Georgia football just went through one of the most difficult schedules in SEC history this past season. And while they were still able to win the SEC Championship against Texas last weekend, it is still ridiculous that they had to play the best four teams in the conference in Texas, Tennessee, Alabama and Ole Miss.
And while one would assume that Georgia would have an easier schedule next season, that is not the case. That is because for some unknown reason, the SEC decided to not be creative at all and just give each team the same conference opponents. That's right, Georgia will play the same eight SEC teams next season, just at the opposite location they played at this year.
On the bright side, that means Texas, Alabama and Ole Miss all have to come to Athens, which is a huge advantage for Georgia. But there is a glaring disadvantage on Georgia's schedule that doesn't seem fair.
Bye week before playing Georgia
If Georgia's schedule next season wasn't hard enough already, there is a shocking amount of teams that have a bye week before they get to play UGA. This includes Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Texas. Each team only gets two byes next season, so that is pretty remarkable that four teams get a bye before playing the Bulldogs.
On top of that, Georgia's two biggest opponents next season in Alabama and Texas both get the advantage to have a week off before they travel to Sanford Stadium. Now that doesn't seem fair at all.
This scheduling quirk does come at an interesting time because Kirby Smart just called out SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey in front of the entire world while being interviewed after winning the SEC title. These schedules were likely decided before the SEC game, but the timing of this does seem a little weird.
Regardless, Georgia is going to have their work cut out for them next season. While it is nice that Georgia will play a lot of their toughest opponents at home, the fact that they have to play all the best teams again with half of them getting a bye before playing Georgia does not seem right at all.