the teams and manipulate the schedules as needed to "on paper" create more or less difficulty of schedule (much like the NFL) based on previous year results? For example if Alabama goes undefeated, the next year they would get the #1 toughest SEC schedule and so forth, based on rankings at the end of the previous season?
I've mentioned this before, but couldn't the SEC rank the schedules of all
- Thread starter The Usual Suspect
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The schedules are not concrete, and have plenty of flexibility for something like this, particularly if you are just talking about manipulating the cross division games. We would just need two weekends to be open for home and away dates against TBD......and TBD would be determined as soon as the season is over.
BUT, as long as Auburn and Alabama want to hang on to their precious rivalries against UT and UGA, this won't happen.
Except that I think those teams could just play each other as non-conference games. For example, any year that Alabama wasn't scheduled to play UT, those two teams could still play each other as their "non-conference" game against a major conference opponent. I know Alabama played UMiss a couple times in the 70s in games that did not count in the SEC standings, so they could just do that again with UT.
BUT, as long as Auburn and Alabama want to hang on to their precious rivalries against UT and UGA, this won't happen.
Except that I think those teams could just play each other as non-conference games. For example, any year that Alabama wasn't scheduled to play UT, those two teams could still play each other as their "non-conference" game against a major conference opponent. I know Alabama played UMiss a couple times in the 70s in games that did not count in the SEC standings, so they could just do that again with UT.
It could work... You have your one permanent rival and then you're matched up with whichever team had the same division finish as you.
You'd set up a title game rematch every year. Make it harder to repeat as champion, theoretically.
The big boys would hate it, of course.
The schedule wouldn't be equitable, but you take any bias out of the process. That is, until Vandy and Ole Miss both come in 7th and you have to swap things around.
You'd set up a title game rematch every year. Make it harder to repeat as champion, theoretically.
The big boys would hate it, of course.
The schedule wouldn't be equitable, but you take any bias out of the process. That is, until Vandy and Ole Miss both come in 7th and you have to swap things around.
Actually it wouldn't. The schedule is set up where all the "permanent" matchups are at the East school this year, the rotating ones are at the West school. They switched to this a couple of years ago and it really simplifies things (except some schools had to take 2 straight trips to certain opponents, and of course moaned about that).