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May 5, 2013

SEC nine game conference schedules?

The biggest problem I have with a nine game conference schedule is that it doesn't allow a team to do much to improve their potential strength of schedule. As a fan of an SEC school, that doesn't seem too relevant. Now.

What about if we were in the early 70's or late 80s? SEC football was relatively bad then. It also isn't hard to imagine a nine game schedule where the SEC has three teams decimated by probation, say Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas A&M; five teams that are downright terrible, say Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi State; and four more that are mediocre, at best, say South Carolina, Florida, Vandy, and Georgia.

So you really think a one loss SEC champion in that scenario actually gets into a four game playoff over the B1.5G champion, the one loss loser of that game, any other undefeated conference champion or a one loss Notre Dame?

I don't think they would. Putting aside the obvious loss of a compelling match up, that is a bigger concern moving to a nine game schedule. I think Barrett Sallee's is too optimistic in keeping marquee match-ups (or adding those that will never ever happen, in Missouri's case). If the SEC goes to a nine game schedule, you can kiss any other OOC game with a major conference team other than Georgia Tech good bye.

TD

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the SEC and ACC are 9-game conf schedules, I don't think UGA or GT will be interested in keeping the game.

Anonymous said...

I'm all for adding another game against the other division. The more teams you play from the other division, the more the schedules even out. Playing only 2 games against the other division allows for some wild fluctuation.

And not only that but I actually like the idea of playing teams in my conference more often instead of less often.

John @ WESPN-TV said...

Yep, me too. I agree with adding another game. The more the merrier.

Unknown said...

State legislators wil make sure we play. And why wouldn't we. It looms respectable and we win 75-90% of the time (depending on decade).

Unknown said...

I disagree. The odds of an SEC west team being additive to our schedule when booked 5-10 years out are higher than booking a big10 or acc team. Especially considering our AD is showing zero interest in scheduling.

The OSU series will never happen and it was never going to happen. Not a chance.

 
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