Kirby Smart sounds off on potential different approach in 12-team Playoff era
College Football is undergoing almost constant change. One year it’s the transfer portal, the next it’s NIL. This fall, we’ll see conferences across the country re-aligned and the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams. While change can be hard to grasp, the changes are ones Kirby Smart believes are a positive for the sport.
“I think it opens it up to more teams,” Smart said during a recent appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show. “I think it’s going to make it a big debate at the end with new teams that are playing to play in and teams that might play their way out. I think these conference championship games are going to be really critical because there are going to be teams that are playing that are already in win or lose and d there is going to be a team maybe playing their way in with how they play. It’s going to make things very interesting.”
Interest is exactly what the decision makers are trying to draw up with the changes. Going from four to 12 teams, the hope is that there’s more meaningful football games being played down the stretch of each season. While a matchup of top-3 ranked teams like Georgia-Tennessee in 2022 might not have the same kind of feel with both teams likely bound for a spot in the Playoffs, teams that had been on the outside looking in will soon still very much be in contention.
The changes aren’t isolated to game days though. Smart points out that there are going to be decisions made by coaches across the country with regards to how they practice and whether they want to hold players out of games. In the past, that line of thinking couldn’t be afforded with one loss possibly costing your team a spot. If a team is undefeated late in the season and has a spot all but secured, the sport’s top head coach wonders what the proper way to handle things will be.
Georgia was in that type of situation in both 2021 and 2022 with the SEC Championship Game. The Bulldogs entered undefeated and most believed they would be in the field of four regardless of the result in Atlanta. In 2021, that was the case – falling to Alabama but still making the Playoff. In 2022, it didn’t matter as Georgia defeated LSU to keep the dream of a perfect season alive.
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In both cases, Smart didn’t take his chances. Georgia’s top players were suited up and in action. According to him, the pride of winning an SEC Championship was too much to pass up on the opportunity to do so. Now, that may not be the case if the only thing on the line is a potential bye.
“Do people start holding people out for byes and home games in the playoffs? It will be interesting to see what the 12-team playoff brings about,” Smart said. “Coaches are already talking about it across the country. Are you gonna practice different? It’s going to be a longer season. Are you gonna hold back more? How are you gonna handle those extra games?”
Smart’s comments would make you believe the Bulldogs would play to win the game if the situation presented itself this season. There’s no way of knowing until it happens though, and that’s part of the change for 2024. As Smart says, it’s something that’s being thought about and discussed around the country. Ultimately, only time will tell the proper way of handling the new situation, but if history tells us one thing, Smart and his Bulldogs are likely to adapt to the changes well.
