Georgia Bulldogs HC Kirby Smart confirms suspicion about the current state of the SEC
A few years ago, when NIL became legal in college football and the NCAA transfer portal became prevalent, there were plenty of folks who suggested that parity would quickly come to the sport. Not everyone, however, agreed a couple of years ago that parity in college football was imminent. NIL, the transfer portal, and the […]
A few years ago, when NIL became legal in college football and the NCAA transfer portal became prevalent, there were plenty of folks who suggested that parity would quickly come to the sport.
Not everyone, however, agreed a couple of years ago that parity in college football was imminent.
NIL, the transfer portal, and the 12-team College Football Playoff have essentially changed the identity of the sport. There are no dominant teams this season. It feels like an unranked team can beat a top 10 team in any given week. For the top teams in the nation, the mindset is essentially survive and advance each week.
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart, who saw his team drop its second game of the season this weekend (a 28-10 loss to Ole Miss), said on Saturday night that the SEC is as tough as ever due in part to the parity in the league (Smart stopped short of suggesting that the playoff is responsible for the parity, even though it certainly seems like a big factor).
"I don’t think it has anything to do with the 12-team playoff," said Smart. "I think it has to do with the fact that our league is extremely tough — a lot of parity. Anybody can beat anybody. I honestly believe that. And how you prepare each week defines your team. We could be looking at, I don’t know, it’s going to be interesting the way this thing plays out. I told people it’s not going to surprise me if every team in the league ends up with two losses just because it’s that way. It’s tough.”
Smart and the Bulldogs haven't lost two games in a season since 2020. Smart, though, is still an elite coach despite Georgia's two losses this season (in fact, he's the best coach in the sport now that Nick Saban is retired).
But because of the transfer portal and NIL, it's incredibly difficult to build elite depth. Smart said before the season that this year's Georgia's team has the least amount of depth that he's ever had in Athens.
Fans and media scoffed at that comment from Smart, suggesting that it was just "coach speak". But in retrospect, it appears that Smart was being completely honest.
Parity is here in the SEC. And it's not going away anytime soon.
