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LSU AD Scott Woodward still thinks SEC will adopt nine-game conference football schedule

On3 imageby:Andrew Graham05/30/23

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SEC Championship - LSU v Georgia
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The SEC will, eventually, move to a nine-game football scheduling model for the conference if you ask LSU athletic director Scott Woodward. A vocal proponent of playing an additional league game, Woodward shared his thinking with Paul Finebaum on the latter’s SEC Network show at SEC spring meetings on Tuesday.

While Woodward didn’t offer much by way of a hard deadline — prior to the 2024 season when the league adds Oklahoma and Texas is the apparent absolute deadline. But he thinks with enough discussion, a nine-game model will be agreed upon by the league prior to the 2024 football season.

“I think it will and I think it’s just a matter of it working out,” Woodward said. “In my belief, it’s something to be discussed and gotten too. I’ve been a big supporter of nine games all along and believed in it. But there’s some things to resolve and things to get going and we’ll eventually get there. The new members don’t come until 2024 so we have time. And I just think it’ll be discussed and done properly at the end of the day.”

One reason Woodward is in favor of expanding the conference schedule to nine games is more big-time matchups. Swapping out non-Power 5 opponent for even a median SEC opponent is a better draw for fans and students who might be disengaged with blowouts.

Plus, the chance to have more headlining matchups like Alabama-LSU, GeorgiaTennessee and so on on the schedule is enticing.

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It comes down to something LSU football coach Brian Kelly said about his decision to take the job, Woodward said.

“I can’t speak for the people that are just dead set for the eight, I don’t think it’s as many as people think,” Woodward said. “But they have points that hey, it’s tough to get bowl eligible, it’s tough to compete in our league, which is a meat grinder — and I understand that. At the end of the day, I think my coach, coach Kelly, our coach at LSU really said it best: ‘Look, I came here to play the best and be with the best and I want to give the fans the best.’ And I think it makes even more sense now that we’re expanding the playoffs. To have tough, good games and you can lose two games and still make the playoff.”

And playing games against tough conference opponents becomes more palatable with a more open playoff field come expansion in 2024-25. Woodward suspects there could be a future where a three-loss team would be making a case to get in the field.

If that could be the reality, he sees no reason not to up the ante and play more SEC games.

“Oh there’s no question they are. And what’s good about them is, there might even be a three loss team to get in the playoffs — you might make a case for it. But definitely a two-loss team and with it going to 12, I just think there’s better and more opportunity and there’s not like this cause where if you lose a game, you’re out. You can lose a game or two and still be very competitive and good at the end and get in the playoffs.”