re: How do you feel about permanent opponents?

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& divisions keep 1/2 the conference compared to each other. EASIER way than trying to compare 14 teams to each other.
& a HELL of a lot BETTER to determine the SECCG candidates.

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Divisions result in championship game mismatches. IF you got rid of divisions, and just had your top 2 teams in the championship, you'd almost never have a mismatch.

We do this in basketball, and it would work for football. 3 permanent opponents that you play every year, and you rotate the other 10, five in one two year cycle, and the other five in the next. You play all 13 teams home and away in a four year cycle.

The permanent opponents would be something like this (which is basically the basketball pairings, with a few tweaks):

Bama: Auburn, State, UT
Arkansas: Mizzou, A&M, LSU
Auburn: Bama UF, UGA
Florida: Auburn, UGA, USC
UGA: USC, UF, Auburn
Kentucky: Mizzou, UT, MSU
LSU: A&M, Ole Miss, Arkansas
Ole Miss: State, LSU, Vandy
Miss. State: Ole Miss, Bama, UK
Missouri: Arkansas, A&M, UK
South Carolina: UGA, UF, Vandy
Tenn: Vandy, UK, Bama
A&M: LSU, Arkansas, Mizzou
Vandy: UT, Ole Miss, USC

Keeps the 8 game schedule, and allows the schools that play an in-state rival out of conference every year to still do that, and maintain the right number of home games.