Georgia coach Kirby Smart acknowledges the Big Ten's rise in college football, attributing it to a more competitive conference with multiple strong teams. He notes the impact of Name, Image, and Likeness on leveling the playing field.
Key points
Kirby Smart acknowledges Big Ten's rise in college football
Big Ten has multiple strong teams contributing to its success
Name, Image, and Likeness has leveled the playing field
SEC dominated college football for nearly two decades
Smart credits Michigan and Indiana as strong Big Ten teams
Mentioned in this story
Kirby SmartJim Harbaugh
GeorgiaBig TenOhio StateMichigan
Over the course of nearly two decades, the SEC ran college football. Ushered in by Florida's upset of No. 1-ranked Ohio State in the 2006 BCS National Championship game, the Southeastern Conference was crowned in 13 of the next 17 championship games. Chants of S-E-C rang throughout the deep south as the rest of the nation wrestled with an inferiority complex.
But things started to shift with the inauguration of Name, Image, and Likeness as players began to be compensated for their play on the field. As Joel Klatt so famously said, "You know, now that everybody can pay their players... it kind of evened out." It was true. Several SEC schools had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar before NIL, with not much more than a slap on the wrist. But when NIL made paying players legal for everyone, it leveled the playing field. Since Georgia last lifted a trophy in 2022, it is the Big Ten that has become the standard-bearer, rattling off three straight championships.
The shift in conference supremacy has left the former heavyweight champ scratching its collective head. Most keep offering excuses. Recently, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was asked why the Big Ten had surged ahead of the SEC. His answer was a mix of compliments, sprinkled with a hint of justification.
He starts off giving credit where credit is due, saying, “I don’t know, I can’t figure out what it is. I just think they have a more competitive conference,” Smart said. “At the top of their conference, there’s more good teams. It used to be Ohio State was good. Well, was really good with (Jim) Harbaugh, had a great team. Indiana’s good. Like, now they’ve got . They’ve got a draw. They have the ability to attract good players.”
Q&A
What did Kirby Smart say about the Big Ten's success in college football?
Kirby Smart credited the Big Ten for having a more competitive conference with multiple strong teams, which has contributed to its recent success.
How has Name, Image, and Likeness affected college football conferences?
Name, Image, and Likeness has leveled the playing field by allowing all schools to compensate players, impacting the competitive balance between conferences.
What teams does Kirby Smart mention as being strong in the Big Ten?
Smart mentions Michigan and Indiana as strong teams in the Big Ten, along with the addition of Oregon to the conference.
Why did the SEC dominate college football for nearly two decades?
The SEC dominated college football largely due to its success in championship games, winning 13 of the next 17 after Florida's 2006 victory over Ohio State.
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Kirby then makes an attempt to justify the closing of the gap due to NIL.
“Now NIL has a factor too, for sure, but so does Miami,” Smart said. “So does Florida. I mean, people have money. More people have money. So I think the talent is spread out thin, whereas before in the SEC, it was a magnet to talent. The disparity was so great that it was like you couldn’t mess it up. You’d win regardless. And now it’s like, OK. It’s more even. And it’s just been three in a row, they did it.”
Then, of course, comes the SEC-biased rational. Smart tries to compliment the Big Ten, but couldn't help himself as he goes back to a worn-out adage that the Southeastern Conference is just so good that SEC teams just don't get a break, citing conference "powers" like Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. Sure, the Commodores have had some recent success, but it feels like Kirby is trying to make the case that if Vandy were in the Big Ten, they'd be one of the top dogs. Laughable.
“That’s true, it can change quick,” Smart said. “But that doesn’t explain why the Big Ten has been able to do that. That’s just, I have so much respect for them. I’m like, ‘Are they better coaches than us?’ They’re taking less talent, in theory, and doing more with it.”
Then Smart gets to what most college football fans in the south feel in their core. “Now the other theory is, and this is one nobody likes to hear, it’s a lot of SEC coaches say this in my meetings, they say, ‘They don’t have the grind we do. There’s no way. They play 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 to be able to play at noon on Saturday in Starkville, who beat Arizona State, who goes and plays these other teams,'” Smart said. “So there is a theory that we’re beating each other up, and it’s like the intensity, and it wears you down.”
“That’s my point, is they’re not getting that,” Smart said. “I’m not going to say who says it all the time, but he’s one of the SEC coaches. And 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, ‘I’m stressed no matter who I play.’ That’s just how I’m wired. But their players get a mental relief and then it’s like, boom, they get to go to the playoffs and crank it up.”
To be certain, the SEC is still very good when it comes to college football. It would shock no one if the conference were to win another championship this year. However, it's been three long years since wearing that crown, and until they wear it again, you can be sure they will find a way to cope.
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