The SEC will get even tougher to navigate with Texas and Oklahoma joining the fold this season.
College football’s juggernaut conference has expanded to 16 teams by welcoming the Longhorns and Sooners. Their inclusion instantly creates more challenges for SEC contenders such as Georgia.
Kirby Smart discussed the two newcomers during Tuesday’s SEC Media Days in Dallas.
“When Texas and Oklahoma came into the conference, every schedule was going to get harder,” Smart said, per Inside Texas.
SEC expansion will quickly impact Smart’s Bulldogs, who will face the Longhorns in Austin on Oct. 19. Via Sunny Nelson of Orangebloods, Smart lauded head coach Steve Sarkisian and his Texas program.
“I have a ton of respect for Sark and the job he does,” Smart said. “We got to watch them play last year against several common opponents. We got to watch them play in the playoffs. They have a tremendous recruiting base. They do a tremendous job in recruiting, and that includes NIL.”
The two-time national champion thinks Texas is constructed to compete in college football’s power conference.
“They’re a big physical football team,” Smart continued. “They’re built like an SEC football team, so we’re looking forward to an opportunity to come play them. What a tremendous matchup that will be.”
Georgia won’t encounter Oklahoma this season, but the Sooners nevertheless have their plate full when facing Tennessee, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama, and LSU during their inaugural year in the SEC.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the eight teams with this season’s toughest schedule all reside in the SEC.
Only Florida and Mississippi State have a more difficult path than Georgia. which also travels to Tuscaloosa and Oxford after opening the year with a non-conference showdown against Clemson.
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