The SEC is going to vote for 8 games….sigh

The Southeastern Conference is going to vote for an eight game schedule (including one permanent opponent), and the fans are going to be completely screwed.

BUT IT’S NOT ABOUT THE FANS, THE COACHES GENERALLY DON’T CARE

There’s Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, who has openly campaigned for an 8-game schedule, has called it ‘unfair’ , we think simply because the Wildcats have Louisville in the Commonwealth Cup, and therefore it makes their schedule even more difficult.

Nick Saban, who was a long-time advocate of nine games, has pushed the idea of an all Power-5, better non-conference schedule instead. In fact, his lack of support for something that would be better for his fanbase led to the Tuscaloosa News – Alabama’s version of ‘Pravda’ – called him ‘feckless’.

Georgia’s Kirby Smart said: “One of the costs of scheduling, getting more balanced in term of you’re going to play everybody,” Smart said. “It’s not just going to be Georgia-Auburn. It’s going to be somebody else for somebody else. Sometimes you call that progress. Sometimes you upset the fans. I think that’s good debate in terms. You traditionalists want those rivalries and others want to see you play the teams they never get to see you play and you can’t have both.” Well Kirbs, you CAN have both. It’s called a nine-game schedule.

Eli Drinkwitz – head coach of Missouri – made this comment: “I like the setup of three permanents. I think the more permanents that you have, the more that you can measure your program against consistent opponents. I also think it preserves the basis of the SEC.

“The Southeastern Conference is the best conference in college football because of its fans and the passion of its fan base. And I think you run the risk of losing that with the short-sightedness of, well, this schedule is not fair for me. It’s not fair for me if I have to play eight.”

He jokingly added: “Every time I come to one of these meetings I’m blown away that the thirteen colonies actually formed a union. But we can’t agree on an eight or nine-game schedule”.

WHAT’S GOING TO IMPLODE WITH AN EIGHT-GAME SCHEDULE

Rivalry games: The every-year Oklahoma-Texas game is f***ed because the league will want Texas and Texas A&M to play each other. Oh, and that Georgia-Auburn game that has been played for 127 games, and has circumvented wars? Yeah. That’s not going to happen anymore. How about the 3rd Saturday in October, when Alabama plays Tennessee? Yeah…nope. Even Alabama v LSU is at risk. Then there’s the now-awesome Texas A&M and Arkansas rivalry, and even LSU and A&M.

Respect from the Committee(s): The other conferences who have jumped their conference schedule to 9 games, only for the SEC to languish behind with eight and hide behind the ‘Well, our conference is the best’, excuse, basically hanging on the recent coattails of Alabama, LSU and Georgia, while ignoring the fact that the conference itselt slid from excellent years in 2020 and 2021 to go 6-8 in 2022 and 7-5 in 2021, which includes the National Championship.

YOU KNOW WHO REALLY GETS SCREWED? THE FANS!

Do you honestly think that the multi-millionaire head coaches and ADs really give two shits about the fans? Because if they did, they would be voting for a nine-game schedule, because their fans both in-person and on TV would get to see better match-ups. 

The poor bastards spending well over $1000 for a season ticket – plus the yearly “donation” to the school to guarantee their spot (something that continually irks me to this day)- shouldn’t have to spend time watch shitty teams, because SEC ADs and coaches would rather an easier path into the college football play-off so they stick at 8. I’m sorry, but are home games against Little Sisters Of The Blind really worth your money?

The best thing that the College Football Play-Off – for college football – can do to force the SEC’s hand is pretty simple, put massive emphasis on non-conference schedules, where harder non-conference schedules are rewarded far more than in-conference games, which teams HAVE to play. But they won’t, because SEC.

SHOULD WE JUST WAIT AROUND?

No, no, no. SEC Commish Greg Sankey has said that there may be a temporary one-year, eight game conference that would preserve the big-name rivalries, but that ain’t true. We all know it ain’t true. They are waiting for ESPN to up its cash so they can pony up for 9 games, but will ESPN pony that up, bearing in mind how much Disney is struggling at the moment in almost all parts of the business?