MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — To be clear, let’s say this loud for those in the back: Georgia does not owe Florida State an apology.

The Bulldogs beat the Seminoles 63-3 in the Orange Bowl on Saturday.

It was the largest margin of victory in a bowl game, but it could have been much, much worse had Georgia not used four different quarterbacks, including two walk-ons that had never taken a snap.

Kirby Smart has risen to the top of the coaching ranks because of his win-every-moment mentality.

“As long as winning matters we’re going to compete like hell at Georgia,” Smart said UGA won its seventh-straight bowl game. “It doesn’t matter who it is.”

That mentality is why the Bulldogs seniors have won two national championships and 50 games in four seasons.

Carson Beck would have likely have set a single-season school record for passing had Smart not pulled him out of the game at halftime with the Bulldogs up 42-3.

Kendall Milton won Orange Bowl MVP honors with 104 yards rushing -- and he didn’t even have a carry in the second half.

Beck and Milton spent years as backups and worked hard for the opportunity to play in this Orange Bowl game, and they revealed how the bowl practices were as challenging as fall camp.

Serious preparation is business as usual as Georgia.

“There’s a culture at our place of work ethic and the job is not done,” Smart explained. “I think a lot of coaches relax at the end of the year and say this game doesn’t matter or this game is not important.

“There’s nothing that’s not going to be important at our place.”

The players know it, and they practice it amongst themselves.

Smart revealed how senior center Sedrick Van Pran even called offensive line meetings during players’ free time to watch film.

Meanwhile, in Tallahassee, Florida State players were opting out, some nine draftable NFL talents chose not to represent their school or play alongside teammates one final time.

If so many talented Seminoles didn’t think the Orange Bowl worth their while, why would Georgia’s projected NFL draft picks make that sacrifice?

”Behind the scenes there’s nothing but connection,” said Kamari Lassiter, UGA’s projected first-round pick.

“Just being able to get up every day and be with a bunch of guys that you laugh with, guys that you cry with, guys that you sweat with …. "

Smart, a former All-SEC player at Georgia himself, understands the value of playing in a bowl game.

“We had a lot of guys get an opportunity to play tonight, (and) that’s the thing that nobody talks about these bowl games,” Smart said. “I got to play in three or four bowl games and that was the highlight of my college career.

“We didn’t make it to a National Championship. We didn’t make it to an SEC Championship. The highlight of my career was getting to play in opportunities like that in bowl games and got a lot of kids an opportunity to play today.”

More than 70 Georgia players saw action, 11 different ones making catches in the game and another 11 having the opportunity to run the ball.

Georgia dipped into its third string on defense, too, and still Florida State could not find the end zone.

Smart understands not every program can match Georgia’s commitment and work ethic, and the majority of teams have healthy players opting out.

“People need to see what happened tonight and they need to fix this,” Smart said. “It’s very unfortunate that they, who have a good football team and a good football program, are in the position they’re in.”

Smart noted that even with the CFP expanding to 12 teams next season, there will still be bowl games without championship implications.

“People got to decide what they want and what they really want to get out of it,” Smart said, “because it’s really unfortunate for those kids on that sideline that had to play in that game that didn’t have their full arsenal, and it affected the game 100 percent.”

If college football can’t change the dynamics of postseason non-playoff games — perhaps wording in NIL deals, or player stipends from bowl games — it will be up to the coaches and players to find their source of motivation to compete.

As long as Smart is head coach at Georgia, that won’t be a problem for the Bulldogs.