Ever since the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams, there has been a debate surrounding if this devalues the regular season. And while this season has proven that to not be the case, a new discussion has begun surrounding if making and winnning a conference championship is still important or not.
Take Tennessee for example. The Vols finished the season at 10-2 and are comfortably inside the 12-team CFP field. So Tennessee does not have to play in the SEC Championship game to earn their spot into the field, so while Georgia and Texas battle it out in Atlanta they get an extra week off compared to these teams and any other team playing from the other conferences.
Tennessee also doesn't have to worry about dropping out of the 12-team field with a loss in the SEC Championship game, which is one thing some Georgia fans are concerned about. So the Vols are a great example of why winning the SEC isn't as important anymore.
Kirby Smart was asked to weigh in on this debate, and he still feels that winning the SEC Championship is important.
"Well, I certainly think so because I'm a SEC enthusiast that believes in an SEC title as a significant marker to your season and the kind of season you had," Smart said via 247sports.com. "It also gets you a bye, and it gets you an opportunity to rest and recover while others play formidable opponents and tough opponents and removes you from that. So you're playing for an opportunity to rest, possibly."
Why is winning the SEC important?
So even though there are some benefits to not even playing in the SEC Championship game, the pros of playing in it still outweigh the negatives. For starters, winning the SEC will result in earning a top four seed and first round bye in the CFP. The ultimate goal every season is to win a National Championship, so getting that first round bye makes winning a national title that much easier.
On top of that, Smart mentioned how winning the SEC is an indicator of a team having a really good season. When people look back on this season 50 years from now, they won't remember a team like Tennessee who finished 10-2 but didn't win the SEC. They will however remember Georgia football if they go on to beat Texas this weekend.
So even though there are some benefits to missing the SEC Championship game, we are fans of Georgia. The goal at Georgia is to win every game and win championships, so UGA fans should never be afraid to play in the SEC Championship and should want to win this title now more than ever before.