Kirby Smart on Dan Mullen: 'He didn't like to recruit.'

Disapproval is one of the most galvanizing forces in sports. How many athletes have been driven by a desire to prove the doubters wrong? How many teams achieved their goals because nobody believed in them?

Even Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith said "they" thought the Bulldogs' perfect 2022 team would go 7-5, a claim he later admitted he made up. “You gotta create your own narrative, man,” Smith said. “Sometimes you’ve got to put the chip on your own shoulder."

Georgia is still the No. 1 team in the country, entering Saturday on a 24-game winning streak. But the haters are still out there, and this one took the form of former Florida head coach Dan Mullen. 

Now an ESPN analyst, Mullen tweeted Friday that his former team would shock the world by upsetting Georgia in the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

After Georgia waltzed to an easy 43-20 victory (it was 36-7 through three quarters), Smart got the last laugh, along with one of the most devastating digs one college coach can say about a fellow college coach. 

"I don't see it or hear it, but I know it's out there. Somebody text me before the game, all these people predicting we're not going to win today. I'm just like, 'Gah lee, where's that coming from? He's supposed to be my friend.' He didn't like to recruit, though."

Mullen lasted four seasons at Florida, going 34-15. Smart is now 89-15 at Georgia. 

The ironic thing about Mullen's predictions proving incorrect is that the last Florida coach to beat Georgia was... Dan Mullen.

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.