Kirby Smart isn’t buying the idea that the schedule should be softened just because the road already looks rough.
Asked about Curt Cignetti’s approach at Indiana, Smart pushed back on the logic behind playing a lighter nonconference slate. Cignetti’s Hoosiers open outside league play with North Texas, Howard and Western Kentucky, and he defended that setup by saying, “Why make it harder on yourself?”
For Indiana, the Big Ten grind is already loaded. The Hoosiers have home games against preseason Coaches Poll Top 25 teams Ohio State and Southern Cal, plus road trips to Washington and Michigan.
Smart sees it differently, and Georgia’s schedule reflects that mindset. The Bulldogs will face 10 opponents from Power Four leagues this season, one more than Indiana’s total of nine. Georgia also keeps a home-and-home series with ACC member Georgia Tech, has a neutral-site game with Florida State in 2028, and then a home-and-home with Clemson in 2029 and 2030.
“I’ve been a part of some really good SEC championships and national championships, (and) I’m not just talking about Georgia, I’m talking about everywhere I’ve coached,” Smart said. “I’ve been really fortunate to coach at really good programs: LSU, Florida State, Alabama, Georgia. The common denominator of those programs is you play really good teams year in and year out, whether it’s in conference or out of conference.”
The playoff era has pushed plenty of schools toward safer scheduling, and even Georgia has trimmed back some of its nonconference ambition. The Bulldogs dropped games against Louisville, NC State and UCLA. The Florida State series also changed from a home-and-home to a single neutral-site game, a move Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said was designed to help fans while accounting for the demands of a nine-game SEC schedule.
Smart said fan interest is part of the equation, too.
“The thing is, are you trying to appease the fans? You want to have a really exciting schedule,” Smart said. “They enjoy the excitement of playing those schedules, versus the balance of risk of injury and wear and tear, and the line probably lies somewhere in the middle.
“I do think the consumer matters. The consumer is the people that are coming to the games. They want to see exciting, competitive games.”
Smart has also made clear he wants the College Football Playoff field expanded beyond 12 teams, with the SEC and Big Ten still trying to settle on a possible 16- or 24-team format before a Dec. 1 deadline.
He said a bigger playoff would help preserve the kind of nonconference games he values.
“The sooner we get to a format where either more teams are in the playoff, or more teams are rewarded for a challenging schedule, I think that’ll take care of itself,” he said. “I think you’ll get people playing more competitive schedules and more competitive environments.”
In Other News...
Buford Gives Georgia Fans A Must Watch Start To High School Season
High school football season is barely underway, and Georgia fans already have a local matchup worth circling. ESPNs 17th annual High School Football Kickoff will unfold over seven games from Aug. 20 to 29, spotlighting some of the sports best programs and a long list of highly recruited players. For Bulldogs fans, the draw starts close to home with No. 3 Buford taking on Gainesville, a game that should immediately set the tone for one of the states most watched teams.
The slate is loaded beyond that, with other high-end matchups such as No. 7 Bishop Gorman against Christopher Columbus and multiple teams from the High School On SI Preseason Power 25. It is the kind of early-season showcase that routinely puts future Division I talent on display, and Bufords opener gives Georgia followers an early chance to track familiar names before the college season even gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Just Got An Early Read On Its 2026 National Standing
The preseason Super 16 for 2026 gave the early national picture a familiar SEC feel, even if the top of the list belongs elsewhere. Ohio State landed at No. 1 and Oregon checked in at No. 2, while the conference Georgia calls home placed seven teams in the poll. Texas opened the SEC group at No. 4, with Georgia right behind at No. 5, a reminder that the Bulldogs are already being measured against the national contenders before the season even gets going.
The poll, put together by the National Football Foundation and the Football Writers Association of America, drew its votes from FWAA writers and College Football Hall of Famers, so it carries the kind of early-season weight that tends to shape the first round of chatter. For Georgia, the ranking is less about a preseason trophy than the broader question it hints at: where the Bulldogs fit in a league and a sport where the margin for error is already looking thin. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Is Drawing Serious Buzz For What Could Be Next
Georgia is again being treated like a program with the kind of depth and talent that can carry a team through a brutal fall schedule. CBS Sports put the Bulldogs among 10 college football teams capable of finishing the regular season unbeaten, even while pointing to the multiple top 25 opponents waiting on the schedule. That sort of national attention is familiar in Athens, but it still says plenty about the expectations around a roster that looks built to handle almost anything.
The intrigue does not stop at the top of the depth chart, either. ESPN recently flagged freshmen Zykie Helton and Kaiden Prothro as players who could make an immediate SEC impact, which only adds to the sense that Georgia may have useful pieces arriving faster than usual. Jaden Reddell and freshman Tyriq Green are also among the names worth watching as the Bulldogs sort out roles and contributions for the season ahead, another reminder that the roster conversation in Athens is just as interesting as the schedule itself. [Read more 🡒]