Kirby Smart came out last week as a strong proponent of expanded playoffs, explaining the value it would hold to collegiate athletic departments.
Smart, now the dean of SEC coaches entering his 11th year as Georgia’s head coach, also pointed out how a 24-team playoff would provide more entertainment for fans when it comes to scheduling.
“The 12-team playoff could affect rivalries out of conference, (like) a Florida-Miami, why play it?” Smart told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week.
“A Georgia-Miami or a Georgia-Florida State, with a 12-team playoff, we’ve seen it’s risky to play in those games and not get rewarded.”
Indeed, some of Smart’s most notable regular-season wins have come in nonconference showdowns against the likes of Notre Dame, Clemson and Oregon.
But as Smart pointed out, the ferocity of the SEC schedule has led to schools canceling high-profile nonconference games, with UGA dropping its home-and-home series with Louisville (2026-2027) and North Carolina State (2033-2034).
Other SEC schools have followed suit:
• Tennessee and Nebraska (2026-2027) canceled
• Texas and Arizona State (2032-2033) canceled
• Florida-North Carolina State (2026-2032) canceled
• Alabama and West Virginia (2026-2027) canceled
• Florida and Arizona State (2028-2031) canceled
• Florida-Cal (2026-2027) canceled
“With a 24-team playoff, you may see more of those games,” Smart said, “and it may create more rivalries.”
Georgia and Miami haven’t played since 1966, but that was the game everyone wanted to see after Smart and Hurricanes coach Miami Cristobal exchanged playful barbs at the FWAA Steve Spurrier Awards Show last Monday night.
“I know I want to see Georgia and Miami play,” Spurrier said with the audience still roaring in laughter after what became an impromptu roast. “Question is, who would Carson Beck be rooting for?”
Touche’, but as Smart noted, the SEC remains better positioned than other conferences even with the recent trend of higher-profile nonconference games getting canceled.
“We (SEC) have a premier matchup every weekend, maybe two, maybe three,” Smart said. “Television showed us our three matchups are better than any of the other conferences’ top five matchups, and we’re going to have that regardless of whether it’s 12-team playoff or 24-team playoff.”
Alabama (7.01 million viewers) had the highest average audience of viewers last season, per a Medium.com article, followed by Georgia (6.17 million) and Texas (5.78 million).
Big Ten runner-up Ohio State was fourth on the list (5.68 million), with Oklahoma (4.91 million and LSU (4.28 million) fifth and sixth.
“I don’t think (rivalries) will get diminished,” Smart said of how anticipated CFP field expansion could affect rivalry games. “At least not in the SEC.”
The inability of the SEC and Big Ten to agree on an expanded CFP field format after last season has led to college football sticking with a 12-team playoff, for now.
The Big Ten circulated a proposal on what a 24-team playoff would look like that has created a buzz and gained offseason momentum with coaches like Smart.
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