BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
DESTIN, Fla.âWhile theyâre stuck on a narrative that seems to be a foregone conclusion, a more significant moment arose Wednesday at the Southeastern Conference spring meetings.
The SEC, long a purveyor of cupcake non-conference games, has decided to get serious.
Mike Slive, the man who has led the league to unthinkable heights, just set the bar even higher.
Strap on your big-boy non-conference boots, fellas.
âI made it very clear,â Slive said. âI donât want us playing four games that mean less.â
That means no matter how you look at the conference-schedule argument of staying at eight games or moving to nine, the SEC will now play tougher games out of conference. More Alabama vs. Michigan, less Alabama vs. Georgia State.
The big question: Why now? Or frankly, why at all?
The only reasonable answer is the College Football Playoffâand the move to a nine-game schedule. The proof is in the playoffâs new selection committee.
âI guarantee the (selection) committee will do everything it can to keep the SEC at one (team in the playoff),â an industry source told Sporting News. âYou have to combat that.â
The natural response: Make it harder to say no. Make it next to impossible for the selection committee to ignore the best conference in the game.
Simply put, "Our No. 2 is better than your No. 1âand we can tangibly prove it."
How, you ask? You move to nine conference games and you beef up your non-conference schedule. That meansâunder a nine-game scheduleâeight SEC teams without a current permanent non-conference rival are on the hook for an annual game against a major conference opponent. In that scenario, Florida (Florida State), Georgia (Georgia Tech), South Carolina (Clemson) and Kentucky (Louisville) would not fall under Sliveâs edict of improving the non-conference schedule. Everyone else would.
That, more than anything, is a clear signal of where the SEC is headed with its conference schedule. Upgrading non-conference schedules with an eight-game league schedule means all 14 teams are looking for two games against major conference opponentsâa process that is not only unlikely, but increasingly difficult with league teams set on playing seven home games.
So forget about the SEC coaches voting 13-1 on Wednesday in favor of an eight game schedule. Thatâs a side note in the entire process.
Those same coaches voted unanimously two years ago against rules to restrict oversigning, and lost. Those same coaches last year voted unanimously for a stipend for student-athletes, and lost.
Theyâll lose here, too. Even Florida coach Will Muschamp sensed the inevitable Wednesday when he said, âPersonally, I think weâll move to nine games eventually.â
The leagueâs coaches came to this Gulf Coast resort town with the idea of preserving the eight-game league schedule. They lost in unimaginable ways.
Those same 14 coaches who last year were unanimously in favor of the new playoff got itâand two more guaranteed games against major college opponents to go with it.
Itâs inevitable because itâs unavoidable.
Strap on your big-boy boots, fellas.
The SEC, long a purveyor of cupcake non-conference games, has decided to get serious.
Mike Slive, the man who has led the league to unthinkable heights, just set the bar even higher.
Strap on your big-boy non-conference boots, fellas.
âI made it very clear,â Slive said. âI donât want us playing four games that mean less.â
That means no matter how you look at the conference-schedule argument of staying at eight games or moving to nine, the SEC will now play tougher games out of conference. More Alabama vs. Michigan, less Alabama vs. Georgia State.
The big question: Why now? Or frankly, why at all?
The only reasonable answer is the College Football Playoffâand the move to a nine-game schedule. The proof is in the playoffâs new selection committee.
âI guarantee the (selection) committee will do everything it can to keep the SEC at one (team in the playoff),â an industry source told Sporting News. âYou have to combat that.â
The natural response: Make it harder to say no. Make it next to impossible for the selection committee to ignore the best conference in the game.
Simply put, "Our No. 2 is better than your No. 1âand we can tangibly prove it."
How, you ask? You move to nine conference games and you beef up your non-conference schedule. That meansâunder a nine-game scheduleâeight SEC teams without a current permanent non-conference rival are on the hook for an annual game against a major conference opponent. In that scenario, Florida (Florida State), Georgia (Georgia Tech), South Carolina (Clemson) and Kentucky (Louisville) would not fall under Sliveâs edict of improving the non-conference schedule. Everyone else would.
That, more than anything, is a clear signal of where the SEC is headed with its conference schedule. Upgrading non-conference schedules with an eight-game league schedule means all 14 teams are looking for two games against major conference opponentsâa process that is not only unlikely, but increasingly difficult with league teams set on playing seven home games.
So forget about the SEC coaches voting 13-1 on Wednesday in favor of an eight game schedule. Thatâs a side note in the entire process.
Those same coaches voted unanimously two years ago against rules to restrict oversigning, and lost. Those same coaches last year voted unanimously for a stipend for student-athletes, and lost.
Theyâll lose here, too. Even Florida coach Will Muschamp sensed the inevitable Wednesday when he said, âPersonally, I think weâll move to nine games eventually.â
The leagueâs coaches came to this Gulf Coast resort town with the idea of preserving the eight-game league schedule. They lost in unimaginable ways.
Those same 14 coaches who last year were unanimously in favor of the new playoff got itâand two more guaranteed games against major college opponents to go with it.
Itâs inevitable because itâs unavoidable.
Strap on your big-boy boots, fellas.
