Kirby Smart channels Elaine Benes of 'Seinfeld' as to Georgia's Carson Beck | Toppmeyer

In the sixth season of “Seinfeld,” Elaine Benes tells a woman interviewing her for a job that she possesses “a little grace.”

The boss balks and tells Elaine grace isn’t on a spectrum. It’s black and white. You either have grace, or you don’t.

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart shares Elaine’s mentality. Intangible qualities like Elaine’s grace or whether a quarterback is clutch aren’t a yes-or-no proposition. It’s not as if there’s a literal “clutch gene,” that some quarterbacks are born with and others aren’t. There are degrees of being clutch, and that can change over time.

By the end of Stetson Bennett IV’s career, he’d proved himself as clutch. If not for Bennett’s poise under pressure, Georgia would not have prevailed against Ohio State in last season's College Football Playoff semifinal.

Bennett’s heir, Carson Beck, registered somewhere on the high end of the clutch scale on Saturday. In his first career road start, he led No. 1 Georgia on two fourth-quarter scoring drives to allow the Bulldogs to escape Auburn with a 27-20 victory.

In that quarter, Beck completed 8 of 10 passes for 148 yards. That included three big third-down completions.

Being clutch is “not a trait you can identify relatively easily,” Smart said. “It’s one you grow and have experience with. Carson has had a lot of reps and growth under pressure. I think he handles that well. There’s a lot of things he can do better.

“In terms of a clutch gene, there are probably ratings or stages of clutch.”

I’ll award Beck a 9 out of 10 on the clutch-o-meter against Auburn, but Smart had more on his mind Wednesday than those third-down completions.

Sometimes, whether a quarterback needs to be clutch at the close is based on how he and the team played up to that point.

“There were some plays left out there,” Smart said.

Indeed, Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) scored only 10 points on its first six possessions, two of which ended because of turnovers.

Elaine, by the way, didn’t get that job. Having “a little” grace didn’t cut it. If Georgia is to continue walking the tightrope toward the playoff, it may need Beck’s clutch rating to remain at the high end of the scale.

No. 20 Kentucky (5-0, 2-0) will be in Athens on Saturday, and the Wildcats have the ability to shorten games. I’ll have an eye on the clutch-o-meter.

Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher trade ... compliments

Oh, for the days when Nick Saban described Jimbo Fisher as a cheater, and Fisher labeled Saban a narcissistic false god. Wasn’t that some fun?

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If not for those verbal salvos in 2021, the Alabama-Texas A&M rivalry would not have the spice.

This week, though, ahead of the teams’ meeting Saturday in College Station, each coach opted for compliments about the other’s team.

Saban began his Wednesday teleconference by running down all of things he liked about Texas A&M’s team. The Aggies play physical, and they're run-pass balanced. He likes their skill-position players and their offensive line. He thinks they have a pressure-applying defensive front, and they’re good in the defense's back end. Special teams? “They’re solid as a rock” there, Saban said.

Other than that, Mr. Saban, what do you think of the Aggies (4-1, 2-0)?

“There’s not a lot of weaknesses in this team,” he said.

TOPPMEYER: It's Jimbo Fisher's big moment at Texas A&M football. Only Nick Saban can stop him

HEAR THIS: Why Lane Kiffin apologized to his boss before Ole Miss beat Brian Kelly and LSU

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Fisher did Saban one better. He described Alabama (4-1, 2-0) as flawless.

“Alabama has no weaknesses,” Fisher said.

The Aggies’ coach must have forgotten to set his DVR for Alabama’s games against Texas and South Florida.

Texas is home for SEC football

Greg Sankey will tour Texas on Saturday.

The SEC commissioner often attends at least one of the conference’s marquee games. Of note: He’ll be on hand for No. 12 Oklahoma (5-0) vs. No. 4 Texas (5-0) in Dallas. The future is now, apparently. Those teams will debut in the SEC in 2024, but the way the Longhorns are playing, they might offer the best hope for hearing (premature) chants of “S-E-C! S-E-C!” come January.

Later Saturday, Sankey will journey to College Station to catch some of Alabama vs. A&M.

I question the logic of certain conference realignment moves, but I don’t question the SEC’s desire to add A&M and now Texas (and Oklahoma). As much as I liked watching the old Big 12, snapping Texas and OU into place alongside Texas A&M and Arkansas will be a nice fit for the SEC.

Emails of the week

Mike writes: What's up with the constant underhanded jabs at the University of Mississippi football program? (Note: Next sentence redacted due to Mike’s vulgarity.)

My response: Someone is feeling awfully sensitive this morning.

Sam writes: You hate Alabama and Nick Saban. You are constantly criticizing them and putting them down. … Bias characterizes you.

My response: Interestingly, just yesterday, an Ole Miss fan accused me of hating the Rebels.

CC writes: Wanted to drop you a note letting you know how much I enjoy your coverage of the SEC. It’s mainly your writing style, which is so fun to read. You write with insight of the subject, humor, and also you’re fearless.

My response: You blew it, CC. You were supposed to ask why I hate (insert team here).

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Three and out

1. Coaches applaud the shrinking of the winter window for transfer portal entries. Players now will have 30 days during the winter, instead of 45, to determine whether they want to transfer. I’m wondering when the NCAA will approve a 30-day window for coaches to decide whether to change jobs.

2. LSU has punted 10 times this season. In five games. That’s remarkable. What else is remarkable? LSU lost twice despite punting just 10 times in five games. Missouri, which has punted 18 times, will host LSU on Saturday. Mizzou is undefeated. Maybe there’s something to be said for punting.

3. Smart said Tuesday that “every SEC team should be ranked.” I agree. Vanderbilt should be ranked No. 97.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

The "Topp Rope" is his twice-weekly SEC football column published throughout the USA TODAY Network. If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered, or access exclusive columns via the SEC Unfiltered newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Georgia football: Kirby Smart looks at Carson Beck's 'clutch gene'