re: 1-7 scheduling model gaining momentum per SI’s Ross Dellinger

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Where did you here this?

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LINK

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Seth Emerson of The Athletic reports that Kentucky, Mississippi State and Arkansas are lobbying for the current number of eight conference games while Alabama and Florida, among others, are in favor of expanding to a nine-game schedule.

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let teams schedule a ,13th game against anyone they want, any lower tier team - make it a nice extra home game that is almost like a scrimmage, and insist that 6 wins is bowl eligible, even with a 6-7 record extra home game, same shot at a bowl Problem solved?

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Agreed. If they are hell bent on playing these ACC teams, let them play them in a 13th game or week 0 game.

They're not divisions. Pair up 2 pods to create a "division".

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Seth Emerson of The Athletic reports that Kentucky, Mississippi State and Arkansas are lobbying for the current number of eight conference games while Alabama and Florida, among others, are in favor of expanding to a nine-game schedule.

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So the traditional bottom feeders want to stay at 8.

Suppose they did the pods with only eight conference games to satisfy the bottom eight teams. I think that would work if you have your three fixed opponents in your pod + the four from your paired pod + one from the pod you will play next rotation.

To explain by demonstration. Assume LSU is in a pod with A&M, Ole Miss & MSU. If the other pods are:

NW: Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri
Central: Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vanderbilt
SE: Georgia, Florida, Auburn, South Carolina

Year 1&2 LSU schedule
Oklahoma
Texas
Arkansas
Missouri
A&M
Ole Miss
MSU
Alabama

Year 3&4
Alabama
Tennessee
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
A&M
Ole Miss
MSU
Florida

Year 5&6
Florida
Georgia
Auburn
South Carolina
A&M
Ole Miss
MSU
Oklahoma

Similarly Alabama year 1&2
Florida
Georgia
Auburn
South Carolina
Tennessee
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
LSU

3&4
LSU
A&M
Ole Miss
MSU
Tennessee
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
Oklahoma

5&6
Oklahoma
Texas
Arkansas
Missouri
Tennessee
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
Auburn

Georgia year 1&2
Alabama
Tennessee
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
Florida
Auburn
South Carolina
Oklahoma

Year3&4
Oklahoma
Texas
Arkansas
Missouri
Florida
Auburn
South Carolina
A&M

Year 5&6
LSU
A&M
Ole Mississippi
MSU
Florida
Auburn
South Carolina
Tennessee

Notice the following advantages:
1. every team would have three permanent opponents they would play every year
2. Every year the SEC still has two divisions so there can be two clear representatives in the conference championship game
3. On top of the three permanent opponents each program would have three teams they play two thirds of the time (4 of every 6 years)

Those opponents could be as follows:

SW Pod
LSU: Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida
A&M; Texas, Tennessee, Georgia
OM: Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Auburn
MSU: Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina

NW Pod:
Oklahoma: Alabama, Georgia, LSU
Texas: Tennessee, Florida, A&M
Arkansas: Kentucky, Auburn, Ole Miss
Missouri: Vanderbilt, South Carolina, MSU

Central Pod:
Alabama: Auburn, LSU, Oklahoma
Tennessee: Georgia, A&M, Texas
Kentucky: Florida, MSU, Arkansas
Vanderbilt: South Carolina, Ole Miss, Missouri

SE Pod:
Georgia: A&M, Oklahoma, Tennessee
Florida: LSU, Texas, Kentucky
Auburn: Ole Miss, Arkansas, Alabama
USC: MSU, Missouri, Vanderbilt

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this would not only be logically stupid but would pretty much kill the SEC as we've known it for nearly 100 years. It is baffling why anyone would think this is the best method instead of having 3 permanent opponents.

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We are already on a downward spiral.

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They're not divisions. Pair up 2 pods to create a "division".

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You can call it whatever you wish, but a pod is just another name for a smaller division.

Is there anyway a schedule could work that enables SEC teams to either have 4 SEC permanent rivals or 3 SEC + 1 OOC permanent rivals like listed below? If somehow this could work it would be ideal. I assume it would cause difficulties with crowning SEC champ.

4-5 or 3-5 +1
ALA: AUB, TENN, MSU, OM
ARK: LSU, TEX, A&M, MIZ,
AUB: ALA, UGA, MSU, VAN
~FLA: *FSU, UGA, LSU, TENN
~UGA: AUB, FLA, *GT, USC
~UK: *UL, USC, MIZ, VAN
LSU: ARK, FLA, OM, A&M
~MIZ: ARK, *KU, UK, OU
~OU: MIZ, TEX, A&M, *OSU
OM: ALA, LSU, MSU, VAN
~USC: *CLEM, UGA, UK, USC
MSU: ALA, AUB, OM, TENN
TENN: ALA, FLA, MSU, VAN
~TEX: ARK, A&M, OU, *TTU
A&M: ARK, LSU, OU, TEX,
VAN: AUB, UK, OM, TENN,


The SEC teams that only have three permanent SEC rivals will just add each other as an extra SEC rotation game.

Assuming both TEX-TTU ans MIZ-KU don’t stay or become annual then TEX-MIZ would be an annual game.

Might not need or have SEC championship game with expanded playoffs system.

Thoughts?