Kirby Smart actually went there in trying to explain the Big Ten's run of dominance

Kirby Smart has won back-to-back national championships during the College Football Playoff era. He has also won back-to-back SEC championships over the last two years. However, neither of those have translated to a single playoff victory since the field expanded from four to 12 teams. Over the last three years, the Big Ten has run roughshod over everyone else. Smart is trying to explain all that.

He did his best in a lengthy, multi-part answer while appearing on The Next Round, so check this out.

"I have so much respect for them. Are they really better coaches than us? And that's what all our coaches say ... They're taking less talent, in theory, and doing more with it."

While Smart may have a ton of respect for the Big Ten coaches, he does not respect their schedules.

"Now the other theory, and is this one nobody likes to hear. A lot of the SEC coaches say this in my meetings. They say, 'They don't have the grind we do.' There's no way. Three of their nine games are hard. Their bottom-four games are not our bottom-four games. I'm going to play at Starkville and Vanderbilt in my bottom four, and I'm holding onto my butt!"

He may have a point by saying the best SEC teams are so worn down by the time the playoff arrives.

"So there is a theory that we're beating each other up. And it's like an intensity that wears you down."

Smart would not mention an SEC contemporary by name, but he echoed his sentiment on the matter.

"But that's my point. They're not getting that ... I don't want to use it as a cop-out, but it's like, dude, they're not even having to do their best plays. They're not even stressed during the week. And I'm like, 'Well, I'm stressed no matter who I play. That's just how I'm wired'. Their players get a mental relief and then it's like, 'Boom!' they get to the to the playoffs ,and crank it up."

Here is everything that Smart said while appearing on The Next Round discussing the Big Ten's reign.

There is so much to unpack here, so let's try to do our very best now with what all Smart had to say.

Kirby Smart criticizes the soft schedules Big Ten teams regularly play

Let's be real. Until we get scheduling uniformity across the entire Power Four, there will be leagues who cut corners in their non-conference scheduling like the Big Ten does, and those who have to run a gauntlet like the SEC does most years. Then again, to the victors go the spoils. Indiana did not have to play anyone of caliber last year in its non-conference, as IU went 16-0 en route to a championship.

What is so troubling about this is the Big Ten is being rewarded for the middle third of its league being rather nondescript. For as good as teams like Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, and Oregon have been, the middle third of the league has not. In short, the Big Ten has a soft tummy. It is why when Smart was talking about how hard it can be to play at noon in Starkville, he was not messing around one bit.

Unfortunately, Smart's commentary on the matter at hand could come back to haunt him. He may be seen as a complainer or a sore loser if Georgia does not figure this new era of college football out in due time. Smart may coach the best team in the SEC today, but the Big Ten has dominated the game at the highest stage of late. It will be up to Smart and his staff to put in the work to get better sooner.

For now, Smart needs to keep on proving he is the best coach in the sport to advance in the playoff.

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