The Georgia Bulldogs are back-to-back SEC champions, but Georgia’s SEC championship wins did not benefit the Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff recently with Georgia losing in their first playoff game after both recent SEC title wins. Georgia’s most recent SEC championship was a 28-7 blowout win over the Alabama Crimson Tide.
In 2025, Georgia and coach Kirby Smart earned their first ever win over Alabama in an SEC championship after falling to the Crimson Tide in 2012, 2018, 2021 and 2023. The Bulldogs did not excel in the playoff, but the national championship-winning Indiana Hoosiers did win the Big Ten championship and did not appear to be impacted too much from playing Ohio State in the Big Ten championship.
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Indiana‘s first playoff win came in a dominant 38-3 win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl. The recent postseason experience combined with the changing nature of college football and the playoff has Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne no longer wanting to play the SEC championship game.
Head coach Kirby Smart of the Georgia Bulldogs raises the 2025 SEC Championship trophy after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide 28-7
Byrne revealed his opinion in an interview with USA TODAY Sports’ Blake Toppmeyer.
“It’s a great event,” Byrne said regarding the SEC championship game. “I don’t like the idea of it going away, but I think it’s reality, with an expanded playoff.”
Byrne thinks the SEC championship has “run its course” despite Alabama winning the SEC championship more often than any other program. The college football calendar has drawn significant criticism in recent years with the playoff ending in late January and many schools not playing for nearly a month from their last game in December to their first playoff game. Conference championship participants are often put at a rest disadvantage against other teams.
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Just look at this past season, Georgia lost to Ole Miss in the quarterfinals of the playoff after beating Ole Miss during the regular season and winning the SEC. Georgia had no notable advantage (no homefield, both teams had plenty of rest) against Ole Miss. The game was even played at the Sugar Bowl, which is closer to Ole Miss’ campus than Georgia’s.
Byrne joins Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte in wanting to drop the SEC championship. Those are two powerful voices within the SEC. Byrne wants the playoff to expand to 16 teams and not have conference championships. He wants the playoff to start and end sooner.
The future of the SEC championship and playoff will likely be determined by one thing: money. Whatever allows schools to bring in the most money will probably be the path college football chooses for the future.
This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Alabama AD wants SEC championship era to end after loss vs. Georgia
