Why Auburn should move to the East

Sure, it makes sense for Auburn...

Prior to the SEC's split into divisions, Auburn had played each of the teams in the East an average of 45 times... while they had played each of the teams in the West an average of just 33 times.

Despite being in the West now for 24 seasons...

Auburn has still played Florida more times than Alabama
Auburn has still played Tennessee more times than LSU
Auburn has still played Vanderbilt more times than Ole Miss

And then of course there is the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. Auburn and Georgia have met on the football field an astonishing 119 times. That's far more any other SEC rivalry, and by far more than any major rivalry featuring one of the "Big 6":

Most played games in the SEC
** "Big 6" rivalries are in BOLD
119- Georgia vs. Auburn
112- Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss
111- Tennessee vs. Kentucky
110- Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt
108- LSU vs. Mississippi State
103- LSU vs. Ole Miss
98- Alabama vs. Mississippi State
97- Alabama vs. Tennessee
94- Georgia vs. Florida

Auburn makes more sense in the East. And that would still be true even if it wasn't proven on a map by looking at where Missouri is located.

But until recently, what division made the most sense for Auburn was in my opinion an issue for only Auburn to deal with. Every other program had been up to now essentially unaffected... unless you count Florida and Tennessee having to lose their annual rivalries with Auburn.

The main reason why the SEC needs Auburn in the East is because we are suffering from EXTREME imbalance within the league. The SEC West is quite frankly far superior to the East as a whole.

Some will argue that all these things are cyclical.... while things do fluctuate, the truth is the East has NEVER been the dominant division for a sustained period of time.

From 1992 through 2008, the SEC East was very top-heavy. Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia were very strong... South Carolina was below average... and Vandy and Kentucky were horrible. By contrast, the SEC West was pretty mediocre across the board.

So while the East produced 10 of the first 17 SEC Championship Game winners from 1992-2008, the SEC West actually led the East in head-to-head games played by a record of 172-167-3.

During the first 17 years of Divisions in the SEC, the West won 50.7% of all head-to-head cross-divisional matchups, while the East won 49.3%. That's about as even as it could have been.

But beginning with the 2010 season, things started to change. Over the past six years, the West has defeated the East in head-to-head matchups by an astounding record of 70-28. For the better part of the decade, the West has won 71.4% of the head-to-head matchups, while the East has won just 28.6%.

Not only that, but the West has produced the last six SEC Championship Game winners... and the majority of those contests weren't even close. Since 2010, only one time has the Championship Game been decided by less than two touchdowns: The 2012 Georgia vs. Alabama classic in which Georgia came up just 4 points short.

In the other 5 Championship Games since 2010:
Auburn beat South Carolina by 39 points
LSU beat Georgia by 32 points
Auburn beat Missouri by 17 points
Alabama beat Missouri by 29 points
Alabama beat Florida by 14 points

Not only is the West dominating the East in the regular season, they are pounding the East nearly every time in Atlanta.

And it shows no signs of stopping. As a whole, the West is bringing in more talent nearly every year. If you look at the 247Sports Team Recruiting Rankings...

In 2016, the West produced 4 of the Top 5 Signing Classes in the SEC
In 2015 the West produced 6 of the Top 8 Signing Classes in the SEC
In 2014, the West produced the Top 4 Signing Classes in the SEC

It's time to shake things up in the divisions. The SEC has got to find a way to make things more equal to better the conference. I think Auburn moving to the East would be a good start.