Siding with Kirby Smart on Jake Pope issue, 3x National Champ Urban Meyer accepts having trouble eating after tough loss

The Georgia Bulldogs suffered a brutal 28-10 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels putting their hopes of the 2024 College Football Playoff on a lifeline, leaving no room for error the rest of the way. However, that hasn't been the biggest story out of Georgia this week.

Following the game, head coach Kirby Smart made a controversial comment at his press conference referring to Jake Pope, a Bulldogs defensive back, as an "idiot". It was a comment Smart made after it appeared Pope was celebrating with fans of the opposing team. The coach later backtracked.

"I'll say I should not have called the kid an idiot and that was a mistake by me, but I appreciate Jake," Smart said to reporters. "He's a great kid. He works really hard. He's a team player. I think he knows it was an emotional mistake, and he told the team that. So, I appreciate the way he handled it."

"It would take me months to get over a loss"

Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer offered his opinion on the matter, talking about the tough places losing can take you, physically and mentally.

"Everybody's got virtues and vices," Meyer said. "My vice was handling a loss...there was no hugs. I mean it was hard to hold on to solid food for three months after a loss."

Running a college football team is an incredibly grueling process for everyone involved: waking up early, working absurd hours year-round, and making sacrifices. When it doesn't lead to the results you want at a place that is so used to success like Georgia, it can cause brash words to be thrown around out of frustration.

Meyer understands that on a deep level and isn't entirely upset at Smart.

"The investment on teams like Georgia, Ole Miss, Ohio State - the investment is beyond reproach," Meyer emphasized. "The normal human being really doesn't understand the amont of time, blood, sweat, and tears that goes into that. You play in the freaking SEC, you get kicked in the face."

Georgia's playoff hopes will be on the line when it hosts No. 7 Tennessee Saturday.