re: 3/6 Schedule Matrix + Permanents

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2 - The only issues I know with pods is:
A - Their breakdown
B - Keeping ALL YEARLY rivalries between teams not in the same pod.

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Pods could work with an 8 game schedule:

8 game schedule
Play your pod (3)
Play another pod (4)
Play 1 Perm (1)

They don't work as good with a 9 game schedule unless you want 5 perms (pod + 2). A 3/6 is better at that point imo.

Example Pods

Alabama
Auburn
Tennessee
Vanderbilt

Florida
Georgia
South Carolina
Kentucky

LSU
Arkansas or Texas A&M
Ole Miss
Miss State

Texas
Oklahoma
Texas A&M or Arkansas
Missouri

Figuring out the Perm's from there is a little bit difficult. As an example, who do you match Oklahoma with? Maybe Tennessee? Bottom line, it can be done.

You see the strongest team in the conference, Georgia, playing Georgia Tech on Thanksgiving each year. This is a farce and gives the whole thing ZERO credibility.

Despite their claims, Georgia Tech will not beat Georgia in the next 30 years.

Georgia has been a great team but with a fairly easy schedule, avoiding Bama, LSU, and others.

Until there is some parity with a nine game conference schedule, most schools will not buy in.

If you are Auburn, why have to play Bama and UGA annually? That "oldest rivalry in South" is just BS by Georgia to give them another annual cupcake.

Assign Oklahoma or Texas to Georgia for some parity and maybe people will listen. Or just create something that is fair for all.

Your efforts get an A+ though

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They've already said no pods and no divisions. Just skip past those comments. :)

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Understood, but pods are still better than a 1/7. That just doesn’t work at all.

Georgia vs Florida, Auburn
Alabama vs Auburn, Tennessee
Auburn vs Alabama, Georgia

All need to be played every year.

Both a 2/6 and 3/5 would work way better than a 1/7. Based on the baseball 2/8 plan, they clearly are considering options like this.

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My question is: who do you play as "perm" if they're in the pod your group faces that year? & I'm guessing "perm" ISN'T somebody in your own pod.

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You would have a replacement perm if you played the pod with your perm.

Ie Auburn pod plays Georgia pod
perhaps Ole Miss or Miss State or Arkansas would be a replacement that year (it can be anyone, but in theory, it should be someone you have a smaller rivalry with)

A perm or replacement perm would never be from your pod.

Perm Example

Alabama vs Miss State (Arkansas)
Auburn vs Georgia (Ole Miss)
TN vs Oklahoma (Florida)
Vandy vs Kentucky (Missouri)

Florida vs LSU (TN)
Georgia vs Auburn (Texas)
Kentucky vs Vandy (Miss State)
SC vs Texas A&M (Kentucky)

something like that..

but they have said that they probably won’t use pods.. but I don’t think they planned on staying at a 8 game schedule, so we shall see

Ultimately, the SEC needs to play 8 until ESPN pays us for the 9th game. No reason to just throw that card away.

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Georgia has been a great team but with a fairly easy schedule, avoiding Bama, LSU, and others.

Until there is some parity with a nine game conference schedule, most schools will not buy in.

If you are Auburn, why have to play Bama and UGA annually? That "oldest rivalry in South" is just BS by Georgia to give them another annual cupcake.

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It's funny how people say Ga. &/or Ala. determine SEC scheduling.

If you know SEC history:
UGA, Fl., Tn., LSU, Ala., & Aub. are/were "the Big 6" & were matched up to play: Ala./Tn., UGA/Aub., & then Fl./LSU.

While I agree that scheduling is a tough problem, the WORST thing to do is eliminate historical conference rivalries. On top of that, playing annual games as "OOC" or every other year.

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It amazes me that people consider LSU and Texas A&M rivals. We once opened the season against them when their coach was Jackie Sherrill. But LSU fans never considered them a rival, more like a warm up. Arkansas was never our rival either. It’s all media generated BS. I’m old as dirt, and our rivals have always been Ole Miss, and Tulane. Tulane leaving the SEC was very sad. That game was Baton Rouge versus New Orleans. When the Saints came, New Orleans fans started following them. I was hoping Tulane would come back, but no such luck.

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I understand that point of view, but imo you aren’t a bigger rival to Ole Miss than State.

Alabama
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Texas
Oklahoma
Ole Miss
Miss State

Those are Rivalry #1 imo, although some might argue for Auburn vs Georgia, but that’s a separate topic.

That leaves these teams
Arkansas
LSU
Texas A&M
Missouri
Kentucky
S Carolina

S Carolina is the hardest imo..
Kentucky makes the most sense there since they have played every year since 1991.

That leaves the other 4.

LSU vs Arkansas
A&M vs Missouri

This wouldn’t be good at all for A&M or Missouri. LSU vs Missouri is a no go, so that option goes out the door too..

that leaves us with

Arkansas vs Missouri
LSU vs A&M

The only other option would be to hold onto Texas vs Oklahoma for Round 2, which would work as long as there are at least 2 perms. In that case, you could go..

Texas vs A&M
Oklahoma vs Missouri
Arkansas vs LSU
SC vs Kentucky

But you don’t want that option either

Therefore we have to hold the Egg Bowl for Round 2..

Texas vs Oklahoma
SC vs Kentucky

LSU vs Ole Miss
Arkansas vs Missouri
A&M vs Miss State

That would work I suppose, but it would never happen.

Ultimately someone has to play Missouri, and no one really wants them as a perm. No offense Missouri .

Oklahoma is our permanent and any deviation from that is fricking stupid.

My "plan" I posted on here is the following:

9 game schedule
4X4 pods
Everybody has a perm in each other pod (ex.: A1/B1/C1/D1; A2/B2/C2/D2; A3/B3/C3/D3; A4/B4/C4/D4).
Your schedule is: 3 games - pod members, 4 games - another pod, 2 games - perms from other pods


Ex. for team A1:
Y1 - A2, A3, A4, B1 (pod B perm), B2, B3, B4, C1 (pod C perm), D1 (pod D perm)
Y2 - A2, A3, A4, B1 (pod B perm), C1 (pod C perm), C2, C3, C4, D1 (pod D perm)
Y3 - A2, A3, A4, B1 (pod B perm), C1 (pod C perm), D1 (pod D perm), D2, D3, D4
Y4/5/6 - Y1/2/3 but sites flipped

Pair up 2 pods each year & winner of each "group" is SECCG team.
Y1 - AB winner vrs. CD winner
Y2 - AC winner vrs. BD winner
Y3 - AD winner vrs. BC winner

This keeps ALL annual rivalries at the cost of a full conference rotation in 6 years.

Yes, this is a 6/3/3/3 setup, but (to me) it's the easiest format with no games lost, no tie-breakers needed, & instantly determines CG teams.

Pods don't matter since they're perms (OR they're your perms from other pods).

The reasoning for that was these "must play game chains":

Miss.-MSU-Ala.-Aub.-Ga.-Fl.
&
Vandy-Tenn.-Ala.-Aub.-Ga.-Fl.

As you can see, there's no way to put those 6 teams together in a pod.

So, this keeps MSU-Ala. & Aub.-Ga. alive.

As I said, NO ANNUAL RIVALRIES are lost.

& this cuts the last full rotation of 12 years in 1/2. Whoever threw out the "full rotation in 4 years" is cutting games (which is a great debate as to what should be cut).