Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Texas counterpart Steve Sarkisian have sounded like traditionalists this week in the buildup to the Southeastern Conference championship game inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Yet neither is running from the importance of a first-round bye in the upcoming 12-team College Football Playoff, either.
“I’m an SEC enthusiast who believes that an SEC title is a significant marker to your season and the kind of season you’ve had,” Smart said Thursday afternoon on a Zoom call that included Sarkisian and conference commissioner Greg Sankey. “Also, it now gets you a bye and gets you an opportunity to rest and recover while others play formidable and tough opponents.
“It removes you from that, so you’re playing for an opportunity to rest.”
The No. 2 Longhorns (11-1) and No. 5 Bulldogs (10-2) are both assured of spots in the newly expanded CFP field, with the winner of Saturday’s league championship game (4 p.m. on ABC) also assured of landing one of the four byes as the No. 1 or No. 2 overall seed. The loser still would likely host a first-round pairing in two weekends, but that is not guaranteed.