Is missing out on the SEC championship better for Georgia football?

On By Littum

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Georgia football has been a fixture in the SEC championship game on the first Saturday in December during Kirby Smart’s tenure as coach.

In six of his eight previous seasons, the Bulldogs’ ticket to the game was an SEC East trail.

Now it’s a 16-team slugfest in a conference with Texas and Oklahoma added to the mix. With two weeks left in the regular season, six teams are still alive for a spot.

Georgia finishes its SEC slate after upsetting Tennessee 31-17 on Saturday night, putting the Bulldogs in a great spot for the playoffs, but not as good as reaching Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game.

And it may actually be best for Georgia in the long run for several reasons.

Let’s start with the fact that this is a beat-up Bulldog bunch.

“We’ve accumulated a tremendous amount of injuries from the schedule we’ve had,” Smart said after the Tennessee win. “And it doesn’t really get any easier. It’s a physical game. But when you play at the height of what we played, it has taken its toll.”

Georgia was without running back Trevor Etienne, offensive linemen Earnest Greene and Micah Morris and defensive back Joenel Aguero on Saturday and lost wide receiver Dillon Bell during the game. Running backs Branson Robinson and Roderick Robinson also remained on the sidelines.

If Georgia plays in and loses the SEC championship game and makes the playoffs, it will mean it will have gone through a 17-game season to win a national championship, including a first-round playoff game, quarterfinals, semifinals and national title match.

Reaching the SEC Championship Game would mean Georgia plays for the automatic bid and a first-round bye, but what if the Bulldogs have the type of play they had in their loss at Ole Miss, and that’s the last impression of a 10- 3 Bulldogs’ team before Selection Sunday?

Does it cost Georgia a home game in the first round or even knock them out of the playoffs?

Smart didn’t want to entertain such scenarios Monday when asked if it’s best for Georgia not to play in the SEC championship game.

“The focus is on UMass,” he said. “I mean, it really is. So why would I spend energy or time figuring out what the best path is, including the SEC championship, when I’m concerned about UMass? I just don’t think it’s a quality conversation .”

Not switching from one game week to the next, Smart speculated in May 2023 at the SEC spring meetings in Destin about how the SEC championship game fits into the 12-team playoff.

“Will someone gain an advantage by not going to the SEC championship game but making the extended playoffs?” he asked. “It used to be that you were penalized for whichever bowl game you were sent to when you lost the SEC championship. They’re putting a thing in place to say if you lose the SEC championship, you can’t fall any further than this.”

Smart also brought turnaround time from the SEC championship game to the first round of the playoffs.

That would be 13 days if the game is on December 20th or 14 days if it is on December 21st.

“The two teams that go, I look at it from a competitive disadvantage that you might have to play a week or two later after just playing the game that will be the most physical game all year,” he said .

Georgia, at 6-2, is one of four SEC teams with two conference losses, along with Tennessee at 5-2 and Alabama and Ole Miss at 4-2. Texas and Texas A&M are 5-1 but still play each other Nov. 30.

There’s even a chance for a six-way SEC tie. The SEC’s fourth tiebreaker — The combined record of teams’ conference opponents among tied teams — will likely be the deciding factor.

Georgia has a 37 percent chance to reach the SEC championship, according to ESPN analytics. That’s behind Texas at 75 percent and Alabama at 69 percent with Texas A&M at 17 percent.

Texas, Alabama and Texas A&M are Georgia’s most likely opponents in order.

Georgia has the best chance to make the SEC Championship if Alabama loses one of its games to Oklahoma or Auburn, according to mred’s SEC standings tiebreaker scenarios.

Another positive to missing the SEC championship game is that National Signing Day is Dec. 4 — smack in the middle of that game week for the Dec. 7 game. And the transfer portal opens on December 9.

Managing a roster for the 2025 season while juggling postseason preparation is part of the job description for coaches now.

One current player, cornerback Daylen Everette, was asked about the possibility of playing 17 games. That includes the SEC Championship Game and four rounds of the playoffs.

“This deep into the season, everybody’s going to have aches and pains,” he said. “I can’t really complain about that. For the most part, I’m fine. Playing a 17-game season is going to be a lot on the body, but you’re going to play more football, so I think that’s the fun of it.”