The American Football Coaches Association announced Tuesday its members were recommending extensive expansion of the College Football Playoff, the end of conference championship games and a condensed postseason schedule that allows the season to end sooner.
This organization doesn’t have power to enforce change, but it’s perhaps a strong signal that more change is coming.
Most are interpreting the AFCA recommendation related to the playoff as a wish for 24 teams. In my opinion, this is a disappointing development for the sport many of us love.
College football is special because of the intensity of its regular season. I’m sorry that so many coaches apparently think it’s too intense.
It seems as if they fear that the pressure to win could make it more difficult to stay employed. However, these coaches should remember that if you want a CEO-style salary, you’re not going to have a schoolteacher’s job security.
Very few fans seem interested in the unwieldy behemoth of a 24-team playoff. They fear it could water down the regular season and render a CFP berth as essentially meaningless.
Unfortunately, for now, the average fan’s opinion appears to be of little consequence to the decision-makers who seem intent on remaking our sport into something unrecognizable.
Check out the rest of our coverage below.
Trivia time
Who coached Georgia football in its first bowl game?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Kirby Smart knows ‘hard road games’ determine who comes out on top
Kirby Smart thinks it’s pretty easy to determine who is going to be successful in the SEC and who is going to have to fight tooth and nail for wins.
“The schedule is such a big part,” Smart said in an appearance with “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” on WJOX 94.5. “Who do you play at home, and who do you play away? That’s the only thing you need to look at in our league. How many hard road games they got?”
Smart is now the longest-tenured coach in the SEC, as this fall will be his 11th season running the Georgia football program.
The Georgia coach, the only coach in the league to have won a conference title, has faced enough tough schedules to know that some years are just more difficult than others.
“The one we had the year before last was just unmerciful,” Smart said. “And then it’s just tough.”
Softball at SEC Tournament vs. LSU (Lexington, Kentucky): 8 p.m.
Friday, May 8
Women’s Tennis vs. UCLA (NCAA Super Regional): 4 p.m.
Baseball vs. LSU: 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 9
Men’s Tennis at Mississippi State (NCAA Super Regional): 1 p.m.
Baseball vs. LSU: 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 10
Baseball vs. LSU: 3 p.m.
Chris Cole ‘stepped it up a lot’ for Georgia
From an on-field perspective, Georgia linebacker Chris Cole had a quiet spring.
He’s entering his third season in the program, so it’s difficult to call him a young or ascending player. He did lead the Bulldogs in sacks last season with 4.5.
Smart was asked only once about Cole, and that came in regard to his February driving arrest. In terms of on-field play, Smart had only one small note about his junior linebacker.
“In terms of pass rush, we’ve had some guys really grow, get better,” Smart said following G-Day. “We’re going to have to get some help from our youth, too. But, you know, the pass rush is something that’s done as a group, not as one person. Chris Cole stepped it up a lot this spring.”
Cole works primarily as an off-ball linebacker for the Bulldogs. With CJ Allen now a member of the Indianapolis Colts and Raylen Wilson limited with a knee injury, Cole and Justin Williams got a majority of the first-team reps in Georgia’s spring game.
For as much talk as there has been about Cole as a pass rusher, he’s actually proved to be more comfortable when moving backward in pass coverage. That’s due in no small part to his time as a high school safety, which we’ve seen translate early in Cole’s career. As a freshman, he got on the field as a third-down linebacker to assist in coverage, rather than attack the opposing quarterback.
Cole has the athletic gifts to do everything in Georgia’s defense. For as much talent as the Bulldogs have, he’s the only player you could say that about on the defensive side of the ball.
His role and mold in 2026 is whatever Georgia ultimately wants it to be.
Georgia linebacker Chris Cole (left) celebrates a sack with defensive lineman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye during the second half against Charlotte at Sanford Stadium on Friday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Athens. (Jason Getz/AJC)
Quote of the day
Smart on Cole:
“Chris Cole is of the highest character kid we’ve probably had in our program in a long time. I mean, he does it right academically, on and off the field. I can’t speak high enough for his character.”
3-star’s choice could come down to Georgia or Ohio State
Waylon Wooten is a 3-star DL at Grayson High. That star ranking should not sway the evaluation here.
He’s a multiyear starter for one of the top programs in Georgia, if not the nation. The rising senior has a host of options heading into his official visit stretch later this month.
Georgia and Ohio State are among that lot. Those are the big fish, but there are others.
He’s been considering a potential July 4 commitment date, but now feels he will be committed before America’s next birthday party.
