Kirby Smart values Georgia presence in Chick-Fil-A Kickoff games past '22

Kirby Smart saw what a Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game could mean for a program since its inception. He coordinated Alabama‘s defense in the first-ever version of the game.

After the Tide beat Clemson in the Georgia Dome, Alabama shot up 11 spots in the polls.

It would eventually knock off Georgia between the Hedges in a blackout game, reach #1 in the polls, and make it to a BCS Bowl.

Saban’s first-season loss to Louisiana-Monroe remained in the rearview. But it shrank as Alabama opened up the 2009 season with another Chick-Fil-A victory over Virginia Tech.

By the end of their third season together at Alabama, Nick Saban and Kirby Smart captured their first of four Crimson Tide National Championships.

So you’ll understand if the kickoff event taught Kirby Smart something about scheduling. At the very least, it made him nostalgic.

And it makes Josh Brooks’s athletic program a whole lot of money.

The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game averages 67,064 fans each year. It also averages a payout of $5.96 million.

Whether you prefer Polynesian, Barbecue, Buffalo or Chick-Fil-A, that’s a lot of sauce.

Peach Bowl President and CEO Gary Stokan explained Kirby Smart’s motivations for playing in the Kickoff event

“When Kirby Smart was an assistant at Alabama, he had seen all of the great things that this game meant to the Alabama program,” Stokan told me.

“So when he took the head coaching job at Georgia, he said, ‘Hey Gary, I’ll play in as many games as you’ll have us.’ So we scheduled them in 2020, 2022 – this game against Oregon. 2020 we lost to Covid when they were supposed to play Virginia. And then 2024, when I talked to the coaches and the AD’s at Georgia and Clemson, they were talking about doing a home-and-home, but they wanted to come us and play as well. “

Incidentally, Smart’s career at Georgia also began with a Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game against North Carolina at the Georgia Dome. Georgia scheduled that game while Mark Richt was the Bulldogs’ head coach.

You’ll remember that Richt also coached in a Chick-Fil-A kickoff game. Or maybe you elected to forget that 2011 loss to Boise State, because of the Dawgs’ infamous Pro Combat uniforms.

As for Smart, the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff has been nothing but savory and fulfilling – like a number-one combo with extra-large fries and a sweet tea.

“Kirby, he saw what it did for Alabama and wanted to play in as many games as he could here,” Stokan said.

“So we’ve got (Georgia) in 2022 against top-10 Oregon. In ’24, I gotta believe Clemson and Georgia will both be top-25 teams.”

Georgia opens its football seasons in 2022 and 2024 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game. What’s next?

Stokan did acknowledge the challenges that come with an ever-changing college football landscape.

Conferences may continue to expand.

More programs elect to go home-and-home in their banner games these days, as opposed to a neutral site option like the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff.

Georgia vs. Notre Dame and Alabama vs. Texas come to mind.

“I think a lot of AD’s are looking at the potential expansion to 12 or possibly 16 (teams in the CFP),” Stokan said.

“Now, with four, no team with two losses has ever gotten into the CFP. If there’s 12 or 16, I think the AD’s lokoed at it and said, ‘if we lost a tough non-conference game, and then we lose one conference game, we believe we can still get into the top 12 with two losses and play in the CFP.”

The other reason for an increase in on-campus home-and-homes comes down to dollars and cents, of course.

“Due to their season ticket base, they need to make sure that they get all that revenue from the season ticket holders. That includes concessions, it includes merchandise sales, it includes potential donor money. Having those alumni back on campus is important to them,” Stokan said.

“It is going to be a challenge moving forward, because the inventory is shrinking on how many teams are available to play in kickoff games in the future. We’ll just have to wait and see what the CFP expansion looks like. What do conferences do with respect to how many conference games they’re going to play?”

This light show means one thing: Georgia by a BILLION pic.twitter.com/A9IDBQwgA3

— Jack McGuire (@JackMacCFB) September 22, 2019

Despite the inherent challenges, there are wrinkles in future schedules that could open the door for Mor Chikin

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself there.

Georgia (and other teams) may feel the need to get a little greedy itself in the years ahead, due to SEC expansion.

Enter the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff, perhaps?

“There have been some games potentially free up. Georgia goes to Oklahoma in ’23. Oklahoma doesn’t come back to Georgia until ’31. By that time (Oklahoma’s) in the SEC, so I’m not sure Georgia’s going to want to play Oklahoma at Oklahoma and never get a return game,” Stokan said.

“That possibly frees up some inventory there. It’s tough to schedule these games. It’s going to get tougher after ’25 after the CFP expands, if it does.”

Regardless of what happens to College Football, Stokan’s team will be ready to host premier matchups in the sport’s unofficial capital.

Georgia and Kirby Smart will be happen to listen, if the price is right.

It’s their pleasure.

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