Georgia's Kirby Smart deals reality check to rival SEC head coach

As Georgia's football team prepares for the 2025 SEC championship, the Bulldogs can rest easy knowing they'll make the College Football Playoff field regardless of result this weekend. While other coaches in the league are desperately searching for ways to sneak into the field, head UGA coach Kirby Smart explained that the schedule and CFP bracket is what it is right now.

Georgia finished 11-1 in the regular season, only losing to the team they face in the SEC title, Alabama, on the Dawgs' own home field. Next to Ole Miss and Texas A&M, likely Alabama as well, the SEC has a handful of guaranteed Playoff bids. But with Texas and Vanderbilt, there's a pair of very strong squads projected to be left on the cutting room floor come Sunday's selection show.

That's why Vanderbilt and head coach Clark Lea genuinely looked into trying to play a 13th game this weekend during the conference championships, another result they could add to a CFP resume that has the Commodores just outside of the hunt, seemingly. When asked about that bizarre attempt and a potential additional game on the CFB schedule going forward, ahead of his team's own 13th game of the year, Kirby Smart answered...

"Probably depends on what seat you sit in," he joked. "Everybody on the outside looking in wants another game, and people would argue you had plenty of games. Everybody on the inside looking out says, 'I’m good. I’ll stay right where I’m at. I’m okay. I played well enough.'"

It's a Catch-22. When spots are limited and a bubble always exists for the field, those barely on the outside are going to pound the gavel for a way to squeeze in. As for an actual extension to the season or the Playoffs? Smart seems to think some sort of play-in exercise could be on the way to help programs in Vandy's position.

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart and Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Clark Lea | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

"I think it’s, you know, one of those things that was tossed around early on last year about the possibility of playing within your conference or cross-conference to have some play-in games, which is nothing more than an extension of the playoffs," Kirby Smart added. "And you would play in from that perspective. But we’ll still debate about who’s in those play-in games and who would have the right to play in those games to advance and move on. But there was speculation about that early on."

At the end of the day, Kirby Smarts sees through the good and bad. Sure, more teams and fan bases have belief every year, but then again, the teams that do make it to the top may regret allowing so many teams in and making it like an NCAA Tournament where you really have to weather a storm to make it to the end.

"I think there are coaches that think that’s a better model because it gives their fan base something to hope for and wish for outside of the 12," Smart explained. "Everybody’s trying to get a piece of the 12. And it’s very elusive, it’s very hard. So, if it gives more people an opportunity, that’s good for some. And there’ll be those that probably would have made it in another year that might lose that wish they didn’t have that opportunity."

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