💬 Is it fair that East teams have such an easy trip to Atlanta?

[TUSKtimes]

Just can't get over how much simpler and easier the east teams have it as opposed to the constant dogfight in the west. Is it time to either permanently switch an Auburn for a Mizzou or do away with divisions and play 9 conference games? I would gladly take either.

Here's a look at Georgia's home schedule:

App State
Samford
Miss State
Missouri
South Carolina
Kentucky

 

[94 Grad]

10 years ago, the EAST was much harder/better than the WEST. These things go in cycles. However, if you think about it the EAST is just as hard to get to Atlanta as the WEST because the EAST teams all suck at the same level. Anyone one of them can beat another EAST team on any given day.

 

[TerryP]

Easier road in the East? Perspective, I guess. Three, three win teams and a four win team in 2016. Click to enlarge it if you're blind.

 

[TUSKtimes]

10 years ago, the EAST was much harder/better than the WEST. These things go in cycles. However, if you think about it the EAST is just as hard to get to Atlanta as the WEST because the EAST teams all suck at the same level. Anyone one of them can beat another EAST team on any given day.

10 years ago we didn't have Texas A&M and Missouri. At this stage, most of the big boys are going to be staying in the west. I do see a natural renaissance for Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee because they recruit on a level that allows for that cycle, but the big boys add up to 3 and only 3. We need to get some balance in the league and build it for long-term success. In 2015 Sagarin ranked the SEC East as the worst division in power 5 football. Given the year the big 3 just enjoyed, I can't imagine they did enough to move out of the cellar.

 

[TerryP]

In 2015 Sagarin ranked the SEC East as the worst division in power 5 football

S&P+ had them the worst in '16

 

[TUSKtimes]

S&P+ had them the worst in '16

So you're saying they're consistently bad?

At this point, why not just play 9 conference games and stop all the divisional stuff and get the 2 best regular season teams to square off in Atlanta? Kind of like the big 12, once they get to the conference game themselves. Of course, they accidentally got it right when they went to their 10 team format, but it seems to be the fairest and most credible way to get to a champion.

I think the playoff committee said it best last season when they couldn't care less who won the big 10 conference championship, they wanted a well-rested Ohio State. It's time to reinvent the wheel.

 

[TerryP]

I don't like the idea of having an Alabama vs Auburn followed by an Alabama versus Auburn game or a LSU vs A&M game in back to back weeks.

 

[TUSKtimes]

I don't like the idea of having an Alabama vs Auburn followed by an Alabama versus Auburn game or a LSU vs A&M game in back to back weeks.

I don't like the idea of a conference championship game to start with, I'm just appeasing the masses, knowing they will insist on this superfluous exercise in making a buck. What did the CCG tell the playoff committee that they didn't already know? Ohio State didn't even have to show up to be pick #3. Alabama could have lost to Florida and the consensus was they were in the top 4 regardless. So that eliminates the big 10 and SECCG as tits on a bull. Washington and Clemson played lesser opponents in their CCG, meaning neither was close to being the second-best team in their conference in Colorado and VaTech. So, nothing to prove that the regular season hadn't already decided.

The college football reality is in retrospect that the playoff committee had their 4 teams correct after the 12th game of the schedule. Now with that format, we play at most 14 games, 9 conference games get to decide regular season champion, and let the committee take the top 4. h/t

 

[BamaFan334]

The SEC Championship atmosphere before the East went to shit and the playoff was one of the best environments to ever watch a game in. Truly was as close to 50/50 as you get and it was exciting knkwing you had to win that game to go. Too bad that's not the feeling the past few years.

 

[TerryP]

(Note this is from the fall of '16 ... if someone wants to do the addition. Bama is 28-5 now. )

They are some of the oldest rivalries in the sport, and several have a familiar spot on the calendar. Yet because of the addition of Missouri and Texas A&M, there are still first-of-its-kind regular season meetings between teams that only previously met in bowl games.

Many of the traditional powers of the past decade also put up impressive records that mirrored their overall marks. However, there are some records that are near .500 despite a team winning a championship or two.

And then there’s Tennessee, which has lost 11 consecutive games against the West.

Below is each SEC’s record in crossover games against the other division, memorable wins and losses and this season’s outlook:

Alabama
Record vs. SEC East: 26-5
Biggest win: 2009, Florida, 32-13 in SEC Championship Game.
Worst loss: 2010, South Carolina, 35-21.
2016 outlook: The Crimson Tide get Kentucky at home on Oct. 1, but must travel to Tennessee a week after playing at Arkansas. Alabama hasn’t lost in Knoxville since 2006.

Arkansas
Record vs. SEC East: 14-13
Biggest win: 2015, Tennessee, 24-20
Worst loss: 2013, South Carolina, 52-7
2016 outlook: The Razorbacks host Florida on Nov. 5 looking to avenge the 2013 meeting in Gainesville, 30-10. The regular season finale will be at Missouri in a game that could have bowl eligibility ramifications for either side.

Auburn
Record vs. SEC East: 17-11
Biggest win: 2010, South Carolina, 56-17 in SEC Championship Game
Worst loss: 2012, Georgia, 38-0
2016 outlook: The Tigers get their cross-over games back-to-back in early November, and the Vanderbilt game — with the Commodores coming off of a bye — is the first meeting between the teams since 2007. The visitor, meanwhile, has struggled recently in the Georgia series, and Auburn lost the last two in Athens, 34-7 and 45-7.

Florida
Record vs. SEC West: 15-14
Biggest win: 2008, Alabama, 31-20 in SEC Championship Game
Worst loss: 2010, at Alabama, 31-6
2016 outlook: The LSU game comes on Oct. 8 and following last year’s meeting decided by a punishing drive late. The Gators travel to Fayetteville where they haven’t been since 2008, but have played well there, including a 34-7 win in the last meeting.

Georgia
Record vs. SEC West: 18-9
Biggest win: 2008, at LSU, 52-38
Worst loss: 2015, Alabama, 38-15
2016 outlook: The season will start to take shape by Sept. 24 when the Bulldogs travel to Ole Miss, the first meeting since 2011. Georgia has largely done well recently against the West. The 120th meeting of the Deep South’s oldest rivalry comes in Georgia’s final regular season SEC game.

Kentucky
Record vs. SEC West: 8-18
Biggest win: 2011, Ole Miss, 30-13
Worst loss: 2014, at LSU, 41-3
2016 outlook: Kentucky has never won in Tuscaloosa, and has struggled against the West since 2010, with just one win. The Wildcats get a shot against Mississippi State at home without having to deal with Dak Prescott who had a big game last season against them.

LSU
Record vs. SEC East: 21-7
Biggest win: 2011, Georgia, 42-10
Worst loss: 2007, Kentucky 43-37
2016 outlook: The Tigers have dominated East teams in recent years. This time they get a rare meeting with Missouri, on homecoming, for the first time since the 1978 Liberty Bowl. LSU has also controlled the high-scoring series against Florida, won four out of five.

Ole Miss
Record vs. SEC East: 9-17 (not including two losses against Missouri before the Tigers joined the SEC).
Biggest win: 2014, Tennessee, 34-3
Worst loss: 2011, at Vanderbilt, 30-7
2016 outlook: The Rebels have struggled recently against East foes, and get Georgia at home on Sept. 24. They have controlled Vanderbilt recently, winning the last three. This year that game falls on the road a week before the Egg Bowl.

Mississippi State
Record vs. SEC East: 16-13
Biggest win: 2015, Kentucky, 42-16
Worst loss: 2013, at South Carolina, 34-16
2016 outlook: The Bulldogs have seven straight wins over Kentucky, who they play Oct. 22 in Lexington with the Wildcats coming off of a bye. State’s SEC opener comes at home Sept. 10 against South Carolina, a team it hasn’t beaten since 1999.

Missouri
Record vs. SEC West: 4-6
Biggest win: 2014, at Texas A&M, 34-17
Worst loss: 2014, Alabama, 42-13
2016 outlook: The Tigers’ first trip to Baton Rouge comes Oct. 1 and they struggled in road games last season, going 0-4. Missouri will wrap the season for the third straight season against Arkansas after they split the last two seasons, results that summarized each campaign.

South Carolina
Record vs. SEC West: 10-17
Biggest win: 2010, Alabama, 35-21
Worst loss: 2014, Texas A&M, 52-28
2016 outlook: The Gamecocks have struggled recently against the West, but will get extra time to prepare for the Sept. 10 meeting at Mississippi State after the season opener on a Thursday. Both games against Texas A&M have seen USC score 28 points in entertaining affairs, though both losses.

Tennessee
Record vs. SEC West: 5-22
Biggest win: 2006, vs. Alabama, 16-13
Worst loss: 2011, at Arkansas, 49-7
2016 outlook: Tennessee has lost 11 consecutive games against the West. Granted, it doesn’t help playing Alabama every year. Depth will be tested for Tennessee with back-to-back games at Texas A&M and against Alabama that follow games against Florida and at Georgia. The Volts have lost nine straight to Alabama by an average of three touchdowns per game. It’s the first SEC and regular season meeting against A&M.

Texas A&M
Record vs. SEC East: 5-3
Biggest win: 2014, South Carolina, 52-28
Worst loss: 2014, Missouri, 34-27
2016 outlook: The Aggies travel to South Carolina and get Tennessee at home in back-to-back weeks. The Aggies are 5-3 against the East since joining the league. Has not beaten Tennessee in two previous meetings, the last being in 2004 Cotton Bowl.

Vanderbilt
Record vs. SEC West: 7-19
Biggest win: 2011, at Ole Miss, 30-7
Worst loss: 2014, at Mississippi State, 51-0
2016 outlook: The Commodores have won two straight over Auburn after a slew of losses dating to the 1970s. They’ve also never won at Auburn. Vandy has lost three straight against Ole Miss after wins in 2011 and 2012.

Every SEC team’s crossover record in past decade

 

[TUSKtimes]

Tennessee is now on a 13 game losing streak against the west division. But 5-24 all-time, wow. No excuse for that, they don't play Bama twice a year. That says a lot about why Bama has never played Tennessee in the CCG.

 

[TerryP]

 

[planomateo]

SEC East team is on an 0-8 run...