The QUEEN is not going to like this. LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
James Franklin of Penn State went off on the Big Ten's decision to move to nine conference games when the SEC plays only eight and gives itself a big advantage.
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Just look at Ole Miss in 2024; the Rebels' non-conference schedule was Furman, Middle Tennessee State, Wake Forest and Georgia Southern. Four straight easy games to start the season, an easy 4-0 record and a top-5 ranking. That immediately makes Ole Miss a "quality" win or loss for the other SEC teams, because the ranking was enhanced by a ridiculously easy four-game stretch.
Sure enough, Ole Miss then lost three conference games, because conference games are harder. Imagine if the Rebels had to play a ninth conference game instead of Georgia Southern or Middle Tennessee State. Would they have finished 8-4 instead of 9-3? And still found a way to complain about missing the playoff?
This is why Franklin's right to bring up the difficulty of comparing across conferences. If SEC team played nine conference games, they would give themselves, collectively, 16 extra losses. If you assume that those games replace FCS-level teams, that is. And they would. Add 16 extra losses to the SEC and suddenly their records and rankings start to look a lot worse. 7-5 instead of 8-4. 9-3 instead of 10-2, and so on.
The SEC has no reason to change, because it is benefitting from the current setup. Doesn't mean it shouldn't.
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