TerryP
Staff
This is one of those things we all knew but probably few have actually thought about. I stumbled across these numbers surfing around on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
If you were to guess, how many games would you think the Tide has played at noon since the 2009 title? Who do you think played the most?
Here's a bit of research done by the guys over on SEC Country:
If you were to guess, how many games would you think the Tide has played at noon since the 2009 title? Who do you think played the most?
Here's a bit of research done by the guys over on SEC Country:
Well, since 2010, the year after Nick Saban captured his first national championship with Alabama, the Crimson Tide have played in a grand total of four noon-hour games.
And in that same time span, LSU has only been obligated for five midday kickoffs.
By comparison, when charting the last five seasons, six SEC schools have been assigned to the 12 noon/11 a.m Central window at least 15 times:
UGA (24 early kickoffs since 2011)
Kentucky (24)
South Carolina (21)
Auburn (16)
Arkansas (15)
Vanderbilt (15)
Granted, Alabama and LSU are the unrivaled TV darlings of the SEC right now, and it makes good business sense for CBS (3:30 p.m. time slot — first choice among networks) and ESPN/ESPN2/ABC (two or three prime-time games every Saturday, on average) to campaign to air the Crimson Tide and/or Tigers every week–minus cannon-fodder matchups with FCS schools).
But even with the ascension of the SEC Network, which serves as a game-changing revenue source for the SEC, the conference schedule-makers still favor the seemingly unlimited notion of putting Kentucky, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, South Carolina or Georgia in the early kickoff slot.
By extension, they’re implying the above schools don’t necessarily have the juice to provide CBS with good ratings in the 3:30 p.m. window.
Speaking of which, the Bulldogs own a five-year record of 20-4 when placed in the noon-hour TV window. So, it’s not like these early kickoffs have been a deterrent for UGA — minus the back-to-back defeats against Missouri and Vanderbilt in 2013.
Here are the SEC-affiliated team records when playing in the noon hour, collected over the last five seasons:
SINCE 2011
UGA (20-4)
South Carolina (14-7)
Vanderbilt (10-5)
Ole Miss (9-5)
Tennessee (8-6)
Arkansas (8-7)
Mississippi State (7-6)
Auburn (8-8)
Kentucky (7-17)
SINCE 2012
Missouri (10-2)
Texas A&M (5-2)
SINCE 2014
Florida (6-1)
You may notice that Alabama and LSU are absent from the listing above, for substantial reasons:
a) Coach Saban hasn’t lost a noon-hour kickoff time with Alabama in eight years (his lone early defeat: Mississippi State in 2007);
b) LSU head coach Les Miles, despite the occasional coup attempt to remove him from office,has never lost a noon-hour game in 11 glorious seasons with the Tigers.
The SEC teams that do best with noon ET kickoffs
And in that same time span, LSU has only been obligated for five midday kickoffs.
By comparison, when charting the last five seasons, six SEC schools have been assigned to the 12 noon/11 a.m Central window at least 15 times:
UGA (24 early kickoffs since 2011)
Kentucky (24)
South Carolina (21)
Auburn (16)
Arkansas (15)
Vanderbilt (15)
Granted, Alabama and LSU are the unrivaled TV darlings of the SEC right now, and it makes good business sense for CBS (3:30 p.m. time slot — first choice among networks) and ESPN/ESPN2/ABC (two or three prime-time games every Saturday, on average) to campaign to air the Crimson Tide and/or Tigers every week–minus cannon-fodder matchups with FCS schools).
But even with the ascension of the SEC Network, which serves as a game-changing revenue source for the SEC, the conference schedule-makers still favor the seemingly unlimited notion of putting Kentucky, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, South Carolina or Georgia in the early kickoff slot.
By extension, they’re implying the above schools don’t necessarily have the juice to provide CBS with good ratings in the 3:30 p.m. window.
Speaking of which, the Bulldogs own a five-year record of 20-4 when placed in the noon-hour TV window. So, it’s not like these early kickoffs have been a deterrent for UGA — minus the back-to-back defeats against Missouri and Vanderbilt in 2013.
Here are the SEC-affiliated team records when playing in the noon hour, collected over the last five seasons:
SINCE 2011
UGA (20-4)
South Carolina (14-7)
Vanderbilt (10-5)
Ole Miss (9-5)
Tennessee (8-6)
Arkansas (8-7)
Mississippi State (7-6)
Auburn (8-8)
Kentucky (7-17)
SINCE 2012
Missouri (10-2)
Texas A&M (5-2)
SINCE 2014
Florida (6-1)
You may notice that Alabama and LSU are absent from the listing above, for substantial reasons:
a) Coach Saban hasn’t lost a noon-hour kickoff time with Alabama in eight years (his lone early defeat: Mississippi State in 2007);
b) LSU head coach Les Miles, despite the occasional coup attempt to remove him from office,has never lost a noon-hour game in 11 glorious seasons with the Tigers.
The SEC teams that do best with noon ET kickoffs
