quote:
I don't think there should be "pods". I think there should be enough permanent opponents to keep traditional rivalries alive. But not really clustered.

Like Alabama would have LSU and Tennessee in their permanent set, but LSU wouldn't have Tennessee.

I don't know how many permanent opponents you would need to make it work and still play every team in a reasonable amount of time, but I feel like this would give the most chance of making everyone happy.

Pod system: 3 permanent opponents.

Rivalry system: 3 permanent opponents.

The assumption is the remaining 12 schools that aren’t permanent will be rotated. Play the same 6 in even years, and play the remaining 6 in odd years. The scheduling framework should be the same, regardless which format is chosen.

The rivalry system allows more flexibility to keep everyone happy and balance out the schedules. I don’t see the benefit of the pod system over the rivalry format. The winners of each pod aren’t going into a four team playoff to battle it out for the SEC Championship, unless……that’s the plan and the first step in an expanded CFB playoff. A four team SEC playoff would generate tons of interest and revenue.

We’re probably heading towards three or four super conferences, and an expanded CFB playoff. The winner of each pod qualifies for the “playoffs”. The playoff format is anyone’s guess. The first couple of rounds might be SEC only only to determine the SEC champion.

I could also envision a format where every conference has pods. 64 teams divided into 16 pods. Each pod winner get a national seed, and the 16 pod winners qualify for the playoffs.

Until that day comes, or the SEC wants a four team conference playoff starting in 2025, then the 3 permanent rivalry scheduling format makes the most sense.

Of course, that leaves some questions about the SEC Championship game. The Big 12 chooses their two highest ranked teams. Rumors are the ACC is doing away with divisions very soon. You can still have a championship games without having divisions or pods.