Kirby Smart Takes Jab at Texas and Chances of Winning SEC

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Brendan Howe | Last updated May 27, 2025 6:31 PM ET

When EA Sports College Football 26 is released this summer, Texas Longhorns fans can pick up their controller and collect hardware for Steve Sarkisian's crew. If head coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs have any say, things won't play out the same way in the SEC.

In a short video posted Tuesday on X, YouTube and Twitch personality Big Game Bengal, a Texas fan, verbally poked at Smart, whose Bulldogs have won two of the past three SEC football crowns, including last year's. Bengal believes it'll be different this year as Arch Manning takes over at quarterback.

"Is it gonna be tough watching Texas hoist the SEC championship trophy this year?" Bengal asked Smart.

Smart was quick to reply, swatting away the possibility.

"In what sport? Baseball or basketball?" He said.

Smart's comment appeared to take place at a promotional event for the video game mentioned earlier.

Kirby Smart's team faced off with the Longhorns in last season's SEC Championship game, pulling out a 22-19 victory despite starting quarterback Carson Beck exiting the clash with an injury. The win provided the Bulldogs a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff, but Texas wound up making it further in the bracket.

Smart is the sport's premier sideline general. He became the fifth-fastest coach to reach 110 career FBS wins last season.

“Kirby Smart is the most powerful coach in college football right now because he’s won, and he’s won for a long time,” CBS Sports' Josh Pate said on his podcast earlier this month. “And I wanna remind you, he left Alabama, where he was Saban’s defensive coordinator, and then he went over to Georgia and he proceeded to build as close of a replica to what Saban had built in Tuscaloosa as anyone did.

“They play to the same level of standard, they operated very similarly, they recruited very similarly, there was a tenacity, there was … a vibe that the program gave off.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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