SEC coach says 12-team College Football Playoff will have impact on nonconference schedules
Georgia coach Kirby Smart pointed out an interesting reward of the proposed 12-team College Football Playoff format.
With teams now able to afford an early-season loss (or two), Smart implied that fans could end up seeing more high-profile nonconference games.
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“I think a lot of this is going to boil down to strength of schedule,” Smart said on ESPN’s Marty & McGee, via 247Sports. “For a long time now we have been trying to build up our future strength of schedule, because it’s not the losses that are going to kill you; it’s not playing the best teams.
“We’ve tried to go out and schedule major Power 5s across our scheduling system all the way out with the hopes that this would give us the opportunity to go play some really good teams. And losses won’t kill you when you start talking about top 12. You’ve got to have a powerful schedule and go play good teams.”
Georgia already has high-profile nonconference games lined up in future years, with teams like Clemson, Oklahoma, Oregon, Florida state and Texas already on the Bulldogs’ schedule.
But perhaps this could mean more programs will branch out with their nonconference scheduling. With a 12-team playoff, there’s likely to be multiple two-loss teams who make the field each season.
“Most changes have been relatively small,” Smart said. “With the potential of what’s been proposed … [it’s] probably the greatest change there has been in terms of major college football.”