Coach Smart met with the media following a 31-23 win over Georgia Tech last night. His quotes are in italics. 

Opening Remarks: Great atmosphere for college football. It was a lot of fun having that kind of atmosphere. I think our kids really enjoyed it. Our fans showed up and did a great job... Made it feel like it was 50/50 out there with our fans. A lot of credit to Georgia Tech. They did a really good job, played hard, and played physically. I thought Buster and his staff did a great job with the run plan. We expected to get a lot of quarterback runs; they did a good job of that. But, once again, our kids show up very resilient and tough. This game is not measured by stats, rushing yards, and first downs. It's measured by heart, and you've got to have a whole lot of heart to go out there and play like our guys have done week after week. I mean, you see what happens across the country in these rivalry games. I know better than anybody that it can go either way in these types of games. Very emotional and very different week in terms of Thanksgiving and everything going on. I thought our offense played with a lot of consistency; we were able to run the ball really well and really physical up front. The line of scrimmage won the game for us. 

On Kendall Milton's Game: Really physical. He's getting his pads down and running through contact. He breaks a lot of arm tackles. I saw two or three of their guys have to go out from having to tackle him because he's really physical and downhill. Make no mistake about it... It's not just him. It's a lot of those dudes in front of him, quarterback run checking, front OLine moving people, and tight ends and receivers blocking downfield. It's a team effort, and he was a big part of that tonight. Even Daijuan had some good runs, but I thought Kendall was really physical. 

On What the 29 Game Win Streak Record Means: It means we've got a tough one next week. Humility is a week away...We say it around our place. It's a great honor. It's something we'll look back on. It's not one person, you know. If I'm thinking right, that's three different teams. There are a lot of kids in that locker room that weren't a part of that. But that's not the focal point for us. The focal point for us is to get better and we've got to continue to get better. Our kids have a lot of pride, and they want to get better. The offense felt like it left points out there, and the defense felt like they didn't play the quarterback run game as well as they should. The good thing about that locker room is a lot of guys know there's work to be done. 

On Brock Bowers: He was more sore this week than he's been. He was not able to do much during the week. He tried to go, and he wanted to go, but he was sore. He's got to be honest with us and tell us. 

On How Important Dillon Bell Has Been Lately: Really important. He's a good football player. He's a jack of all trades, a great kid, a hard worker, and makes plays with the ball. I think the offensive staff deserves a lot of credit for finding different people. When you talk about five starters being out on offense from different spots and then still going out there and doing what they do. They just find the next man. Who's the next man to touch the ball and they've done a good job of that. 

On How He Would Rate the Overall Performance of the Defense: It's hard to rate it. I'm really proud of the connection they have and how hard they work. I don't look at the stats, and I literally don't know what the stats say. I just know there are some times we could play better, and there are times we've had to play with guys who might not quite be ready yet, but they've had to step up and answer the bell. I love coaching them every day, and I love being around them. I love our defensive staff, but we've got to get better. 

If He Got an Explanation on the Penalty on SVP: He was past the threshold for how far he should be. I've never had it called for me, but I've had it called against me. So, I've been dealing with that thing for a lot  of years. 

On Oscar Delp: Oscar's a tough dude. I love the way he works and practices. 

On Zion Logue's Tipped Pass: Huge play in the game because momentum is going to swing the other way with a PI call, and that tipped ball was big. Coach Scott stresses that and works on it all the time. We always kid ZLo, and he's finally starting to get those tips in his latter years. It's a big play for him. 

On Defending Haynes King: Number one, he's an incredible athlete. I don't know how much he extends plays with his legs as much as how good he runs the ball. Their run scheme is really good. He has multiple options on each play. He made some good decisions. It looked like we misfit some things, but I don't know. I've got to go back and watch it. They might have just whipped us, but it'll be interesting to watch and see. 

On Marvin Jones and Christen Miller: Those guys work hard. They get their snaps, and they go out there and compete each day. Marvin's getting better and better with every game, and Christen's been getting better. He's been going down to the scout team and growing as a player as well. 

Kirby said he didn't see the ending to the Iron Bowl but was told what happened. 

Photo Courtesy of Charles Jordan