Kirby Smart says 'time will tell' on playoff expansion

The College Football Playoff is going to be expanded to 12 teams beginning in 2024. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, who has a 3-1 record and a national championship to his credit during the CFP era, discussed how the larger field will change the landscape of college football moving forward.

“I think only time will tell. I read and see a lot of opinions out there. Length of games, number of games. I don’t think we’ll truly know. Like when we went to the four-game model, there were a lot of questions involved there, too,” Smart said. “It’s not something I’ve got a huge opinion on right now, especially right now because of what we’re focused on. In the off-season I’ll think about it a lot more.”

In the Bulldogs’ case, there isn’t a reason for them to want the CFP to expand. Georgia is already in the 2022 College Football Playoff regardless if they win the SEC Championship or not.

Sure, the smaller format benefits Georgia more – they get to play less and two wins would mean they’re the champions of college football. On the other hand, one bad game wouldn’t ruin the Bulldogs chances at a playoff berth like it would with the current format.

There’s pros and cons of course, but Georgia is expected to be one of the top four teams on a yearly basis these days.

Still, a so-called down season for the Bulldogs can now end in the College Football Playoffs. We’ll likely see three-loss teams make the field of 12, which gives the Bulldogs – who are expected to win at least 10 games every regular season – even more leeway to make the field every season.

For the time being, the CFP will remain at four and Georgia will look to be the first team since its inception to win back-to-back national championships. First, however, the No. 1 Bulldogs will have to get past No. 14 LSU in the SEC Championship game. Kickoff between the SEC powerhouses is set for 4 p.m. ET from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta live on CBS.