Under Kirby Smart, the Georgia Bulldogs have always been aggressive when it comes to non-conference scheduling.

Whether it be games against Clemson, Oregon or Notre Dame, Georgia has often opted to give itself an out-of-conference test.

But that philosophy could be changing.

In December, Georgia called off their scheduled home-and-homes with Louisville and NC State. The Bulldogs had been set to visit Louisville this coming season, with Jeff Brohm’s trip making the return trip to Athens in 2027. The games against NC State were set for 2033 and 2034.

But with the SEC and ACC both changing their conference formats, those games became a casualty. Georgia will play nine SEC games next season in addition to facing Georgia Tech, Western Kentucky and Tennessee State.

The annual rivalry against the Yellow Jackets keeps the Bulldogs compliant with the SEC’s scheduling system, which requires teams to play nine conference games and at least one game against a Power 4 non-conference opponent.

“We play nine plus one, and we’ve got Georgia Tech,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said following Georgia’s recent athletic board meetings. “So we’ve already got ten baked in. So we’ve got to take a hard look at what are we going to do with those other two games.”

Georgia does have future games scheduled against Florida State, Clemson and Ohio State.

Whether or not those games get played will likely fall on the College Football Playoff committee and how it elects to value strength of schedule.

The SEC moved to nine conference games following assurances from the College Football Playoff committee that strength of schedule would be a greater factor in determining who makes the final 12-team field.

Not every conference plays by the same scheduling rules. The Big Ten, for example, does not require its teams to play a non-conference Power 4 program. The league has produced the last three national champions with those three schools — Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024 and Indiana in 2025 — playing zero games against Power 4 non-conference opponents in the year they won the national championship.

The Hoosiers have just a 2030-2031 home-and-home against Notre Dame on their schedule as far as future marquee non-conference games go. There are also games against Kennesaw State, Howard and Ball State lined up.

If the College Football Playoff committee doesn’t reward teams for playing difficult non-conference schedules, you’ll likely see more teams adopt what Indiana and Curt Cignetti have done.

“We’re having a lot of discussions with the CFP about metrics,” Brooks said. “And metrics they’re going to look at about strength of schedule, right? And we need to see that be rewarded if we’re going to continue to play this 11th game of the P4. Otherwise, because you’ve got to look at the – it’s all data, right? You look at the teams that are higher ranked that play maybe eight conference games or nine. And then only play three G5s. In order for that to keep going, the teams need to be rewarded for stepping up and playing stronger schedules.”

Texas, for example, lost a marquee non-conference game last season to go 9-3. Had Texas played Ohio instead of Ohio State, maybe the Longhorns find their way into the College Football Playoff, instead of on the outside looking in. Of course, Texas could’ve also beaten Florida last season and the entire point of non-conference scheduling would’ve been moot.

Since Kirby Smart took over ahead of the 2016 season, Georgia has lost just one non-conference game, as the Bulldogs fell to Georgia Tech in 2016. The Bulldogs have won eight consecutive games against the rival Yellow Jackets.

Whether that in-state rivalry game continues to be the biggest non-conference game played depends on how the College Football Playoff continues to impact the sport at large.