Kirby Smart reveals the reason he's in favor of an eventual 9-game SEC schedule

The SEC is discussing a variety of new football scheduling models, including a potential nine-game conference slate. There are plenty of arguments both ways on every potential model, and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has evaluated the potential nine-game SEC schedule moving forward.

On one hand, Smart knows that having a nine-game SEC schedule would create more intra conference rivalry matchups, which would be much more appealing to the fans. With Texas and Oklahoma set to join the conference soon, more intriguing matchups could soon be on the docket.

“It’s hard because I really want to add the game, but I want to do it more for the fans,” Smart said. “I really feel like fans and the consumers that come to our games, they want the best games. They want the inner conference, they want to see the SEC play SEC teams. So I want to give them what they want.”

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It didn’t matter who the Bulldogs were playing last season, as Georgia rolled through its regular season. They went undefeated up until the SEC Championship Game, where they lost to Alabama. Georgia then went on to defeat Alabama in a rematch in the national title game.

Smart wants the SEC schedule to be beneficial to the conference in terms of the CFP

Another factor to consider with the potential new SEC scheduling model is the College Football Playoff. As of now, only four teams make it into the CFP each season. While two SEC teams made the CFP last season, a heavier SEC regular season could result in more losses for teams throughout the conference, which could impact the conference’s outlook on the playoff.

If a team from the SEC like Georgia picks up two losses during the season, a team from another conference could take advantage. That’s the potential downside to the nine-game SEC schedule in Smart’s eyes. But there’s far more positives to negatives to the potential change.

“I also want the best opportunity for our conference to get more teams in the playoff,” he said. “Well, is the playoff of the future four (teams)? Or is the playoff of the future eight, six, 12, I don’t know that. But you want the most opportunity. As the playoff number grows, I think there’s more and more people comfortable with more SEC games. But that’s not the only reason to do it.

“The reason to do it is because it’s the best teams playing the best teams and for viewership. I know our fan base at Georgia, they want to see us play Texas A&M. We haven’t gone to Texas A&M to this date and it’s a 12-year cycle. So they’re gonna have the ability to tighten the cycle even more if you play more games.”