"I'm Georgia through thick & thin": Jake Pope pens heartfelt apology after Kirby Smart calls him an 'idiot' for his postgame celebrations
The Georgia Bulldogs were unable to be victorious as they lost on the road on Saturday to the Ole Miss Rebels 28-10. While that loss is significant for the Bulldogs, what happened after the game has been more in the discussions.
After the game, the crowd stormed the field to celebrate the upset win of Ole Miss. However, in some videos, you could see Georgia defensive back Jake Pope looking excited as the crowd storms onto the field. On his own Instagram story, Pope wrote a lengthy explanation and apology for what happened.
"I wanted to address the videos that have been put out after the Ole Miss game. First and foremost, I want to say sorry for the way it was taken out of perspective and has caused distractions/commotion for my teammates and coaches. This is not representative of who I am in any way.
"In no way, shape or form would I ever celebrate a loss in this program and anyone who knows me well knows that. My longtime family, friends had come up to me unexpectedly after the game as I was trying to get off the field to safety and were extremely excited to see me after the game. I was also surprised to see them as well and that's why you saw the reaction that I gave via the video."
Pope continued on with this explanation:
"They are also very close with my former teammate and longtime friend on the Ole Miss team which is why they have those jerseys on. (They have come to my games as well). I am Georgia thick and thin and have never loved a group of guys more than the guys I go to battle with day in and day out. Last, and once again, I'm sorry to my teammates, coaches, and fans all around about the way that video looked and I choose to move forward and get ready for a great rest of the season with my brothers. Go dawgs."
This is something that has not been addressed publicly before this statement, so it will be interesting to see how the Georgia Bulldogs respond going forward. However, coach Kirby Smart did refer to Pope as an "idiot" for his actions.
Will the Georgia Bulldogs make the College Football Playoff?
The Georgia Bulldogs are now third in the nation with a 7-2 (5-2 SEC) record but are fourth in the conference standings. They certainly have faced some stiff competition this season but have one more massive SEC game as they host the seventh-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in Week 12 action.
The Bulldogs need to win as Tennessee is ahead of them in the SEC standings and it would be a major victory for the program. Georgia also holds a potential tiebreaker over the Texas Longhorns with a head-to-head victory over them earlier this season.
If they are able to make the SEC title game, they should be able to make the 12-team College Football Playoff.