Kirby Would Like a Word With the Home Folks
Written by Jarvis Prime on November 10, 2026
GEORGIA MONEYBALL — Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Georgia has quieted two road stadiums in a row, and now its coach wants Sanford Stadium to make some noise of its own when Missouri comes to town Saturday.
ALBANY, GA — · By the RFA Sports Desk
Kirby Smart spent a piece of his Monday press conference asking the customers to pull their weight. Georgia has played its two best games of the fall in other people's stadiums, the latest before a sellout of 68,814 in Oxford, and now comes home for its last SEC game at Sanford Stadium this season, Missouri at 3:30 Saturday afternoon on ABC. Smart told reporters Monday he hopes the fans will "create the same environments we've been seeing on the road." That is a curious thing to ask of a stadium that seats 93,033, and it tells you something that the man felt he had to ask.
The man has a reason, and its name is Auburn. Georgia's athletic department counts the Bulldogs 33-5 at home against the SEC in Smart's tenure, a record most coaches would have framed. But the one blemish on this season came in Athens on October 17, Auburn 27-24, with Georgia ranked No. 1 at the time. Georgia is No. 1 again this week by the athletic department's reckoning, and here comes another visitor with nothing to lose on a clear, fifty-degree afternoon. DawgNation reported that Smart pointed to Oklahoma's crowd as the standard. A coach does not point at another man's crowd unless his own has given him cause.
A coach does not point at another man's crowd unless his own has given him cause.
Georgia's players have made a hobby this fall of emptying other folks' seats. Dontrell Glover, the sophomore offensive lineman, told reporters Monday that "our whole goal is to make the crowd leave before the game is over," and said he noticed the Ole Miss faithful heading for the parking lot around the early third quarter. Smart said Saturday night the fast start was a big factor, because the last time Georgia visited Oxford the crowd stayed in it the whole way. So the Bulldogs know exactly what a loud building does to a football team. Kirby would simply like to be on the receiving end for once.
Missouri, it should be said, is a different outfit away from Columbia. The Tigers are 6-3, 4-1 at home and 2-2 on the road, and both road losses came by a touchdown or worse, including a 31-3 whipping at Ole Miss. DraftKings has Georgia by 13.5, the desk's opponent-adjusted rating says about 15 in Athens, and Sports Illustrated's betting desk, looking at 15.5 at BetMGM, decided that was too many and took Missouri. Smart called Austin Simmons an elite quarterback Monday, and the numbers back him up: two interceptions in 283 throws. A quiet stadium would suit Simmons just fine.
The other reason to want help from the stands is that Georgia is thin. Smart said Saturday night in Oxford that "we're beat up and banged up and so is everybody else in the league." Cornerback Ellis Robinson left his second straight game, this time with a thigh or hip problem, and the Athens Banner-Herald reported Smart could not say Monday whether he would play. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Smart called the receiver room dinged up across the board, with Isiah Canion a work in progress and Chauncey Bowens short of full strength. Ten Bulldogs are on the injury list, and only Amaris Williams has been ruled out.
Georgia has beaten Missouri ten straight times and leads the series 12-1, and Missouri's lone win came in Athens, in 2013, 41-26. So the one time the Tigers got Georgia, they got them at home. Smart also asked Monday for 10,000 fans at the volleyball match against Tennessee on Friday night, so the man is working the ticket office on two fronts. Then he wants a full, loud Sanford Stadium Saturday for a game the team is dedicating to Veterans Day. Georgia has won at Alabama and at Ole Miss this year. The question this week is whether Athens can make a little noise of its own.
The Notebook
- THE ONE EVERYBODY'S ARGUING ABOUT: Notre Dame 31, Miami 24 in South Bend. Elija Lofton's apparent fourth-down touchdown catch with 3:36 left was ruled incomplete, Mario Cristobal said he was beyond upset, and Utah and UCLA are the only unbeatens left.
- ACROSS THE FIELD: Austin Simmons limped off a late quarterback draw against Texas and came back for the final drive, and receiver Cayden Lee was helped off by trainers. Missouri's availability report comes Wednesday.
- COUNTDOWN: Four days to Missouri. The playoff committee's new rankings come out Tuesday night; DraftKings has Georgia by 13.5 with a total of 47.5.
Written in the tradition of Lewis Grizzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1946–1994.
Hear the desk read tonights report on Radio Free Albany, WPFQ 96.7.
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