Georgia's Kirby Smart shoves MSU player during game: Video

Video appears to show Georgia football coach Kirby Smart pushing Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren during Saturday's game.

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart appeared to shove a opposing player during Saturday's game. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart appeared to shove Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren late in Saturday’s game, according to footage of the incident on the sideline.

The interaction took place when Smart seemed to be running towards defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann to complain about a call and in the process pushed Van Buren out of his way. 

Kirby Smart ? pic.twitter.com/kgJueOVsr4

— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) October 12, 2024

No penalty was called against Smart for the push.

“I think I was going after Schumann,” Smart said after the game.

“I was trying to get Schumann’s attention. We were trying to change personnel. I think it’s the play they came over to our sideline and was trying to get Schumann’s attention. But, no, I don’t really remember it.”

While the shove may have seemed incidental and unintentional, it still isn't the best look for a head coach to ever touch an opposing player during a game.

Georgia, ranked No. 5 in the AP poll entering this week, built a 34-10 lead over Mississippi State when quarterback Carson Beck threw a 42-yard touchdown to Arian Smith to cap off a 75-yard drive.

Beck went 36 of 48 passing for 459 yards and threw 3 touchdowns to go with 2 interceptions. as the UGA offense put up 605 total yards in the game.

But the Georgia defense allowed 21 second-half points and 385 total yards before eventually pulling out a 41-31 victory, moving to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in SEC play.

Van Buren finished 20 of 37 with 306 yards passing and 3 touchdowns for Mississippi State., which falls to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in SEC games in the loss.

Georgia goes on the road against current No. 1 Texas next week.

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