EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsTAMPA -- Georgia has won back-to-back SEC titles, an accomplishment dimmed by narrow College Football Playoff quarterfinal losses to Notre Dame and Ole Miss in consecutive years.They are also amid a streak that coach Kirby Smart says is the Bulldogs "biggest accolade," finishing in the Top 10 for seven-straight years.But Smart acknowledged on Tuesday at SEC Media Days that the Bulldogs need to do more to meet the moment in the CFP, while also questioning the length of layoff between conference title game and the first CFP game for teams that earned a bye."We've got to find a way to, whether we win the SEC or not, to get into that playoff and play better and play bigger in bigger moments," Smart told ESPN on Tuesday.Georgia will attempt to be the first SEC team in a decade to win three-straight SEC titles, as Alabama last accomplished that from 2014-2016. The last time Georgia did it was 1980-82, with one of those a shared title.The Bulldogs in many ways are well positioned, as they return 72-percent of their defensive production from last season, per ESPN's Bill Connelly, which is second-best in the SEC. They also return redshirt senior quarterback Gunner Stockton, promising junior tailback Nate Frazier and the strong core of an offensive line.Smart famously labeled his team "hard to kill" last year, and he again stressed that the Bulldogs' collective toughness is the team's identity, stressing that there's not a singular star on the Bulldogs who is the focus of the team."The strength of our team is the physical toughness," he said. Smart added: "The strength of the team is the team. And that's what's won for us.....That is our strength. And we've won two SECs through that strength."To win a third, there's a desire for more explosive plays on offense. Georgia had just two plays of 50 yards or more last year, per ESPN Stats & Info, which was tied for the third fewest in all of FBS football. (Only Oklahoma State and Washington State were worse.)Georgia's offense had just 19-percent of its offensive plays last year go for 10 yards or more, which was fourth-worst in the SEC. Georgia finished with the No. 50 total offense last year.Fifth-year senior center Drew Bobo said Georgia's "main goal" this year is to "become a more explosive offense." And that's a collective mission, Stockton said."Whatever play it is, it has a chance to be explosive if we do our job," Stockton said. "So it's the best part of this whole offseason is just honing in on the little things and just knowing what our job is."If Georgia were to return to the College Football Playoff again and receive a bye, Smart made clear he's not a fan of the long layoff between the end of the regular season and the start of the CFP."No sport that I know of shuts down for 25 to 30 days between performances, and we have not had our best performances when we needed them most," he said. "I don't want to blame it on that. I would love to see the flow of the season be like, 'OK which team is the strongest continually playing and going week to week', and we've got some opportunities to do that in the future. I hope we can get to that point."The soft spoken Stockton said the goal this season is to finish the job in the CFP: "That'd be what I dreamed of and that'd be pretty neat."
