Kirby Smart Among Those to Blame for 24-Team College Football Playoff Nonsense

The College Football Playoff appears to be headed for an expansion to 24 teams, a move that is almost universally unpopular among the fanbase of the sport, and one of those to blame is Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart.

While Smart is certainly not the one making decisions in the sport, he is arguably the most important voice in college football in terms of his words resonating with the public and holding legitimate influence. Instead of pushing back on what will be the death knell of the regular season, Smart publicly supported the expansion to 24 teams.

He was hardly the only one, and it makes sense why coaches who have as tough a job as ever before would support essentially an extra insurance plan with more access to the postseason, and in turn more job security. However, what the job security for coaches comes along with is less urgency and importance on regular season games, which at the end of the day is what makes this sport unique.

Take for example last week, a battle of two elite premiere programs in Georgia and Alabama. Not only was that a huge game because it featured two of the best programs in the nation, it had a big game feel to it because a loss meant a significantly more difficult path to get to the postseason.

In a 24-team world, 8-4 teams will be playing in the playoff, and instead of maximum urgency being on the games featuring actual national title contenders, it will be on fringe squads who did not earn the right to compete.

The reality that everyone in this sport already knows even in an era with more parody is there are no more than 10 or so teams in any given year capable of winning a national title. Opening it up to 24 teams does not add more title contenders, it simply provides a parachute for teams who had seasons go off the rails.

This is a very sad day for fans of college football, and it's unfortunate that Smart was championing the cause all along despite those same fans who essentially pay his salary pushing back against it.

He is not the one making the call nor is he the one signing off, but after years of establishing himself as the premiere voice in the sport, Smart missed the mark severely on this discussion.