SEC reverting back to no divisions?
- Thread starter eckie1
- Start date
Pretty much expected. Also means expansion of the SEC schedule to 9 games.
Is a single division a division?
You know what this means, we will get to play LSU, Ark, OM, Bama, TN, Georgia, TX, OK and KY every year! Mark it gotta keep us in our place by making sure we play a tough schedule. Meanwhile BAMA will play Mizzou, MSU, Vandy, USC, LSU, OM, Auburn, TN (at home) and KY! Have to keep the blue bloods on a road to a playoff!
That’s fine. Going to be hard for us to get a tougher draw than the SECW has been for the last 15 years.
I love it. More chances for a big upset means we might finally pull one off. **
Not necessarily. Schools were split between 8 and 9 games last time they met. But it seems pretty certain the 9-game camp will win. Look for MSU to get Mississippi, Kentucky, and either A&M or Auburn as permanent opponents.
I'm for it, we were going to get screwed on the pod deal. One rival and rotate the rest of the teams. If two rivals, I want Missouri, Ark or Vandy for the second.
Well get ready for it anyway. We probably going to get Bama as their third permanent since they are right down the road. That means we would play them every year… like now.. and OM gets them rotated.
OM would probably get LSU, MSU, and Vandy.
MSU probably get Bama, OM, and Ark or keep KY.
The 3/6/6 model seems to be the best. Keep 3 regional rivals, and play everybody over the course of 2 years. Of course, South Carolina/Kentucky/Georgia/Florida won't care too much for it. I would imagine they can stagger the schedule too, so you're not playing the exact same 5 teams, every two years.
I'm still ok with the 1/7/7 model, as that's what's best for MSU. Even if we still have to do the P5 OOC. But I also see the value in more SEC games. TV wins out, and for example, the TV slate this weekend is very bad.
I just wish, with the advent of the expanded playoff, that we would just get rid of bowl games. That way nobody cares anymore about getting to '6-6'. I hope we embrace more advanced metrics like FEI/SP+ rather than trying to get to 'bowl eligibility' with literally no schedule uniformity across the country. It's a status symbol that's not needed. Let's just allow the other teams to get a head start on recruiting. I realize this won't happen because you need to fill TV slots, but geez, can we make these things more uniform and not tied to a record or a conference? Pit the best teams together.
Rosey is always talking about jockeying for bowl placement and I'm like, dude, literally NOBODY gives a shizz outside the playoff and the random usurper who rises up to a bowl that they haven't been to in awhile. Everybody else opts out or treats it like a scrimmage. And to me, using NIL to entice someone to not opt out is a waste of money. Bowls are dumb. I'd rather have a secondary NIT-esque playoff bracket.
Last edited:
99% certain we won't play Bama annually. Their 3 permanents will be Tenn, Aubie, and LSU.
Hope you’re right. I can just see it happening though. Quoting the reason as “it’s just soo convenient for the fans!” And also our lack of another clear cut out of state rivalry on the level of AL-Tenn, GA-AU, Ark-A&M, etc.
I’m all for trading KY for Vandy and get that gravy game UM has been getting for decades.
They couldn't care less about the fans. Not that either fanbase will miss the MSU-Bama game annually. It's all about the TV matchups. And there's no way they've giving up any of those 3 matchups. Only way we end up with Bama as a permanent opponent is if they go to 4 permanent opponents. And that's not being discussed.
We will 100% get bama in a situation of three perm opponents. Bama has more sway on the SEC office than anyone, they want us, they want to win nattys and the best way to do that is via guaranteed wins, not playing the best competition year end and year out.
Like @GreenBean said, you're not taking into account Bama's influence. They don't want to play LSU. They want easy games. I'd bet my house we will end up with Ole Miss, Bama and Kentucky.
ETA: And especially now, with Saban's career sunsetting. They know they won't be dominant forever. Alabama/LSU is a made up rivalry, no real tradition there except for the last 20 years due to Saban himself.
Last edited:
Never understood the thought behind the pod system to begin with. If the only point was to identify 3 permanent geographical opponents for each SEC team, that could be easily achieved without having pods at all.
If you don't have the two divisions, how do you create the Championship game? Doubt they want to get rid of it.
Top 2 finishers will play in the title game. Same as the Big 12 does now.
The SEC won’t care. They want the highest TV ratings so that they can keep negotiating that contract higher. By playing every team every other year, we’re facing 3-4 top 10 recruiters a season. No way to avoid it.
I'm all over dumping Kentucky. I'm probably in the minority, I don't think our yearly contest with them brings anything to the table, but I'm not sure who I want to replace them. I know it for if you think Vanderbilt, but I know that the SEC wouldn't allow that, so I wonder who they would give us? As long as it is not automatically Alabama or LSU, I'll be happy.
I'm in the TV ratings are the most important crowd, so I don't think we will get Alabama every year. You have to remember this will all start about the time the playoff goes from 4 teams to 12 teams. In a 12 team playoff the SEC will go from 1-2 teams in to 3-4 teams in at least. Alabama isn't going to be worried about whether they are playing us or LSU. They play both of us every year now and are already typically in the 1-2 that make it and would always be in the 3-4 that would.
as OG Goat Holder posted, you're not taking into account Bama's influence (and our tendency to roll over).
I'm saying Bama won't care about using their influence on needing to play us because they know it doesn't matter. They can and will make the playoffs whether they play us or not. They are more likely to use their influence to make a deal with the SEC to not play us so they get even more favorable refs and calls when they play the harder games. SEC gets TV ratings, Alabama never has another penalty against them with SEC crews!**
Unless the sec does away with the egg bowl and replaced that with Georgia as a permanent opponent, it’s hard for this to anything but positive for us. We already play LSU and Bama every year.
What have you seen to make you think playing us every year is a priority for Alabama? I already know the answer. Nothing.
Uhh, I dunno, maybe an easy W over a conference foe? Plus travel is only 90 miles away. We are the nearest SEC university to them.
That’s purely your speculation. What have you actually seen from Alabama to make you think they want to drop 1 of their 3 big rivals?
