247sports.com
I don't understand how this is just now a thing. I know they are somewhat going to be cannibalizing each others audience regardless, but if it's not going to cause the first game to be ridiculously early or the last game to be ridiculously late, why would you not want at least one of the games to have the audience to itself for half an hour or so at the beginning of the day and one to have it to themselves for half and hour or so at the end of the day.SEC sticking with 8 conference games in 2025, adjusting start times
Desiring an all-day SEC football feel, SEC Network game start times can now be pushed back 45 minutes to lead to more staggered finishes, i.e. moving from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. CT. kickoff time.
I would be very surprised if this isn't correct. Then in 2026, we'll probably go to a set 8 or 9 game schedule with permanent opponents and a set rotation.
My only fear is the SEC could screw us with the home/away picks
That schedule actually looks pretty good to me. Prob gonna lose to both Bama and LSU no matter where we play, so get them on the road. Prob gonna beat Vandy no matter where we play, so get them on the road. Games that could go either way are mostly at home.
We're going to have to make consecutive return trips to SOMEBODY in '25, might as well be UK and Vandy. Besides, the SEC owes us for all the times we've played in Athens the past 12 years.
The SEC said, here we owe you an *** beating. At Arkansas, Florida, A&M, and Mizzou
Maybe the people pushing to keep an 8 game schedule? You flip 24 for this year, then just say well now everybody can take their one permanent and replace the other 7 with the teams they haven't played for '26 and then flip it home and away the year after for '27. Then you're four years in keeping an 8 game schedule and also let schools play through some of the committed OOC games and give everybody more time to prepare for a 9 game schedule and/or consider whether they still want to do a 9 game schedule. You can always move from 8 to 9 but going from 9 back to 8 will be a financial headache.
That make sense. I'm just in shock the SEC would approve a schedule that is the carbon copy of the previous years. That is so stale and boring. I can't remember the last time State played the exact same SEC schedule two years in a row, without some variation.
