has shown in practices that he can do that against Georgia’s talented defense, but playing in front of more than 100,000 presents a different kind of challenge his quarterback has not yet faced.

It’s Stockton’s fourth career start, but it’s also his first in an opponent’s stadium, and it comes against a Tennessee defense Smart respects.

“They create a lot of issues, very intelligent with their defensive staff in terms of protections, looks,” Smart said. “They know what you’re thinking, and they try to counter that, so that’s the hurdle for us offensively that we all have to get over is making sure we understand what they’re trying to do, understand what we’re trying to do, and do it better than they do.”

Georgia’s offensive line, which played without starters Earnest Greene lll and Juan Gaston against Austin Peay last Saturday, will be challenged.

“(Tennessee) is penetrating upfield, low pads, come off the ball, contact tough,” Smart said. “They disrupted the pocket in each game and really affected the interior pass rush lanes and push back.”

The answer, as Smart has preached throughout the offseason, is an effective run game.

Sophomore tailback Nate Frazier has been the starter and leads the team with 116 yards on 24 carries (4.6 yards per attempt), but the Bulldogs’ have also gotten a spark from fellow sophomore Dwight Phillips Jr., a speedy, 185-pounder who is averaging 9.6 yards per attempt on his 12 carries this season.

Chauncey Bowens, a 225-pound sophomore, emerged as Georgia’s short-yardage answer last week, picking up first downs on four of the five handoffs he took in situations of third-and-3 or shorter.

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Transfer receiver Zachariah Branch has been the only consistent element of the Georgia pass game to this point, utilizing his quickness to get open for short passes which he has turned upfield for more yards, averaging 18.7 yards per catch.

The Bulldogs’ offense has worked hard with its basic elements in the opening games, favoring resolve over variety in the playcalling.

Smart chose to send veteran receiver Colbie Young to the podium to meet with media this week, an indicator Georgia could turn to the 6-foot-3, 215-pound transfer from Miami in the vertical and Red Zone passing game.

“I think he knows what he’s fighting for and what he’s playing for,” Smart said. “He’s got a lot of good intentions in terms of what he wants to get out of the season …. he’s a leader out there and he wants it really bad.”

Tennessee, losers of eight straight in the series, desperately wants to get over its Georgia, hurdle, too, making for a battle of wills as much as a game of execution on Saturday.