Kirby Smart calls losing Oklahoma game 'unfortunate,' but reveals special silver lining

For a few years, Georgia and Oklahoma were expected to play in Week 2 of the 2023 season. The two schools announced a home-and-home series in 2019, setting up what would have been a fun atmosphere in Norman. A rematch of the famous College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl would bring plenty of storylines.

Unfortunately, due to the Sooners making the SEC move, we are not going to see the two programs play on Saturday. Commissioner Greg Sankey recently took responsibility, saying it’s an outcome of conference expansion. Instead, Georgia will host Ball State while Oklahoma plays SMU.

Kirby Smart was asked if there was any “disappointment” to not playing Oklahoma and decided to use a different term. Like Sankey, the Georgia head coach understands it’s part of the process of getting Texas and Oklahoma into the SEC.

Plus, Georgia gets to add an extra buy-game to the schedule. Yes, an easy win for the Bulldogs but Smart pointed out how the extra money can keep those types of programs alive.

“Level of disappointment, I don’t describe it as that,” Kirby Smart said during Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference. “Unfortunate. Like I said, cost of progress. There’s benefits and offsets.

“And the benefactor of that situation is probably UT Martin and how much their coach appreciated the ability to come to play at our place. Every one of those kids in that program or that conference — they can’t survive without games like that. He was very appreciative of that. That’s probably one of the benefits of it in terms of the grand scheme of football.”

Smart used UT Martin as the example, the Week 1 opponent. Georgia paid the Skyhawks a reported $500,000 for Saturday’s 48-7 win in Athens. But the biggest winner of Oklahoma no longer appearing on UGA’s schedule is Ball State. They are the ones replacing the Sooners.

Being a bit of a last-minute arrangement, Georgia is really having to open the checkbook. Despite likely heading back home with a loss, Ball State will earn the athletic department $1.6 million. It’s the second SEC opponent they will play this year after losing to Kentucky in Week 1.

At some point, we will see Georgia and Oklahoma back on the field. Not during the 2024 season, where the SEC has already announced opponents. Maybe the 2025 season will give us the Rose Bowl rematch everyone has wanted.

Smart is willing to wait a little longer while helping UT Martin and Ball State continue to run their programs at a high level.