Georgia will celebrate, but conference title games make no sense in the 12-team CFP era
Even Kirby Smart admitted that this year's SEC title game lacked the "same juice and atmosphere" as in previous seasons.
www.nytimes.com
ATLANTA — Kirby Smart felt it in pregame. He felt it later in the game, too.
All he needed to do was look up in the stands at Mercedes-Benz Stadium at any point on Saturday and he’d see a few thousand empty seats in the upper deck during Georgia’s 22-19 overtime win over Texas.
Call it a sign of the times.
It just means more?
For championship weekend, “It used to mean more” is far more apt.
“I hate to say it, but in pregame, I didn’t think the game had the same juice and atmosphere I’ve seen it have before,” Smart said.
On Saturday morning, commissioners of the ACC and SEC campaigned on “College GameDay” for more teams in their respective leagues to be included in the College Football Playoff. An additional team in the field would improve both leagues’ national title odds. What else would help those odds? Not making their two best teams play a 13th game while every other team in the conference sits at home.
Smart acknowledged the stadium came alive after kickoff, in part because it was a back-and-forth game filled with drama. But even he felt the stakes were lower than ever when he called for a fake punt with 11 minutes left in his own territory with the game tied.
“It’s a lot easier to call it when you think you’re in the Playoff either way,” Smart said.
Championship weekend has come and gone, but the games in their current form need to stay away.
Conference title games are vestiges of a bygone era in college football. They’re moneymakers and can stay that way (more on that later), but in their current form, it’s a nonsensical tradition as college football steps into a new era.
Why did Texas need to play this game?
The Longhorns won the SEC outright in the regular season — albeit with an unbalanced schedule that didn’t include Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss or South Carolina.
But the SEC — and the Big Ten on Saturday night — are asking their two best teams and the two teams most likely to win the national title to play an additional game that no one else in the conference has to play.
