Kirby Smart made headlines the week when he called Georgia defensive back Jake Pope an idiot after a video went viral of the player celebrating with fans as the Ole Miss students stormed the field after the 28-10 win by the Rebels.

The media and fans across college football have called Smart out for saying that about one of his players. One of those analysts is Rob Stone, who voiced his opinion on The Triple Option with Urban Meyer and Mark Ingram.

“I thought Coach (Meyer), particularly in your industry, you praise in public and you criticize in private,” Stone said. “Keep that internally, you don’t need to throw your player under the bus. Calling your player an idiot is b.s. That is bush-league. That is JV and coach Smart is way above it.”

Smart did come out on Wednesday and said he regretted using those words.

“I don’t like to comment on the internal stuff going on inside. He did talk to the team, did a great job. I will say I should not have called the kid an idiot,” Smart admitted at his press conference. “That’s a mistake by me. I appreciate Jake. He is 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. We appreciate the way he handled it.”

Georgia faces Tennessee on Saturday in a huge game. If the Bulldogs lose, their path to the College Football Playoff is petty much gone.