First-time head coaches typically have to clear several hurdles during their maiden voyage, and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart hit an iceberg Saturday afternoon in Athens in the form of the Vanderbilt Commodores. Despite that, it's not time to give up on Smart just yet.
The Bulldogs fell to 4-3 (2-3 SEC) in an embarrassing 17-16 homecoming loss.
It was a sign that Smart has a lot to learn as a head coach, specifically one in the SEC.
As former ESPN insider Travis Haney noted on Twitter, it's almost an impossible situation for Smart to be successful in during his inaugural campaign between the hedges, after replacing Mark Richt—a man who won nine games in each of the last two regular seasons:
The pivotal play for Georgia was brutal, but it was also a sign of how high those hurdles are for Smart as he learns on the fly.
On 4th-and-1 from the Commodore 41-yard line with 1:01 to play, down one, Georgia motioned 5'8", 175-pound Isaiah McKenzie into the tailback slot before Vandy head coach Derek Mason frantically called timeout. Smart followed suit and then ran McKenzie on a toss sweep with superstar Nick Chubb lined up as his lead blocker at fullback.
Predictably, Vandy was ready for it.
"We felt good about the play," McKenzie said. "Even though they called the timeout and made some adjustments, we still felt good about [it]. A guy came from the blind side and tackled me. He made a good play."
It's understandable that Smart and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney thought it would be a good idea to get fancy. After all, Georgia gained just 75 yards and averaged 2.1 yards per carry on the afternoon.
But, come on. If the solution to your running woes is to make your best player a lead blocker—which he's not familiar with—and make a 175-pounder your go-to guy, you're doing it wrong.
Smart and Chaney did it wrong Saturday, and that's a sign that the head coach panicked with the game on the line.
It's another hiccup in a season of ups and downs for the first-time head coach, who arrived in Athens after nine years on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama.
Special teams matter, and it's clear they're a big sore spot for Smart and the Bulldogs. Vandy opened the game with 95-yard kickoff return that set up a Commodore touchdown drive that, after a penalty, totaled a mere two yards. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Bulldog returner Reggie Davis stepped out of bounds on the 3-yard line after fielding it.
Those were just two more instances of the third side of the ball's haunting Georgia.
Its field-goal kickers had combined to hit just four of nine attempts coming into the game. Rodrigo Blankenship's three successful kicks Saturday were some of the game's only special teams bright spots.
What's even scarier is Smart predicted Georgia's kicking woes on national signing day, as he chose to sign a punter instead of a kicker.
"Scared to death is what it is (laughter)," he said of his special teams after his decision to sign a punter but not a place-kicker in his first recruiting class. "The decision on the punter was, in my history, I found that you can find more quality kickers through the walk-on route than you can quality punters."
This is a mulligan year for Smart.
It might hurt at times—specifically when you lose back-to-back home games to Tennessee on a Hail Mary and on homecoming to Vanderbilt, which closed as a two-touchdown underdog, according to OddsShark.com.
But things will get better.
True freshman quarterback Jacob Eason threw for 346 yards, a touchdown and no picks in a game in which he headed the only facet that worked on the Bulldog offense. Fellow true freshman Isaac Nauta again proved he can be a difference-maker at tight end with five catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Riley Ridley, another true freshman, had five grabs for 67 yards.
Those were bright spots, as was the young defense's 171 yards allowed.
Eason already proved he has the clutch gene when he connected with McKenzie on fourth down late in the win at Missouri. He did so again when he connected with Ridley for a touchdown deep across the field with 10 seconds to play to take the lead on Tennessee prior to the Hail Mary.
For that to already be known about a true freshman quarterback in the SEC just halfway through his first season is huge.
The defense that features mostly underclassmen up front and has just one senior linebacker has been solid, save for the one misstep at Ole Miss last month.
This game was lost on coaching, and that will make this a miserable two weeks for Smart as the Bulldogs prepare for rival Florida in Jacksonville at the end of October after a bye.
Georgia hasn't consistently blocked well in the running game, and it didn't against the Commodores. Its special teams always seem to find ways to lose games, and they did against the Commodores. The play-calling needs improvement, and it was downright atrocious against the Commodores.
That's on Smart, and he will be better.
"We didn’t play a very good team game," Smart said. "That responsibility falls on me. It’s embarrassing, and I’m sick to my stomach. We came out sloppy, and I take full responsibility for it. Those guys played harder than us, and that’s the disappointing thing."
Smart might not be better until next year, but if you're Georgia, you should be able to live with Smart's hiccups for at least one season.
Quotes obtained via Georgia email unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information is courtesy of Scout.com. Odds provided by Odds Shark.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.