Kirby Smart should be recognized as Coach of the Year, why Georgia football run not over

ATHENS — Georgia football had a magical 2023 run, and it’s not over yet.

Sure, the 29-game win streak snapped and the CFP race is over, allowing for bandwagon Bulldog fans to jump off.

But if Georgia fans should be upset about anything, it’s that the Bulldogs are not getting their fair amount of credit early in this awards season.

That’s particularly true of Kirby Smart, who passed up the likes of Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban with a third-straight 8-0 season, and moved past Paul “Bear” Bryant and all other SEC types with that record 29-game win streak and the most wins in his first 100 games coached.

Smart also had an unprecedented third-straight 12-0 regular season, something no other SEC coach in history has accomplished.

And yet, the Associated Press named the Missouri head coach as the SEC’s coach of the year in one of the most shallow and indefensible selections in recent memory.

Brock Bowers overlooked

Then, the Heisman Trophy finalists were named, and Georgia’s Brock Bowers was not among them.

As a Heisman voter, I’m not allowed to reveal my vote, but I can share Bowers was among my top three.

Really -- how could Bowers, arguably the MVP of the Bulldogs’ three-year run with his ability to catch, run and block — versatile traits no other Heisman finalist boast — be left out of the top four while a one-dimensional Ohio State receiver gets in?

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