![]() We'll all just have to wait a little while longer to see it happen. Nine games are coming to the conference that has won 13 of the past 17 national championships. It's a big part of what makes him such an effective leader. Surely, by 2025, they can figure it out after Oklahoma and Texas have been in the league for a season. Call it what you want - a temporary schedule, a bridge schedule or a stopgap schedule - but it's pretty clear the SEC is buying a little more time to navigate its way to playing nine conference games. Low: Nothing like continuing to kick the can down the road, or as Sankey himself said, continuing to circle the airport. What are the next steps? Is a nine-game conference schedule inevitable? If schools see the selection committee prioritize quality wins over the number of losses, that might help push the nine-game conference schedule over the finish line. If ESPN were to throw in additional revenue for a ninth game, it would be extremely difficult for schools to turn that down, according to multiple sources within the SEC.Īlso, waiting to see how the expanded CFP field looks in terms of rewarding strength of schedule could play a role. What will cause the league to go to nine games in 2025? The Gamecocks face Clemson every year out of conference. Kentucky cited having to already play rival Louisville every year out of conference, and South Carolina's concerns were similar. Kentucky and South Carolina were among the teams in favor of eight. Alabama's Nick Saban had long been a proponent for playing nine games but wasn't on board with the Tide having to play Auburn, LSU and Tennessee every year because he felt that would create an uneven playing field if other teams' permanent foes weren't as strong. Florida, Georgia, LSU and Missouri also publicly favored nine games, while some schools remained on the fence. Low: Texas A&M was the school most aggressively pushing to play nine games. Which schools were pushing for eight and which were pushing for nine? And let's not forget perhaps the major factor: SEC schools would like to see rights holder ESPN kick in more money for an extra conference game with Oklahoma and Texas joining the league in 2024, according to multiple sources within the conference. In other words, "Why fix it if it ain't broke."Īnother concern was that some schools said they would have to buy their way out of nonconference games already scheduled for the 2024 season if a ninth SEC game were added. Some presidents cited concerns over player safety with an extra conference game, while others in the SEC didn't see the need to expand to nine games, especially with the conference dominating the sport the way it has for the past two decades. Also, Alabama wasn't ready to sign off on having to play Auburn, LSU and Tennessee as its three permanent foes in a nine-game schedule. With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams in 2024, there was concern among some regarding how playing a ninth SEC game could affect a two-loss or three-loss team's chances of making the playoff. We asked our college football insiders to explain the ramifications of the decision for the SEC and beyond, and to weigh in on the move, including their takes on who benefits from the decision and who gets hurt by it.Ĭhris Low: Even though SEC commissioner Greg Sankey indicated several times his preference was to play nine conference games, there wasn't a consensus among the rest of the schools. The 2024 opponents will be released June 14. The league finally made a decision at its spring meetings, sticking with an eight-game format for 2024 while keeping its options open after that. ![]() With the SEC expanding to 16 teams for the 2024 season, when Texas and Oklahoma officially join the conference, there has been much debate over the schedule format, specifically whether to continue playing eight league games or instead play nine. ![]() What's behind the SEC's decision to play eight conference gamesĬollege Football, Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Arkansas Razorbacks, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, Kentucky Wildcats, LSU Tigers, Missouri Tigers, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Ole Miss Rebels, Oklahoma Sooners, South Carolina Gamecocks, Tennessee Volunteers, Texas A&M Aggies, Texas Longhorns, Vanderbilt Commodores You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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