TCU coach Sonny Dykes takes jab at SEC for non-conference scheduling approach

Non-conference scheduling is always a hot-button topic when discussing the College Football Playoff. Some conferences play more games than others, leaving less opportunities for marquee out-of-conference games. While some of the conferences who play less games, like the SEC, require one out-of-conference game against a power conference opponent. Along with the rest of college football scheduling, it’s a jumbled mess.

However, once we get to the actual playoff, the varying schedules can create a bit of an imbalance. Whereas, a Big 12 school like TCU finished their season with ten straight Big 12 games, other teams got some breaks against lesser competition in there. Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes was upset about the scheduling differences in the lead up to his team’s CFP semifinal against Michigan.

“We don’t have the good fortune to play an out-of-conference game like the the SEC does in Week 10 or Week 11,” Dykes asserted at his press conference. “You’re not going to catch The Citadel in Week 10. We caught Texas.”

His complaints are valid, and a number of SEC teams do push one of their easier non-conference games to the back end of the schedule. Plus, the SEC only plays eight league games per year compared to nine on the Big 12 slate. However, the only SEC team in the College Football Playoff, Georgia, does not fall into this category. Instead, Georgia played even more power five teams than TCU in 2022, going out of conference to play Oregon and Georgia Tech while the Horned Frogs played zero power five clubs outside of their league.

Dykes and his club have had all the breaks they could want at this point, having been out of commission for the last three weekends since the Dec. 3 Big 12 title game loss. Should be a fully healthy Horned Frogs squad rearing to go under Coach Sonny Dykes.