Why the SEC is keeping 8-game schedule for an additional year
The tides are turning in the SEC, but not as quickly as some would like. On June 1, the SEC announced it will stick to an eight-game league schedule in 2024 despite adding Oklahoma and Texas.
What’s in it for us?
As expected, many fans who were hoping to see extra SEC football weren’t happy with the decision. Nonetheless, On3’s own J.D. PicKell is here to break down the decision.
“Greg Byrne, the athletic director for Alabama, put it perfectly. He said this, ‘If we’re going to play more Power 5 and conference games, let’s make sure we’re rewarded for that,'” PicKell said.
“What Greg Byrne is saying is, ‘Listen, you want to see us play more conference games? You want to see us go play more big boys and have more entertaining games? Well, that’s cool but I don’t want to be hear toting three L’s and missing the College Football Playoff when it gets expanded.'”
Dancing with danger
In other words, SEC teams care far less about entertaining the masses than they care about winning. Makes sense. Currently, the plan for the 2024 schedule is a one-year plan, and it should be. As PicKell mentioned, the SEC schedule isn’t the only change happening to NCAA Football in 2024.
The College Football Playoff is set to expand to 12 teams in the 2024-2025 season. The 2024 plan will allow SEC teams to gauge how they will be judged if they suffer an extra loss due a nine-game schedule. Pickell painted a terrifying picture to help SEC fans understand the teams’ points of view.
“With Auburn — Georgia, LSU and Alabama, if those are the three losses for them that they end up toting and they miss the College Football Playoffs,” PicKell said. “You don’t want to be penalized for playing good teams and losing games. It doesn’t make any sense.”
SEC teams playing it safe
Teams already consider these nightmare scenarios with an eight-game schedule. Just two years ago, Georgia missed the College Football Playoff with losses to only Florida and Alabama during the regular season.
For reasons like this, only five programs supported a 9-game SEC schedule, according to Brett McMurphy of the Action Network.
“Everybody knows that deal where you walk in the pool and see how deep you can go with your feet still touching. The SEC is trying to figure out how deep they can go with keeping their head above water and still making the College Football Playoff,” PicKell said.