I wonder how many permanent opponents there will be.
Last edited:
9 game SEC schedule is coming...
- Thread starter dawgstudent
- Start date
I wonder how many permanent opponents there will be.
I would think 3 permanent, the other 6 rotate. That way you play everyone both at home and away at least once in a 4 year cycle.
3 permanent, 6 rotating.
We'll get Ole Miss, and most likely Kentucky and Texas A&M for our 3. It's possible that Auburn or Texas could be our 3rd instead of A&M, but probably not.
We'll get Ole Miss, and most likely Kentucky and Texas A&M for our 3. It's possible that Auburn or Texas could be our 3rd instead of A&M, but probably not.
I’d take OM, Kentucky and A&M as permanent opponents.
I’m hoping for Bama, lsu, and Georgia **
This is nothing new. It's been coming ever since the playoff expanded to 12 teams. Only holdup is getting ESPN to pony up with an increase in the contract. And QuaoarsKing is right. We'll get Mississippi, Kentucky and A&M as permanent opponents. Ross Dellenger covered this in detail a year ago.
Tough for South Carolina and Florida who have respectable OOC P5 matchups. UGA should be able to manage.
Hate that for them
I don't. They can support their in-state rivals being added to the SEC if they don't want the extra non-conf rivalry.
The P4 scheduling requirement isn't going away. Florida and South Carolina will be just fine (Clemson is going back to their historical program level and won't be repeating the glory years).
Wasn't Arkansas also floated around as a possibility as well? The SEC Network wants more 7-3 games.**
Arkansas will get Missouri, Texas and Mississippi. Don't think there was ever any serious consideration to us being one of their permanents. I think the most likely change would be Auburn instead of Texas A&M, but I really think UM, UK & A&M is pretty much set.
We will never be lucky enough not to have either LSU or Bama on our permanent roster.
Texas took over and screwed up the Big 12. Funny it's their AD out their giving this information. What he is saying might all be ******** just to somehow take over the conversation and push what they want. I don't trust them, and they are going to be a cancer for the SEC. The SEC other schools will live to regret letting those *** lickers into the conference. You can bank that. A&M figured it out and got the hell away from them.
good - long overdue
I wonder how many permanent opponents there will be.
Texas knows their place in the SEC. They're just another program here. The 9-game schedule has nothing to do with Texas and everything to do with the expanded playoff field.
Just watch. The original SEC schools will shut them up, but they are going to try to take over.
It's been widely reported that they'll pick the sets of permanent opponents by informally dividing the conference into an "upper tier" of teams who are better than .500 in the conference over the last decade and a "lower tier" of teams who are worse than .500 over the last decade. Every team will get 2 permanent opponents in their own tier and 1 in the other tier.
Some of the opposite-tier matchups are easy:
Alabama - Tennessee
LSU - Ole Miss
Georgia - South Carolina
Oklahoma - Missouri (not super obvious, but there's no better choice for either).
Then it's less obvious. Arkansas could get either Texas or Texas A&M. Florida could get Vandy or Kentucky. Auburn doesn't really have any history with Vanderbilt, but since they're definitely getting Georgia and Alabama as their other 2, it might be most fair to give them Vandy. I think the other 4 will shake out like this:
Texas - Arkansas
Florida - Kentucky
Auburn - Vanderbilt
Texas A&M - Mississippi State
However you could easily swap the two Texas schools give us Texas, or you could let Texas have Vanderbilt, and give us Auburn. One additional piece of evidence is that Jimbo Fisher himself said that Texas A&M's 3 permanents would be LSU, Texas, and Mississippi State, though that was never an official announcement.
As far as our other 2 opponents go, Ole Miss is a lock, and I think Kentucky is probably the third. Arkansas could be a possibility, but I think they'll likely have Missouri and Ole Miss-Arkansas should be each other's thirds, but it's also possible I guess that we get Arkansas, and Ole Miss takes Vandy for their third. In fact, I think I would prefer that since I bet Kentucky has a better next decade than Arkansas does.
All this to say, I think it's really likely that our 3 are Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Texas A&M, but I wouldn't be shocked if we got Arkansas instead of Kentucky or Auburn/Texas instead of Texas A&M. I'll be really surprised if it's anyone else beyond those 6, and also if the conference doesn't fit the pattern of 2 on your tier / 1 on the other tier. I don't think Nick Saban's complaints hold any water, because under any system, over the course of the decade, Alabama and Georgia will have the easiest schedules because they never have to play themselves. So don't let them whine about how hard it is that they 2 harder permanents and just 1 easier one.
Nick didn't mind bitching that Bama was getting the hardest lower tier school (Tennessee). Funny he didn't mention they're also getting the easiest upper tier school (Auburn). Looking at records over the last 10 years, those two were #8 and #9. It balances out.
Get unlimited access today.