The SEC has finally figured out its scheduling quandary after bringing on two new teams, officially going with a plan that would give each team games against six division foes, one permanent cross-division rival and one rotating out-of-division opponent every year. And then whichever four out-of-conference teams are up.
The way it's set up, it means, say, Alabama and Georgia will only play every six years, and the Tide will visit Athens once every 12. It's almost like they're both in the same conference, sort of! Barely!
The pairings:
- Alabama-Tennessee
- Arkansas-Missouri
- Auburn-Georgia
- LSU-Florida
- Mississippi State-Kentucky
- Ole Miss-Vanderbilt
- Texas A&M-South Carolina
So why not just play nine conference games, allowing teams to see each other more than once a decade?
Gogue: Going to 9 SEC games created unfair competitive issues for GA, FL & SC, whose natural rival is out of conference.
— Jon Solomon (@jonsol) June 1, 2012
Should we hope the coming playoff system has a harsh strength of schedule component, which could punish leagues that play only eight conference games?
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