Paul Finebaum is one of the biggest talking heads in college football, and he just picked Texas to win the SEC over Georgia. Georgia and Texas' odds to win the SEC are close, so it isn't crazy for anyone to pick the Longhorns even if they've lost to Georgia three times in a row.
But what Finebaum said next about Kirby Smart is where he gets a bit crazy. He went on to say that Smart would rather win a national championship than an SEC title which is obviously true, but he for some reason decided to infer that Smart doesn't actually care about winning the SEC at all.
"I do think this is Sarkisian's year," Finabaum said via On3. "I don't think that is the ultimate goal for him and it quite frankly shouldn't be the ultimate goal for Kirby Smart... I think Kirby in the back of his mind he's not going into Atlanta, he's not going into any game going 'okay we don't wanna win that.' I think he'll take a longer trip into January this year over holding up that trophy the first Saturday in Atlanta."
Paul Finebaum isn't sure Kirby Smart cares about winning the SEC
Fnebaum insinuating that Smart doesn't really care about winning the SEC is ludicrous. Not only are there are a lot of benefits that typically come with winning the SEC, but Smart himself said two years ago that winning the conference will remain important to him no matter what happens with the College Football Playoff format.
Beyond that though, winning the SEC does give Georgia an edge in the playoff.
For starters, winning the SEC essentially guarantees that Georgia will make the playoff. Making the playoff is the first step in winning the playoff, so guaranteeing they make it there should be Georgia's first priority.
After that it is important to win the SEC because that typically comes with a first round bye. The one stat everyone points to though is that teams with a bye are 1-7 in the quarterfinals, but that shouldn't be a reason to lose the SEC on purpose. Everyone should much rather earn the first round bye than risk a serious injury to a key player in an extra game.
But for Georgia winning the SEC is extremely important for a much simpler reason. Winning the conference in 2026 would cement one of the greatest runs in SEC football history.
Georgia winning the SEC would cement one of the most dominant runs in SEC football history
A 2026 SEC championship would mark Georgia's third in a row. Winning the SEC one time can be ruled a fluke and two times in a row is when it gets impressive, but winning three in a row is when a team is completely dominating the conference.
Florida in the 1990s and Alabama in the mid-2010s are the only programs to win the SEC three times in a row since the introduction of the championship game. So knowing how important the SEC Championship game is to Smart indicates how much he cares about adding Georgia's name to that list.
Both Florida and Alabama won a national championship during their stretch of conference titles as well, so unless Georgia adds another national title their run would be worse. But if you consider that Georgia won a national championship in 2021 and 2022 along with an SEC championship in 2022 this recent stretch may just be the best run the SEC has ever seen if Georgia adds a national title this season too.
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