The SEC is dealing with one of those good problems. As the conference prepares to expand to 16 schools with the addition of Oklahoma and Texas, SEC leadership is debating how to construct its schedule.
The format that has received the most buzz has each team facing three permanent rivals each season as part of the nine-game conference schedule. The other six games would come from a rotation featuring the remaining 12 teams in the conference.
While there are some obvious permanent rivals for some teams, others aren’t so clear. It’s not an easy proposition, but it’s the one that would have each SEC team playing each other every two years.
This scheduling model is attractive because it sets up a school to play every other SEC program over a two-year cycle, with both home and away games against every other school over a four-year cycle. Year 1 will have a team’s three annual rivals plus six other SEC opponents. Those six are then rotated out for the rest of the conference in Year 2, allowing for games against all 15 conference foes. – Chip Patterson, CBS Sports
So, over a two-year span, Oklahoma will face every team in the conference. Over a four-year span, they will have hosted every team in the conference.
One of the complaints with the current format is the reality that a teams don’t play host to some teams for more than a decade. For example, Texas A&M hasn’t hosted Georgia despite being in the same conference for 10 seasons and only played the Bulldogs once in that time. The format getting the most consideration would fix that.
No format will leave everyone happy, but here’s are 2 scenarios might be in discussion for LSU
Scenario #1
- Florida Gators
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- LSU Tigers
The Swamp Bowl, Alabama, and the Battle for the Golden Boot.
Scenario #2
- Auburn Tigers
- Tennessee Volunteers
- LSU Tigers
- Alabama Crimson Tide
Iron Bowl? Check. Third Saturday in October? Check, check. Annual matchups with LSU? check
This might be a bit daunting for the Crimson Tide, especially in the year they’d play Georgia, but with the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, the Tide can afford a couple of losses and still make the 12-team field.
