I suspect this will be the format

[615dawg]

2 8-team divisions

West
Oklahoma
Texas
Texas A&M
Arkansas
State
Ole Miss
LSU
Missouri

East
Alabama
Auburn
Kentucky
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
South Carolina
Georgia
Florida

Since all protected rivalries are intra division, you play everyone in your division once, then play two teams from the other division every year. So in four years, you play everyone in the conference.

This is a win for State. We get rid of Alabama every year and we make boatloads of money with the new SEC Network and the Longhorn Network becoming SEC Network+

Texas A&M will be good enough to keep Texas from becoming Alabama 2.0, so they will not be a guaranteed L every year. Oklahoma will be tougher than Auburn, but we will pick up Missouri every year.

 

[Seinfeld]

I just don’t see us keeping divisions. From a scheduling standpoint, it would back the SEC into a corner of having to choose between two bad options. Either expand conference play or else have it where teams are playing cross-region teams like once every 8 years.

If there was ever a time to kill divisions, now’s the time

 

[Smoked Toag]

Any format is going to be tough for us, but it is what it is. I don't think they will keep divisions, though.

I just hope we get rid of the championship game, with the advent of the bigger playoff. No need for it.

 

[patdog]

Yeah. It'll either be 4-team pods or just one big 16-team conference with a set number of permanent opponents and rotate the rest.

 

[Bulldog from Birth]

And that’s going to be sad. My dream has always been to watch us walk off the field in Atlanta holding that trophy once in my life. I don’t think I’d get near as exited about simply getting a playoff birth.

Any format is going to be tough for us, but it is what it is. I don't think they will keep divisions, though.

I just hope we get rid of the championship game, with the advent of the bigger playoff. No need for it.

 

[Smoked Toag]

And that’s going to be sad. My dream has always been to watch us walk off the field in Atlanta holding that trophy once in my life. I don’t think I’d get near as exited about simply getting a playoff birth.

Understand, but remember, it's only been around since 1992, and that was a big change at the time. We'd still award championships, they just wouldn't be awarded in ATL after a designated championship game.

Think about it like baseball - which championship was better, the 2016 regular season title after the Arkansas series, or the 2012 tournament title in Hoover (at the end of a designated championship game)?

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

No divisions. Divisions wouldn’t make sense with a 16 team conference. We’ve already started distancing ourselves from divisions in other sports. Saying bye bye to football divisions is our next logical step.

 

[Dawgpile]

Any format is going to be tough for us, but it is what it is. I don't think they will keep divisions, though.

I just hope we get rid of the championship game, with the advent of the bigger playoff. No need for it.

No way I see that happening... Too much money made off of it.

 

[Go Budaw]

Don’t think there will be divisions.

10 game SEC schedule

Everyone has 2 permanent opponents (one home, one away) and 8 rotating opponents.
Bama would have Tennessee and Auburn as their permanents.
Auburn would have UGA and Bama.
UF would have Tennessee and Georgia.
MSU would have OM and somebody else.
OM would have MSU and probably LSU.
Etc.

Top 2 teams in the standings play in the championship. First tiebreaker is head to head. Second is record against common opponents. Third is final CFP rankings after the regular season is over.

 

[thatsbaseball]

Divisions or not, pods whatever but a 10 game conference schedule would be a killer.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Nine game schedule.

Three permanent opponents and six rotating opponents.

Everyone gets to have a home game with everyone else at least once every four years.

But don't put Bill Connelly in charge of conference scheduling.

Instead of the 4-team pods idea with a 16-team SEC, I attempted a "3 permanent rivals + 6 each year" approach. Would still get you home & homes with everyone in 4 years. Tried to even out schedules as best I could. Not COMPLETELY satisfying, but closer (imo). pic.twitter.com/j2sS1ayIRz— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) July 22, 2021

 

[garddog]

I think we end up with 3 permanent.
Ole Miss, Bama, LSU

 

[johnson86-1]

No divisions. Divisions wouldn’t make sense with a 16 team conference. We’ve already started distancing ourselves from divisions in other sports. Saying bye bye to football divisions is our next logical step.

I don't think we'll end up with two divisions, but it could "make sense." Play a 10 game SEC schedule. 7 division games. 3 cross divisional games. Play every SEC school at least once in a three year rotation (although that requires that you not do home & home in successive years). If you do home and homes, then you're looking at every six years, which is less ideal.

But it's going to be either pods or just each team will have three or four permanent opponents and 4 or 5 rotating opponents. The money from a nine game schedule would be great, but it's not ideal to have an odd number of conference games with half the conference being at a disadvantage.

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

Yeah. It'll either be 4-team pods or just one big 16-team conference with a set number of permanent opponents and rotate the rest.

I agree. And I say is few permanent opponents as possible. Like maybe 1. That would allow you to play everyone in as short a time as possible while maintaining the biggest rivalries.

Alabama-Auburn
Arkansas-LSU
Florida-Georgia
Kentucky-South Carolina
Missouri-Oklahoma
Ole Miss-State
Tennessee-Vanderbilt
Texas-Texas A&M

Example: The Iron Bowl needs to happen every year, but I don't need Alabama-Tennessee every year.

 

[mstateglfr]

3 perma teams from the mythical West, 3 perma teams from the mythical East, and 3 on constant rotation.

I choose OM, Mizzou, and Arkansas from the West and then UK, Vandy, and South Carolina from the East. We get those 6 and rotate the last 9 teams.
Get it done, Cohen!

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

I think we end up with 3 permanent.
Ole Miss, Bama, LSU

Just imagine how many Pod Championships Stans would have won!**

 

[Smoked Toag]

I agree. And I say is few permanent opponents as possible. Like maybe 1. That would allow you to play everyone in as short a time as possible while maintaining the biggest rivalries.

Alabama-Auburn
Arkansas-LSU
Florida-Georgia
Kentucky-South Carolina
Missouri-Oklahoma
Ole Miss-State
Tennessee-Vanderbilt
Texas-Texas A&M

Example: The Iron Bowl needs to happen every year, but I don't need Alabama-Tennessee every year.

No way, you can't kill the Red River Rivalry. And while I get the angst, why kill Alabama/Tennessee? Auburn/Georgia? LSU/Ole Miss? I see no reason to do that. Everybody can have 2-3 permanent opponents and then roll on like normal. No sense in getting rid of good things.

 

[Smoked Toag]

No way I see that happening... Too much money made off of it.

Money will pale in comparison to the money made off multiple SEC teams in the playoff. Not to mention the improved regular season slate.

 

[dorndawg]

2 8-team divisions

West
Oklahoma
Texas
Texas A&M
Arkansas
State
Ole Miss
LSU
Missouri

East
Alabama
Auburn
Kentucky
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
South Carolina
Georgia
Florida

Since all protected rivalries are intra division, you play everyone in your division once, then play two teams from the other division every year. So in four years, you play everyone in the conference.

This is a win for State. We get rid of Alabama every year and we make boatloads of money with the new SEC Network and the Longhorn Network becoming SEC Network+

Texas A&M will be good enough to keep Texas from becoming Alabama 2.0, so they will not be a guaranteed L every year. Oklahoma will be tougher than Auburn, but we will pick up Missouri every year.

I could live with this

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

No way, you can't kill the Red River Rivalry. And while I get the angst, why kill Alabama/Tennessee? Auburn/Georgia? LSU/Ole Miss? I see no reason to do that. Everybody can have 2-3 permanent opponents and then roll on like normal. No sense in getting rid of good things.

I'd be good with two. But I would be the person in the room arguing for fewer rather than more.

 

[garddog]

You have to look at these from the standpoint of longest running.
We have played Ole Miss 116 times, second most in all SEC rivalries.
LSU 113 times, for 5th most times.
Alabama 104 times for 8th most.

We are Bama and LSU's most played rivalry in their history. I just don't see us not playing them.

 

[Go Budaw]

Divisions or not, pods whatever but a 10 game conference schedule would be a killer.

It would be but it probably happens at some point. There’s going to be too much money left on the table for it to not be the case. I suspect that once the super conference shakedown is complete, there will probably be an agreement between the conferences to all play a 10 game schedule so that no one gets a perceived advantage from playing more cupcakes. Maybe just wishful thinking on my part, but its in everybody’s best interest. Part of that will also be waving bye bye to the 6 win requirement for bowl eligibility, or just waving bye bye to the NCAA in general.

 

[Maroonthirteen]

So, our permanent rivals would be...... OM, Alabama and FLorida. 17 that. Better drop Alabama and/or Florida for UK, VU, USC, Ark, MU.

 

[notoriousD_O_G]

You have to look at these from the standpoint of longest running.
We have played Ole Miss 116 times, second most in all SEC rivalries.
LSU 113 times, for 5th most times.
Alabama 104 times for 8th most.

We are Bama and LSU's most played rivalry in their history. I just don't see us not playing them.

At the same time though if you are giving Bama 3 permanent games the TV folks are gonna have to have them play Auburn LSU and TN. This is all driven by TV and locking your biggest cash/ratings cow into a game with MSU and Ole Miss every year is a waste of your asset. Thats why I think (or hope) we dont do pods and just do 3 permanent opponents. That keeps matchups fresh and assures that you get all the big games annualy without locking yourself into ones no one cares about.

 

[wsjmsu75]

At the same time though if you are giving Bama 3 permanent games the TV folks are gonna have to have them play Auburn LSU and TN. This is all driven by TV and locking your biggest cash/ratings cow into a game with MSU and Ole Miss every year is a waste of your asset. Thats why I think (or hope) we dont do pods and just do 3 permanent opponents. That keeps matchups fresh and assures that you get all the big games annualy without locking yourself into ones no one cares about.

Good point. Makes sense. ESPN/ABC/SECN will have a lot of input as to the scheduling format.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

That’s why I don’t want Bill in charge of scheduling.

 

[Wizard.sixpack]

not happening

 

[Wizard.sixpack]

I agree. And I say is few permanent opponents as possible. Like maybe 1. That would allow you to play everyone in as short a time as possible while maintaining the biggest rivalries.

Alabama-Auburn
Arkansas-LSU
Florida-Georgia
Kentucky-South Carolina
Missouri-Oklahoma
Ole Miss-State
Tennessee-Vanderbilt
Texas-Texas A&M

Example: The Iron Bowl needs to happen every year, but I don't need Alabama-Tennessee every year.

You an OM fan? Why you list them first?*

 

[SteelCurtain74]

Since we just beat them in baseball, maybe we can find a way to claim a "rivlary" with Vandy. Wouldn't mind seeing them on the schedule every year.

 

[SheltonChoked]

Yeah. It'll either be 4-team pods or just one big 16-team conference with a set number of permanent opponents and rotate the rest.

Agree. It's either pods or 3 permanent opponents. For football (please 8 lb 6 oz baby Jesus, don't make it who has played each other more are the Permanent Opponents)

Baseball might just have one permanent opponent then rotate the others
Basketball might just have two permanent opponents then rotate the others

 

[SheltonChoked]

With 3 permanent Opponents in football, and a 9 game conference schedule, you can play everyone in 2 years. Or 4 years if you want back to back home and homes.

 

[SheltonChoked]

Any format is going to be tough for us, but it is what it is. I don't think they will keep divisions, though.

I just hope we get rid of the championship game, with the advent of the bigger playoff. No need for it.

You still have a champ game. Just use top 2 records.

 

[SheltonChoked]

I don't think we'll end up with two divisions, but it could "make sense." Play a 10 game SEC schedule. 7 division games. 3 cross divisional games. Play every SEC school at least once in a three year rotation (although that requires that you not do home & home in successive years). If you do home and homes, then you're looking at every six years, which is less ideal.

But it's going to be either pods or just each team will have three or four permanent opponents and 4 or 5 rotating opponents. The money from a nine game schedule would be great, but it's not ideal to have an odd number of conference games with half the conference being at a disadvantage.

Or do 3 permanent opponents, then play 6 sec teams one year and the remaining 6 the next year. You get to have a home and home with everyone every 4 years. Play 9 conference games. Play 3 non conference. Eliminate the "power 5 rule".

 

[PineGroveBully]

View attachment 21102

 

[johnson86-1]

Or do 3 permanent opponents, then play 6 sec teams one year and the remaining 6 the next year. You get to have a home and home with everyone every 4 years. Play 9 conference games. Play 3 non conference. Eliminate the "power 5 rule".

That would be good but hate the 5/4 home/away mix. I also like playing P5 OOC games. Maybe it's irrelevant if the playoff is expanded, but I like having some indication of which conferences are stronger.