Bulldogs HC Kirby Smart drops a cheeky response for lying to his players as part of his hidden motivational skills: "Check me into a psychiatric ward"

Coach Kirby Smart delivered two consecutive national championships to Georgia ending a 40-year wait for the Bulldogs fans. He is now attempting to break an 87-year curse and win the three-peat.

The question remains how does he motivate his team of winners to challenge them to win another title? Even when he worked under legendary coach Nick Saban at Alabama, Smart never saw the three-peat achieved.

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith who played in last season's title-winning Georgia team admitted to 'The Athletic' that he had fudged the truth a bit based on Smart's team talks.

Smith admitted that he encouraged the narrative that the Bulldogs were being underestimated as a psychological trick to keep his teammates motivated.

“They thought we were gonna go 7-5. We end up perfect. I can talk trash now ’cause I’m done. You gotta create the whole narrative. Sometimes you gotta put the chip on your own shoulder.”

Smart had an ace up his sleeve last season when they were chasing their second consecutive title and he addressed Nolan's comments.

When asked about it by 'The Athletic,' he had a cheeky answer to whether he lied to his players to motivate them.

“If I ever thought we were going 7-5, they need to check me into a psychiatric ward. I never thought that. I never said that. But these players read more stuff on Twitter and social media than I do."

Can Kirby Smart complete a three-peat?

Georgia has 19 consecutive victories in the SEC (Southeastern Conference) and just one loss in their last 34 games. The Bulldogs look indomitable and are the Associated Press preseason poll favorites.

They got the bad news that talented running back Branson Robinson had raptured his patella tendon after Tuesday's practice ruling him out for the season, which might dampen some expectations.

This news will affect Kirby Smart's favored running game. Running back Kendall Milton has been dealing with persistent injuries and Kenny McIntosh has moved to the NFL.

Kirby Smart has tried to deflect attention away from the mission to win three in a row.

“Well, you say that, not me. I don’t think it’s national championship or bust, I don’t think any coach could ever say that. That’s truly what it is. That’s not believable to me, it’s not probably sustainable.

"But what measures success is the same thing it did the last seven years, did we do the best possible job we could with this team? Did we get the most out of this team that we possibly could?"

Kirby Smart already beat his mentor Nick Saban to a national championship and the quest to do one better and achieve the three-peat will motivate him and Georgia more than any psychological tricks.