Kirby Smart isn’t pretending the coming College Football Playoff change is all good or all bad.
With Georgia preparing to host No. 22 Mizzou on Saturday and chase its first national title since 2022, the Bulldogs coach weighed in on the 2026 season - the last one before the playoff grows from 12 teams to 24. On “The Paul Finebaum Show,” Smart was asked about University of Georgia president Jere Morehead’s opposition to the expanded format, and he took a measured stance.
Smart said he can see the appeal of a bigger field, especially because it could create the kind of chaos college football fans love.
“There’ll be an upset. There’ll be a Cinderella team.
I say it all the time. You’ll get the basketball stories of a team that has a really good quarterback and a really good year, and they go upset somebody and play really well,” Kirby Smart said.
“We certainly have playoffs in most other NCAA sports. We have, in high school sports, high school football is decided that way.
So I’m excited about that part.”
But the coach made it just as clear that one part of the change doesn’t sit well with him: the end of the SEC Championship Game. Conference title games are going away in the new setup, and Smart didn’t hide where he stands.
“I’m not excited about not having an SEC Championship Game. Something that I don’t control, I’ve accepted it, but I think it’s one of the greatest sporting events in the country,” Smart said.
“I mean, next to the national championship game, it’s the biggest game of the year. Just look at the numbers, and sometimes it’s bigger than the national championship game, and that’s contributed to our conference and the areas we live in.”
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Georgia Has One Lingering Injury Concern Before The Next Game
Georgias injury report ahead of the next game leaves at least one spot worth watching, with Drew Bobo listed as doubtful and Josh Horton still questionable. For a team trying to keep its footing in the stretch run, those designations matter because they can affect both depth and game-day flexibility, especially when the Bulldogs are already preparing for another SEC test.
The broader league picture added a little more uncertainty this week, too, after Ole Miss and Oklahoma had their game delayed because weather created travel problems and forced the SEC to announce a schedule change. Georgia is not directly involved in that matchup, but any shift in the conference calendar is a reminder of how quickly the rhythm of a season can change, and why the Bulldogs will be keeping close tabs on their own availability as kickoff approaches. [Read more 🡒]