SEC / Big Ten challenge

[pseudonym]

Would you be in favor of the SEC and the Big Ten doing a football challenge like we do with the ACC in basketball? The assumption is that the CFP committee no longer punishes teams for losses to good teams. In other words, it would strengthen the SOS of the SEC and Big Ten, and they would be rewarded by the committee when it came to CFP selections. We would also make the networks pay big for these games. This could replace the P4 non-con requirement.

Hypothetical, good-on-good:

SEC	Big Ten
Texas Longhorns	Ohio State Buckeyes
Georgia Bulldogs	Penn State Nittany Lions
Alabama Crimson Tide	Oregon Ducks
Tennessee Volunteers	USC Trojans
Texas A&M Aggies	Michigan Wolverines
Ole Miss Rebels	Indiana Hoosiers
South Carolina Gamecocks	Nebraska Cornhuskers
LSU Tigers	Iowa Hawkeyes
Florida Gators	Washington Huskies
Oklahoma Sooners	Illinois Fighting Illini
Auburn Tigers	Wisconsin Badgers
Missouri Tigers	Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Arkansas Razorbacks	Minnesota Golden Gophers
Kentucky Wildcats	UCLA Bruins
Vanderbilt Commodores	Michigan State Spartans
Mississippi State Bulldogs	Maryland Terrapins

Before you say, "This is bad for State," we would play Maryland in the above hypothetical. They aren't as good as Arizona State and Minnesota (scheduled for next season).

I think the SEC would have a good record in the above games.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Kentucky already have these P4 games. You have to address that first.

 

[pseudonym]

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Kentucky already have these P4 games. You have to address that first.

They can continue to schedule them or discontinue those games. That’s up to them. My guess is they will keep playing them. We are moving to a world in which the CFP rewards SOS (and SOR), not record.

ETA: Florida is playing Florida State AND Miami this year. South Carolina is playing Clemson AND Virginia Tech. That is their choice.

 

[ZombieKissinger]

I looked at that list and was like, “Damn, that’s a pretty good conference”

 

[Colonel Angus.sixpack]

You’d have to rotate them. Those matchups would get stale pretty quickly and the good teams in each conference would ***** about having to play the other good teams in the opposing conference year in and year out.

 

[11thEagleFan]

I’ve got the SEC going 11-5 against that slate, 10-6 at worst.

 

[pseudonym]

You’d have to rotate them. Those matchups would get stale pretty quickly and the good teams in each conference would ***** about having to play the other good teams in the opposing conference year in and year out.

This was just a hypothetical year one. The assumption is that it would rotate like the basketball SEC/ACC challenge.

Maybe you do a home and home and a new matchup in year three.

 

[pseudonym]

This would also put the other conferences on notice: The SEC and Big Ten don’t need you. You should be happy with however many CFP spots we allow you to have. It could be zero.

 

[patdog]

I’d be ok with that. But I think an SEC-ACC challenge would be more likely with both leagues tied to ESPN.

 

[pseudonym]

I’d be ok with that. But I think an SEC-ACC challenge would be more likely with both leagues tied to ESPN.

How about both?

SEC	Big Ten	ACC
Texas Longhorns	Ohio State Buckeyes	Clemson Tigers
Georgia Bulldogs	Penn State Nittany Lions	Miami Hurricanes
Alabama Crimson Tide	Oregon Ducks	SMU Mustangs
Tennessee Volunteers	USC Trojans	Virginia Tech Hokies
Texas A&M Aggies	Michigan Wolverines	Louisville Cardinals
Ole Miss Rebels	Indiana Hoosiers	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
South Carolina Gamecocks	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Duke Blue Devils
LSU Tigers	Iowa Hawkeyes	Boston College Eagles
Florida Gators	Washington Huskies	Pittsburgh Panthers
Oklahoma Sooners	Illinois Fighting Illini	NC State Wolfpack
Auburn Tigers	Wisconsin Badgers	North Carolina Tar Heels
Missouri Tigers	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	Syracuse Orange
Arkansas Razorbacks	Minnesota Golden Gophers	Florida State Seminoles
Kentucky Wildcats	UCLA Bruins	Virginia Cavaliers
Vanderbilt Commodores	Michigan State Spartans	California Golden Bears
Mississippi State Bulldogs	Maryland Terrapins	Stanford Cardinal

 

[pseudonym]

How about both?

SEC	Big Ten	ACC
Texas Longhorns	Ohio State Buckeyes	Clemson Tigers
Georgia Bulldogs	Penn State Nittany Lions	Miami Hurricanes
Alabama Crimson Tide	Oregon Ducks	SMU Mustangs
Tennessee Volunteers	USC Trojans	Virginia Tech Hokies
Texas A&M Aggies	Michigan Wolverines	Louisville Cardinals
Ole Miss Rebels	Indiana Hoosiers	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
South Carolina Gamecocks	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Duke Blue Devils
LSU Tigers	Iowa Hawkeyes	Boston College Eagles
Florida Gators	Washington Huskies	Pittsburgh Panthers
Oklahoma Sooners	Illinois Fighting Illini	NC State Wolfpack
Auburn Tigers	Wisconsin Badgers	North Carolina Tar Heels
Missouri Tigers	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	Syracuse Orange
Arkansas Razorbacks	Minnesota Golden Gophers	Florida State Seminoles
Kentucky Wildcats	UCLA Bruins	Virginia Cavaliers
Vanderbilt Commodores	Michigan State Spartans	California Golden Bears
Mississippi State Bulldogs	Maryland Terrapins	Stanford Cardinal

Or we can get really crazy:
-9 SEC games
-1 Big Ten game
-1 ACC game
-1 Big XII game

SEC	Big Ten	ACC	Big XII
Texas Longhorns	Ohio State Buckeyes	Clemson Tigers	Kansas State Wildcats
Georgia Bulldogs	Penn State Nittany Lions	Miami Hurricanes	BYU Cougars
Alabama Crimson Tide	Oregon Ducks	SMU Mustangs	Arizona State Sun Devils
Tennessee Volunteers	USC Trojans	Virginia Tech Hokies	Kansas Jayhawks
Texas A&M Aggies	Michigan Wolverines	Louisville Cardinals	Baylor Bears
Ole Miss Rebels	Indiana Hoosiers	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	Iowa State Cyclones
South Carolina Gamecocks	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Duke Blue Devils	Texas Tech Red Raiders
LSU Tigers	Iowa Hawkeyes	Boston College Eagles	TCU Horned Frogs
Florida Gators	Washington Huskies	Pittsburgh Panthers	UCF Knights
Oklahoma Sooners	Illinois Fighting Illini	NC State Wolfpack	Utah Utes
Auburn Tigers	Wisconsin Badgers	North Carolina Tar Heels	Colorado Buffaloes
Missouri Tigers	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	Syracuse Orange	Cincinnati Bearcats
Arkansas Razorbacks	Minnesota Golden Gophers	Florida State Seminoles	West Virginia Mountaineers
Kentucky Wildcats	UCLA Bruins	Virginia Cavaliers	Oklahoma State Cowboys
Vanderbilt Commodores	Michigan State Spartans	California Golden Bears	Arizona Wildcats
Mississippi State Bulldogs	Maryland Terrapins	Stanford Cardinal	Houston Cougars

 

[patdog]

How about both?

SEC	Big Ten	ACC
Texas Longhorns	Ohio State Buckeyes	Clemson Tigers
Georgia Bulldogs	Penn State Nittany Lions	Miami Hurricanes
Alabama Crimson Tide	Oregon Ducks	SMU Mustangs
Tennessee Volunteers	USC Trojans	Virginia Tech Hokies
Texas A&M Aggies	Michigan Wolverines	Louisville Cardinals
Ole Miss Rebels	Indiana Hoosiers	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
South Carolina Gamecocks	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Duke Blue Devils
LSU Tigers	Iowa Hawkeyes	Boston College Eagles
Florida Gators	Washington Huskies	Pittsburgh Panthers
Oklahoma Sooners	Illinois Fighting Illini	NC State Wolfpack
Auburn Tigers	Wisconsin Badgers	North Carolina Tar Heels
Missouri Tigers	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	Syracuse Orange
Arkansas Razorbacks	Minnesota Golden Gophers	Florida State Seminoles
Kentucky Wildcats	UCLA Bruins	Virginia Cavaliers
Vanderbilt Commodores	Michigan State Spartans	California Golden Bears
Mississippi State Bulldogs	Maryland Terrapins	Stanford Cardinal

Good lord man. We’re already at 9+1 and you want to go 9+2?

 

[pseudonym]

Good lord man. We’re already at 9+1 and you want to go 9+2?

If it comes with a CFP committee that selects based on Strength of Record, yes.

College Football Playoff Selection Committee Prepares for 2025-26 Season - College Football Playoff

The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee met recently in preparation for the upcoming season. Following the first year of the 12-team Playoff, the

collegefootballplayoff.com

Changes for the upcoming season include enhancements to the tools that the selection committee uses to assess schedule strength and how teams perform against their schedule. The current schedule strength metric has been adjusted to apply greater weight to games against strong opponents. An additional metric, record strength, has been added to the selection committee's analysis to go beyond a team's schedule strength to assess how a team performed against that schedule. This metric rewards teams defeating high-quality opponents while minimizing the penalty for losing to such a team. Conversely, these changes will provide minimal reward for defeating a lower-quality opponent while imposing a greater penalty for losing to such a team.

 

[Dawgg]

ESPN would probably be on board with this since it’s the only way they’ll have this many Big Ten teams on their networks again. Not sure how Fox, NBC, and CBS would divide up the Big Ten home games though.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

They can continue to schedule them or discontinue those games. That’s up to them. My guess is they will keep playing them. We are moving to a world in which the CFP rewards SOS (and SOR), not record.

ETA: Florida is playing Florida State AND Miami this year. South Carolina is playing Clemson AND Virginia Tech. That is their choice.

Until that's proven and made clear, I highly doubt you'll convince anyone to add strength to the already strong schedule. Outside of sheer money, which is what got the 9th conference game done. And also what drives the neutral site opening week matchups.

Committee has a history of doing just the opposite and just going by record. Even if we expand again, and the SEC/B1G each get 4 teams in, nobody wants to water down their record any more than they must.

 

[pseudonym]

Until that's proven and made clear, I highly doubt you'll convince anyone to add strength to the already strong schedule. Outside of sheer money, which is what got the 9th conference game done. And also what drives the neutral site opening week matchups.

Committee has a history of doing just the opposite and just going by record. Even if we expand again, and the SEC/B1G each get 4 teams in, nobody wants to water down their record any more than they must.

Made clear:

College Football Playoff Selection Committee Prepares for 2025-26 Season - College Football Playoff

The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee met recently in preparation for the upcoming season. Following the first year of the 12-team Playoff, the

collegefootballplayoff.com

Proven: I guess we’ll have to wait and see what they do this season.

It’s not a coincidence that the change to the selection methodology (SOS/SOR) was officially announced the day before the SEC officially announced the 9th SEC game.

And as I said already, SEC teams are already scheduling multiple P4 non-con games voluntarily. That’s not theoretical.

And as I said in the OP, the networks would pay big for these non-con games, a lot more than they pay for games against Northern Illinois and the Citadel.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

And as I said already, SEC teams are already scheduling multiple P4 non-con games voluntarily. That’s not theoretical.

Because they are being paid.

 

[pseudonym]

Because they are being paid.

Yes, and just like the SEC made the networks pay big for a 9th SEC game, we will make the networks pay big for trading November games against Eastern Illinois, the Citadel, Tennessee Tech, New Mexico State, Mercer, Charlotte, Western Kentucky, Coastal Carolina, and Samford for games against P4 teams.

Yes, those are all real 2025 opponents for SEC teams in the month of November.