Georgia’s Kirby Smart claps back on Indiana’s nonconference scheduling model

ATHENS — Kirby Smart says everyone has their own philosophy when it comes to scheduling, but when asked about Curt Cignetti’s at Indiana, Georgia’s head coach disagreed with his reasoning.

Cignetti, whose Hoosiers have a nonconference schedule consisting of games against North Texas, Howard and Western Kentucky, said, “Why make it harder on yourself?” when it comes to scheduling more difficult games.

For Cignetti, the Big Ten schedule — which for the Hoosiers includes home games against preseason Coaches Poll Top 25 teams Ohio State and Southern Cal and road trips to Washington and Michigan — is hard enough.

The obvious rationale is: Why would a team put extra mileage on starters and not allow for more backups and young players to see action and develop against lesser nonconference competition?

Smart, whose Georgia team will play 10 opponents from Power Four leagues this season versus the nine on Indiana’s schedule, explained why he has taken a different approach with more aggressive nonconference scheduling.

The Bulldogs maintain a home-and-home series with ACC member Georgia Tech and have a neutral-site game scheduled with Florida State in 2028, before a home-and-home with Clemson in 2029 and 2030.

“I’ve been a part of some really good SEC championships and national championships, (and) I’m not just talking about Georgia, I’m talking about everywhere I’ve coached,” said Smart, who was on the Alabama staff when Cignetti was coaching under Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa from 2007 to2010. “I’ve been really fortunate to coach at really good programs: LSU, Florida State, Alabama, Georgia. The common denominator of those programs is you play really good teams year in and year out, whether it’s in conference or out of conference.”

The College Football Playoff, however, has led to many teams rethinking their scheduling model, to the point that even Georgia has dropped nonconference games against Louisville, NC State and UCLA.

The Florida State matchup, once a home-and-home, was changed to one game at a neutral site — a compromise Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks explained was meant to serve the fans while also recognizing the challenges that come with a nine-game SEC schedule.

Smart said he also takes the fans into consideration in maintaining a strong nonconference schedule.

“The thing is, are you trying to appease the fans? You want to have a really exciting schedule,” Smart said. “They enjoy the excitement of playing those schedules, versus the balance of risk of injury and wear and tear, and the line probably lies somewhere in the middle.

“I do think the consumer matters. The consumer is the people that are coming to the games. They want to see exciting, competitive games.”

Smart has said more than once he’s a proponent of the CFP field expanding from 12 teams to 16 or 24 — something the SEC and Big Ten are still hoping to settle on before a Dec. 1 deadline.