Rece Davis calls for SEC to play 10 conference games

When the SEC expanded by adding Oklahoma and Texas to the mix ahead of the 2024 season, the conference did so without expanding the league slate. Everyone still played eight SEC games.

Going into 2025 that will remain the case, though the door remains open for expansion.

As talks about the College Football Playoff expanding take place this week, the discussion of the number of conference games for the SEC has once again risen to the forefront. Could the league expand to nine or perhaps even 10 games?

Not only could it, it should, said ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis.

“They should play 10. That’s my conviction,” Davis said on the College GameDay Podcast on Tuesday. “I think they should. Because you want better product. Now people say, ‘Well, you’re a TV guy, of course you want better product.’ But I think also the players enjoy it more.”

Davis offered some cover for that take by citing one of the all-time greats, now a colleague of his on College GameDay.

“Nick Saban has said on numerous occasions that while there were certainly constraints with the COVID year, that in terms of competition, that was perhaps the most enjoyable year he had,” Davis said. “They played 10 SEC games and that was all they played.”

He leaned hard into the ‘players prefer more conference games’ argument, too.

“When you are at Texas, the players enjoy Georgia week more than they would enjoy — I was about to say no disrespect, there’s no way to say this without being disrespectful to some degree, and I apologize for it — the Texas players would enjoy Georgia week more than they would enjoy Georgia State week,” Davis said. “That’s just the way it is. I think that if you’re going to get to this level and there is separation and you’re going to have these gargantuan conferences, then you should play as many conference games as possible.”

Now, there are a lot of factors at play. Huge financial ramifications with any move, whether it be to remain at eight, go to nine, or go to 10 conference games.

Davis acknowledged all that. He also underscored that he realizes 10 games would be a huge leap.

“Knowing that they won’t go to 10, which would give you five home and five away, they should go nine,” Davis said. “But there are also prongs to this. There’s also the business aspect of it, the negotiations that are outside the realm of College GameDay and the ace reporter on College GameDay in terms of making the decision about, OK you’re providing more inventory to your media partner, what is given back in exchange for that? I understand the business aspect. I’m speaking only from the competition aspect.”

Bottom line: Davis thinks the current setup for the SEC and its number of conference games isn’t what’s best for college football. So he’s using his platform to amplify an argument for expansion.

“If I were in charge I would advocate for the SEC and the Big Ten to play 10 conference games and to play someone else,” Davis said. “I know they’re talking about a schedule arrangement against each other, and that’s great. But I would say then one more against somebody, whether it’s your ACC rival or Big 12 team you play, whoever else it is of a high-caliber game so that you only have one outside of that.

“And I realize what it does to the other ones on the outside, but as college football evolves and grows you have to think about continuing to generate the revenue by keeping fannies in the seats, by keeping eyes on the television set, and on the field keeping interest of your players. And the interest of the players to provide a good show, they enjoy playing big games.”