Greg Sankey brags about Georgia's championship win while defending SEC

The SEC moving from an eight-game conference schedule to a nine-game conference schedule has been one of the hottest topics of SEC spring meetings this week in Destin, Florida. There are plenty of different factors that play a role in the decision, one being is how the addition of another conference game could impact the future expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.

College Football Playoffs are scheduled to expand from four teams to 12 teams in 2024, and like all conferences, it’s safe to assume that the SEC will want as many teams participating in the expanded playoff as possible. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey spoke with ESPN’s Paul Finebaum at spring meetings about the playoff implications of the new scheduling model, citing Georgia‘s dominant national championship win as a point of reference.

“I think we ended that football season with a 65-7 win in the national championship game,” Sankey said. “If the indictment somehow is going to be that we don’t play the highest level of college football, somebody’s not actually watching football games.”

There’s no denying the dominant force and powerhouse the Georgia Bulldogs have been the past two seasons within the eight-team model, becoming the face of a conference that’s regarded by many as the best in college football. But is adding an extra conference game to the powerhouse SEC conference the right move? Sankey believes so.

“And we’re at eight but we have a requirement that you play an additional game against a nonconference opponent for one of our colleague conferences. Our major independent numbers are changing right now. The eight format, arguably, has worked really well. The nine format can work really well,” Sankey explained.

The nine-game schedule model is a direct reaction to the addition of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC in 2024, and it also allows for an additional conference rivalry game to be played on an annual basis versus every two seasons.

But one extra conference game for SEC teams does also mean one additional loss for half of the conference’s team. And when the expanded 12-team playoff era begins, every loss will matter more and the stakes will be even higher as teams will be vying for a coveted playoff spot.

Whether the eight-team model remains or the nine-team model is introduced, Sankey is still confident in the playoff hopes of the SEC’s teams moving forward. And given the recent track record of teams like Georgia, how could he not be?

“So, I think pundits, coaches, analytics people can make a bunch of different arguments, but I actually think either one of those models will keep us very secure and in the College Football Playoff consideration,” Sankey said.