No, it’s not time for a Kirby statue, no matter what happens in the national title game.

          All Kirby Smart has done is rejuvenate Georgia football, not revolutionize it. Not even close.

          Not even close.

          And, as noted here before, including just before the Rose Bowl, we’ll know more in three years or so.

          To repeat (and rerun):

 

          Too much has been thrown around - the homerism and hyperbole is smothering. Georgia has, yes, thumped people, which it didn't do regularly under Mark Richt.

          But in keeping with this nation's citizens completely erasing their mental hard drive - except when they don't:

          First year at UGA: Mark Richt, 8-4.

          First year at UGA: Kirby Smart, 8-5.

          Second year through the SEC championship: Richt, 12-1.

          Second year through the SEC championship: Smart, 12-1.

          K? K. Like Richt, don't like Richt, whatever. Facts are facts, and everybody loves the guy doing "better" than his predecessor and giving some light at the end of a perceived tunnel. It did seem like Georgia was ahead of schedule. Now maybe it's simply onnnn schedule.

          My scouting report when Smart was hired was simple: No idea how good a coach he is because he's had an executive defensive coordinator - and almost psychotic control-freak boss - above him, and what normal person didn't look at the situation and just chalk it all up to Saban running things?

          Smart had been attached to Nick Saban's hip for all but one year since 2004. How much power do we believe Saban actually handed over?

          And like none of Bear's underlings were Bear Jr., Smart is no Saban Jr. Will he become that? Could become a version, his own version. But remember, Saban wasn't Saban for a long time. It's hard for people to see who Smart really is because everybody compares him to Saban or chalks up all of his knowledge and success to Saban, which isn't fair. I'm quite sure Smart knew a fair amount of football a long time ago, but he most likely grew in the overall running of a program.

          And I'm pretty sure Smart has been might intense for awhile.

          One doesn't become Sabanlike in one's second year of coaching. Smart will succeed or fail on his own merits, and it's too early to determine which way that'll go. And we won't know until we know, which won't be this year, as great as it is.

          Know this. Richt's second season didn't involve wretched Florida and Tennessee teams that fired their head coaches in the middle of the season, or a Georgia Tech team that wasn't bowl eligible.

          Those Bulldogs under a second-year head coach and former coordinator had one regular-season loss and won the SEC championship by 27 points. These Bulldogs, under the same coach’s resume, won the SEC championship by 21 points.

 

          Let’s go back to 2002.

          The final BCS regular-season poll was this: 1. Miami, 2. Ohio State, 3. Georgia, 4. Southern Cal.

          So a playoff, under those figures, would have had Georgia playing Ohio State, which started the BCS ranking sixth, one spot behind Georgia, on Oct. 21.

          The Buckeyes that season had some close calls: 23-19 over Cincinnati, 27-16 over Northwestern, 19-14 over Wisconsin, 10-6 over Purdue, 23-16 in OT over Illinois, all unranked opponents.

          They beat ranked teams Washington by 18, Penn State by 6, Minnesota by 31 and Michigan by 5.

          The timing of Georgia’s loss let the Buckeyes slip ahead.

          Depending on the location of a 2 vs. 3 game that year, we can make a quality case for Georgia beating Ohio State and making the championship game.

          So we’ll stop there.

          Georgia was, for all intents and purposes, in this exact same scenario – minus a semifinal – in 2002.

          And save for some time management issues and one playcall, the Bulldogs would’ve been in the 2012 championship game after having beaten Alabama. But that didn’t happen.   

          Nevertheless, please note that Georgia has knocked on this door before, and fairly recently.

          We have to wait to find out about culture change and revolutionizing a program and all that. Smart has to go through hiring assistants because of those who left, of turnover because of the draft or injuries, and so on.

          Don’t make this sound more impressive than it is. Yes, it’s impressive, and even if the Bulldogs win the national title, it’s still early in the Kirby Smart book.

          But goodness, it sure would lead you to believe it’s going to be quite a book.