Daily briefing: On SEC scheduling, Dave Clawson and appreciation for the Mountain West’s Craig Thompson

Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:

SEC expansion will be restoring rivalries

Figuring out the 16-team SEC schedule once Oklahoma and Texas arrive is a bear. The league office instructed Oklahoma to cancel home-and-homes with Georgia and Tennessee because they’re in the way. Unlike just about every other instance of realignment, “our expansion is in many ways unique because we’re restoring rivalries,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Saturday at Texas. He listed Arkansas-Texas, Texas-Texas A&M and Missouri-Oklahoma. Sankey also suggested that the border between Arkansas and Oklahoma will spur those programs into rivalry. The Sooners and the Razorbacks have played 12 times in the regular season – but not since 1926 – and in three bowls. Sankey has made it known he favors adding a ninth conference game. Lobbying takes time. “What’s important is even if they’re not played every year, we’ve got the ability to continue rivalries and create new rivalries,” he said.

Wake Forest can’t afford to overlook Liberty with Clemson looming

Dave Clawson has done at No. 19 Wake Forest what he has done at every stop on his coaching ladder – slowly, steadily built a winner. Hey, it’s No. 19 Wake Forest, and we don’t even blink. The Demon Deacons play host to No. 5 Clemson next week, which is what makes the game Saturday against Liberty so interesting. The Flames are 2-0, with wins over Southern Miss and UAB, and already have six fumble recoveries on the season. That’s interesting because Liberty recovered only two fumbles in 13 games a year ago. Wake is plus-three in turnovers, a habit under Clawson. Here’s another habit – the Demon Deacons haven’t lost to a Group of Five team since 2016. They’re not a team that looks past the next opponent. That will be tested Saturday.

Craig Thompson’s legacy could be ‘March Madness’ vibe for CFP

What has been admirable about watching Craig Thompson work as the only commissioner that the Mountain West Conference has had since its inception in 1999 is that he bristled if he detected even a hint of condescension shown toward his conference. He announced Wednesday he was retiring at the end of the year. Thompson fought – hard – to clear a path for the MWC into the College Football Playoff, and as the Group of 5 representative on the four-person committee that created the 12-team playoff, he found a way to widen that path. The format of the top six conference champions and the top six at-large teams makes it feasible to see two Group of 5 teams in the field. The best part of the new format is that college football may get a March Madness vibe in a postseason that could use a shot of Cinderella.