Kirby Smart explains ‘incredibly challenging’ aspect of college football in December

Kirby Smart and other College Football Playoff head coaches would all say the same thing: December is the toughest month on the calendar.

And not just because of the quality of competition, though that certainly adds to it. Instead, the day-to-day juggling act with recruiting on signing day, game planning, navigating academics and managing the transfer portal is, as Smart puts it, incredible challenging.

But Smart doesn’t say this from a position of “woe is me.” He specifically mentions that it’s not unbearable or unfair, but instead that it, perhaps, is not in the best interest of the game itself.

Here’s his full quote on the matter:

“It’s becoming the new norm, December is just tough, I don’t know a good way of saying it. It’s not unbearable or unfair, it’s not probably the best thing for the college football game,” Smart said. “Individually, you could make a case it’s good for some players, it’s good for some teams, it’s good for some coaches, but the calendar is really challenging… When you intertwine all the working parts, academics being a student athlete, the time of the playoff, of the portal, the timing of signing day, it’s incredibly challenging. And it’s been that way this month.”

It puts extra emphasis on just how important winning the SEC was for Georgia, which faces Notre Dame in just over a week after receiving a first-round bye. The Fighting Irish barely broke a sweat against No. 10 Indiana, and they look like a real challenge heading into the New Year.

Kickoff for Georgia vs. Notre Dame at the Sugar Bowl is set for 8:45 p.m. on Jan. 1, aired on ESPN.

Ethan Stone

Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.