🏈 No surprise really...Bama cancels home and home with Michigan State.

[TerryP]

The home-and-home series between Alabama and Michigan State is no more. Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis confirmed the news to the Detroit Free-Press on Thursday afternoon.

“Alabama requested to cancel the series due to uncertainty with the SEC schedule,” Hollis told the paper via text. “While disappointed, in the spirit of collegiality, we agreed to the request.”

The series had been scheduled for Tuscaloosa in 2016 and East Lansing in 2017.

The uncertainty with Alabama's SEC schedule is likely related to wondering whether or not the SEC will have moved to a nine-game conference schedule by then, leaving only three non-conference dates available. The truth is, when it comes to Alabama, the Tide don't really need to worry about strength of schedule in the playoff era when it comes to the selection committee. It's Alabama.

As for Michigan State, this may actually be a benefit to the Spartans even if fans wanted to see these games. The Big Ten will be playing a nine-game conference schedule starting in the 2016 season, and the Spartans already have a non-conference game against Notre Dame scheduled for both the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Adding Alabama to that mix leads to a very difficult schedule to navigate.

 

[bamaledge]

Damn, I was looking forward to the Tide coming up here.

 

[TerryP]

Hell, I had already chalked up a week or two going up there...I was thinking two weeks of entertainment at Chain O' Lakes...hoping it might be a season opener.

 

[Bamabww]

I was looking forward to that game as well. We've never visited that part of the country. But it amazes me that someone is looking that far ahead and planning it to our favor. Gotta love it.

 

[UAgrad93]

When I read it, my first thoughts were..... a 9 game conference schedule is coming quick and the formation of 4 16 team superconferences is gonna happen too. Thus causing a splintering of the NCAA as we know it. The upper 64 will play each other and the lower 64 play each other.

 

[TerryP]

I was looking forward to that game as well. We've never visited that part of the country. But it amazes me that someone is looking that far ahead and planning it to our favor. Gotta love it.

After the blunder of the 2010 season and away dates for those three years proceeding it they'd damn well better be thinking ahead!

I'm still left wondering how the hell our Ath. Dept. Admin. didn't see that coming.

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On a separate note: That area of the country is fantastic to vacation in in the late summer, early fall months.