Motivation is a real thing in college football, though it seems some around the Georgia program are taking it to extremes.

In the lead-up to and in the aftermath of the Bulldogs’ 65-7 victory over TCU in Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game, coach Kirby Smart often talked of his team being “underestimated” during and before this season. Whatever message Smart was trying to get to his players, it appears that star linebacker Nolan Smith received it.

Interviewed by Atlanta television reporter Maria Martin in the moments after Monday’s game, Smith — who has been sidelined since late October by a season-ending chest injury — made some eye-opening comments. He told Martin that the Bulldogs’ felt doubted from the outside.

“They thought we were gonna go 7-5, we end up perfect,” Smith said, while holding up a newspaper with the headline ‘Perfect’ on it. “I can talk trash now cause I’m done. I’m a Dawg for life and I will always be a Dawg.”

Smith’s comments quickly went viral, with observers wondering who exactly said Georgia was “gonna go 7-5″ in 2022 (the short answer: no one, at least no one with credibility). Coming off their first national championship in 41 years, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 3 in both major preseason polls.

It’s true that Georgia was not the preseason national championship favorite. Alabama and Ohio State were ahead of the Bulldogs in early Vegas odds, but there’s a big difference between “not the favorite” and “7-5.”

Give Smart and the Bulldogs credit, however. Whatever they did to motivate themselves worked incredibly well, not only Monday but throughout a perfect season.