Kirby Smart: All that matters is making College Football Playoff

On3 imageby:Justin Rudolph10/15/21

Head coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs now sit atop the college football rankings. After watching SEC rival Alabama fall last speaking to Texas A&M, The Bulldogs find themselves ranked No.1 in the country.

On the Paul Finebaum show on Friday afternoon in Athens, Smart opened up and talked about his views on being ranked No.1.

“I mean, it doesn’t [matter being ranked No. 1],” he said. “I think you worry more about the way it affects your players and your team and social media and those things, but it matters that you get in those playoffs, you know, and that’s the key is being in the top four, it doesn’t matter what you’re ranked now or later. It matters at the end.”

Smart and Georgia’s heartbreak double-dip

The Bulldogs may be ranked No. 1 right now, but as their head coach said it matters where you’re at in the end. And at the end of the season, Georgia would rather be firmly seated in this year’s playoff. In the seven prior years of the CFP existence, Georgia has only made it one time. That was in the 2017 season as they finished as runner-ups to Alabama.

After beating Alabama in the SEC Championship Game the Bulldogs faced them in a rematch for the college football crown. In a closely fought game, they ended up falling to the Crimson Tide, 26-23, thanks to the heroics of then-freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Since then the Bulldogs came close in the following two seasons. The closest was in 2019 when they entered the SEC Championship Game with only one loss. With a college football berth on the line, Georgia ranked No. 4 and fell to No. 2 LSU, 37-10.

For Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs, they would like nothing more than to represent the SEC in the College Football Playoff this season.

But the Bulldogs still have a few tests left In that cannibalistic conference. And if they survive the regular season unscathed, they will still have to face the SEC West champion in the conference championship. Right now Georgia has started off the year on a dominant path. Now they will just have to finish the season just as strong in order to make their dreams a reality.