Scheduling debates have become a regular feature of college football's offseason.

In the SEC, that typically centers on whether the league should expand to nine conference games instead of eight. The discourse has only ramped up since the addition of Texas and Oklahoma gave the SEC 16 teams.

But at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin Tuesday, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said there is still a place for major out-of-conference games in college football.

"People want to say, well, you need to play nine games, you need to play eight games. We don't really know which one of those is until we know the playoff format," Smart said. "But I beg everybody in this room the question, would we have been better off not playing Clemson last year and playing another SEC game to make nine games? How would that have been better for the SEC? How would that have been better for Georgia? I don't think it would have. I think those teams you play outside your conference verify your strength."

Smart said he believes those out-of-conference matchups are better for college football. He feels last season's matchup "improved a lot of things for our conference."

Smart also thinks that, no matter which way the schedule debate goes, major out-of-conference matchups are here to stay.

"You're going to see more and more of those games regardless of the SEC because that's what the fan base wants, what TV wants," Smart said. "That drives revenue, and you're going to see lots of those opportunities out there.”

Georgia has not shied away from adding marquee matchups to its nonconference schedule.

In addition to the annual matchup with Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs have played Clemson (twice), Oregon, Notre Dame, and North Carolina in Smart's tenure.

Georgia also has future nonconference games scheduled with Louisville (2026-27), Florida State (2027-28), Clemson (2029-30, 2032-33), Ohio State (2030-31), and North Carolina State (2033-34).