NCAAF News: Ahead of Georgia’s debut, Kirby Smart issues bold confession on SEC’s latest ruling

Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs have enough on their plates as it is with the 2025 NCAA season opener approaching. However, the Dawgs’ manager took some time to address the latest changes announced by the SEC.

Beginning in the 2026 college football campaign, the SEC will move to a nine-game conference schedule, as opposed to the current eight-game fixture. Moreover, each program will face three permanent rivals and six rotating opponents on the schedule.

The announcement, though expected, came as really big news. It didn’t take long for several vocal personalities in the Southeastern Conference to speak on the matter. And guess what? Smart wasn’t late to the party, as the Bulldogs‘ head coach voiced an honest message.

“No real shock one way or the other,” Smart said, via On3. “I had gone through the thoughts and processes and the outcomes that would come way back in Destin if it happened and if it didn’t happen. It was just a matter of a decision to come forward.”

What football lives for

College football is as popular as it is largely because of the rivalries within the sport. In a landscape with so many programs, it’s impossible to keep track of every game on Saturdays. However, when two bitter opponents step onto the same gridiron, the eyes of the country are fixated on them. Smart surely hopes that essence won’t be lost with the upcoming changes to the SEC schedule.

“As far as the balance of the three games or the preference of the three games, I don’t really have a preference on that,” Smart added. “I do think traditional rivalries are important. I enjoy those. Having been a traditionalist and grew up in the state of Georgia. But I don’t know one way or the other. You’ve got to win the games you play, man.”

Is it Saturday, yet?

Smart and the Dawgs will kick off the 2025 NCAA campaign as heavy favorites. Hosting the Marshall Thundering Herd at Sanford Stadium, Georgia must put any doubts to rest with a strong showing against a much weaker opponent.

After all, it will be the Bulldogs’ first outing under Smart following the departure of quarterback Carson Beck—and we all know what they say about first impressions.

Georgia faces a relatively easy schedule through the first two weeks, with matchups against Marshall and Austin Peay State (an FCS Division I-AA program). However, that calm will vanish in the blink of an eye, as Weeks 3 and 4 pit the Dawgs against the Tennessee Volunteers on the road and the Alabama Crimson Tide at home. Needless to say, Smart and company can’t afford any mishap before those crucial tests.