Bulldogs HC Kirby Smart makes major admission about possibly losing the Auburn rivalry this NCAAF season

When it comes to college football’s greatest rivalries, few matchups are as historic as Georgia Bulldogs vs. Auburn Tigers. However, the idea of an expanded schedule this season could potentially put this classic showdown at risk — something that doesn’t sit well at all with Kirby Smart.

As speculation about a potential nine-game SEC schedule persists, there’s every indication that this enduring rivalry will continue indefinitely. Georgia‘s head coach was posed a hypothetical question: if the nine-game schedule doesn’t materialize, could he envision the conference abandoning its oldest rivalry?

Smart’s response to the possibility of playing the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry once again was firm. He openly expressed his frustration to the media at the thought of the matchup being removed from the schedule.

“Every game in the SEC is important,” Smart said at SEC Media Days. “I get it, that’s a that’s a huge rivalry game — a tradition that I love. I grew up in southwest Georgia, where it’s easier to get to Auburn than it was Georgia from where I live. So I respect that rivalry. But they’re all big games. I would hate to lose that one if that happened.”

Head Coach Kirby Smart of the Georgia Bulldogs heads to midfield after the game against the Auburn Tigers on November 10, 2018 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.

The future of College Football according to Kirby Smart

There’s been a lot of discussion in recent weeks about potential changes to the NCAAF schedule, and unsurprisingly, a wide range of opinions has emerged. Among them is Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart, who has voiced his support for moving to a nine-game conference schedule.

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“I don’t have a preference,” Smart revealed. “Forever, I was a nine-game proponent because it was better for our fan bases, it was better for television. It was better for increasing revenue, which is a huge demand right now in college athletics.

“I like the idea of nine. My concern with the idea of nine is, how are we picking the 12-14 teams, and who’s picking them? What do they value? Because I don’t think we saw value in adding nine more losses to our league last year in terms of the way (the CFP committee) pick the teams.”

The rare times Georgia and Auburn didn’t meet

The storied Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry between Georgia and Auburn has an almost uninterrupted history, yet there have been a rare five instances since its inception in 1892 when the Bulldogs and Tigers didn’t face off. The very next year, in 1893, no rematch was scheduled, marking the first gap. Four years later, in 1897, Georgia didn’t play a season at all, preventing the traditional matchup.

The two World Wars account for the remaining three missed games. The rivalry was paused for World War I in both 1917 and 1918, and again in 1943 due to World War II. Since the end of that conflict, specifically from 1944 onwards, Georgia and Auburn have played each other every single season, a testament to the rivalry’s importance.

This year’s highly anticipated contest is scheduled for October 11th at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. Georgia currently holds the all-time series lead with a record of 65 wins, 56 losses, and 8 ties, having won every matchup since 2017.