The celebrations on the field were amazing to witness after Georgia football took down Texas in the SEC Championship game in overtime. And while there are many moments that stood out and are worth mentioning, the moment that went the most viral by far was when Kirby Smart called out SEC commissioner Greg Sankey directly to his face.
Smart's motivation for doing so was because Sankey gave Georgia the most difficulty schedule in the conference by far. The Bulldogs had to travel to Texas, Alabama and Ole Miss while also playing Tennessee at home. These four teams are the four best teams in the conference after Georgia. So of course Smart would feel passionate about this minutes after his team just won the SEC after playing this difficult of a schedule.
And while social media thought this clip was hilarious, there is one media member who was not happy with what Smart had to say.
“I think everybody knows my affinity for Kirby Smart, but I, frankly, thought he was out of line for blasting the commissioner standing right next to him, presenting the trophy,” ESPN's Paul Finebaum said via On3.com. “What was the point of taking a cheap shot at the commissioner of the SEC who did not do that schedule? By the way, on Wednesday night, you’re going to see next year’s schedule and it’s going to be the reverse of that. It’s still the same schedule but the home games.”
Finebaum thinks Kirby Smart could have handled this differently
Finebaum was not thrilled with the way Smart handled this interaction. While Finebaum maybe has a point regarding how Smart could have gotten his point across without directly mentioned Sankey, some would argue this was the best way to get the attention of Sankey on such an important topic.
One thing that Finebaum said however that makes no sense is that Sankey wasn't responsible for making the schedule. While this might technically be true, anything that happens from the SEC office is a reflection of Sankey, so he can't just hide behind the fact that he didn't directly make this schedule. Sankey had to have approved these schedules or appointed someone else to approve them, so Sankey is in fact responsible for the schedules at the end of the day.
And while Smart feels Georgia's schedule was too difficult compared to the rest of the conference, his prayer of having more even schedules next year will not be answered. Georgia will play the exact same conference schedule next season, just at the opposite locations. So Georgia will host Texas, Alabama and Ole Miss while traveling to Tennessee next year.
So UGA is going to once again have their hands full next season. But the Bulldogs are the best program in the SEC for a reason, so the expectation is that they should still find themselves back in the SEC Championship game again next December.