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How did the 12 SEC teams agree on these East & West permanent rivals for over a decade?
Posted on 5/9/24 at 12:17 pm
Posted on 5/9/24 at 12:17 pm
Auburn - Georgia, Florida
Florida - LSU, Auburn
Tennessee - Alabama, Arkansas
LSU - Florida, Kentucky
Vanderbilt - Ole Miss, Alabama
Georgia - Ole Miss, Auburn
Arkansas - Tennessee, South Carolina
Alabama - Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Kentucky - MSU, LSU
Ole Miss - Vanderbilt, Georgia
South Carolina - Arkansas, MSU
MSU - Kentucky, South Carolina
I'm surprised they didn't have a written clause for MSU. Something like MSU couldn't represent the West in the championship game if they finish in a divisional tie for first place. Their East schedule was complete garbage and they should be ashamed of hanging a banner that one year.
Florida and Auburn were original members from the SEC. What idiots at those schools decided to bend over and take it. I assume Florida would have played for a few more BCS championships if not for Auburn being a thorn in their side. Auburn might of had another SEC championship with a better schedule.
Florida - LSU, Auburn
Tennessee - Alabama, Arkansas
LSU - Florida, Kentucky
Vanderbilt - Ole Miss, Alabama
Georgia - Ole Miss, Auburn
Arkansas - Tennessee, South Carolina
Alabama - Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Kentucky - MSU, LSU
Ole Miss - Vanderbilt, Georgia
South Carolina - Arkansas, MSU
MSU - Kentucky, South Carolina
I'm surprised they didn't have a written clause for MSU. Something like MSU couldn't represent the West in the championship game if they finish in a divisional tie for first place. Their East schedule was complete garbage and they should be ashamed of hanging a banner that one year.
Florida and Auburn were original members from the SEC. What idiots at those schools decided to bend over and take it. I assume Florida would have played for a few more BCS championships if not for Auburn being a thorn in their side. Auburn might of had another SEC championship with a better schedule.
This post was edited on 5/9/24 at 12:25 pm
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Posted on 5/9/24 at 12:56 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
South Carolina and Arkansas joined the league together in 1991, so that makes sense. As far as, South Carolina playing MSU, I've got no clue.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 1:04 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
You don’t know your history. At the time, Auburn had played UF more than any SEC team other than UGA (maybe MSU). Auburn’s main recruiting areas have always been the states of Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Auburn fought to have UF as an annual rival (and would never have fought to avoid having that game annually).
Of course the DSOR speaks for itself.
Of course the DSOR speaks for itself.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 1:04 pm to ClusterCock
quote:
As far as, South Carolina playing MSU, I've got no clue.
Many of the cross division pairings made sense and were no brainers, but for everyone to have 2 perms there were going to be some that didn't make any sense except that the other team needed a 2nd cross division team.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 1:36 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
Auburn is one of our oldest rivals. Also happens to be the closest SEC school.
If the schools had known we'd have to drop to one rival one day, I'd guess the divisions may have been built differently originally.
If the schools had known we'd have to drop to one rival one day, I'd guess the divisions may have been built differently originally.
This post was edited on 5/9/24 at 1:37 pm
Posted on 5/9/24 at 1:45 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
quote:
I'm surprised they didn't have a written clause for MSU. Something like MSU couldn't represent the West in the championship game if they finish in a divisional tie for first place. Their East schedule was complete garbage and they should be ashamed of hanging a banner that one year.
Oh shut the frick up.
Hell, UK had mike leach as OC and Tim Couch at QB in 1998. I’d say they were hardly scrubs and they beat us anyway and we still won the west.
SEC football in the 90’s was a lot different than what we’ve seen the last 15 years. A hell of a lot more parity back then.
I’ll give you that the 1998 team was probably one of the worst to ever win the west but no one else did shite that year either. Our 99 team was way better than 98 and they didn’t win the west.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 1:51 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
Big6 vs Big6 was the money draw for CBS.
The cross Div schedule seemed unfair; but you had to have:
Uga v AU
Bama v Tenn
And therefore LSU was coupled up nicely with Florida
They knew what they were doing.
The cross Div schedule seemed unfair; but you had to have:
Uga v AU
Bama v Tenn
And therefore LSU was coupled up nicely with Florida
They knew what they were doing.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 2:00 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
quote:
Florida and Auburn
Up until 2000 or so, Florida was our second most games other than Georgia.
Geographically we are the closest SEC school to Gainesville.
I miss the 10 team SEC.
Our schedule always had Tennessee in September, Florida in late October, Georgia and Bama in November.
We also played MSU every year.
The other teams rotated onto the schedule now and then.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 2:05 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
It was about rivalries, with other matchups filled in afterwards.
Auburn/UF used to be a big rivalry game. Many fans of both schools were disappointed when it stopped being a yearly contest.
Some of the other second matchups kept long standing matchups in place that weren't really rivalries. While UGA and Ole Miss didn't play them every year, we played them pretty frequently from 1966-1991.
It was a reasonable decision to cut down to 1 game, even though Auburn and UF missed their yearly matchup.
Auburn/UF used to be a big rivalry game. Many fans of both schools were disappointed when it stopped being a yearly contest.
Some of the other second matchups kept long standing matchups in place that weren't really rivalries. While UGA and Ole Miss didn't play them every year, we played them pretty frequently from 1966-1991.
It was a reasonable decision to cut down to 1 game, even though Auburn and UF missed their yearly matchup.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 2:10 pm to Mstate
quote:
Oh shut the frick up.
Hell, UK had mike leach as OC and Tim Couch at QB in 1998. I’d say they were hardly scrubs and they beat us anyway and we still won the west.
SEC football in the 90’s was a lot different than what we’ve seen the last 15 years. A hell of a lot more parity back then.
I’ll give you that the 1998 team was probably one of the worst to ever win the west but no one else did shite that year either. Our 99 team was way better than 98 and they didn’t win the west.
It's great, that UK had a pulse that year, but Arkansas had to play Tennessee during the regular season and they were ranked #1.
State was extremely lucky to play Arkansas the following week after their heartbreaking loss to Tennessee. You guys beat Arkansas at home by one point.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 2:29 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
quote:
You guys beat Arkansas
Nice. Must be why we won the west and they didn’t.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 2:32 pm to Murph4HOF
Everyone knows the heated rivalry of Ole Miss vs UGA. It's been played an astounding 45 times in history. Truly a rivalry to behold.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 2:47 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
quote:
Florida and Auburn were original members from the SEC. What idiots at those schools decided to bend over and take it. I assume Florida would have played for a few more BCS championships if not for Auburn being a thorn in their side. Auburn might have had another SEC championship with a better schedule.
Auburn is Florida’s oldest rival, even older than Georgia. Auburn is also the closest SEC school in proximity to Gainesville. It was a great game that I hated to see go.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 2:49 pm to AU6X
quote:
Auburn’s main recruiting areas have always been the states of Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Auburn fought to have UF as an annual rival
It seems somewhat bizarre now, but this is partly because Auburn didn't schedule Alabama for 41 years.
Similarly, Auburn did not schedule LSU for 27 years. They really only started playing each other regularly when they got placed in the same division.
For a long time, LSU scheduled towards the west and Auburn scheduled east, towards Georgia and Florida.
In fact, Auburn has played Georgia, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech (!), and Florida more times than Alabama.
Alabama has played Tennessee, Mississippi State, LSU, and Vanderbilt more times than Auburn.
Part of the reason for these "permanent rivals" was to force some some semblance of schedule parity — you also have to remember that these teams weren't necessarily ranked the same back then as they are today.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 3:03 pm to AU6X
quote:That's why I was hoping Auburn would be an advocate for ignoring strength of permanent opponents in a 3/6 arrangement. Maybe they have been behind the scenes, but it seems to me that the optimum 3/6 permanent opponents for Auburn would be Bama, UGA, and UF, strength be damned.
You don’t know your history. At the time, Auburn had played UF more than any SEC team other than UGA (maybe MSU). Auburn’s main recruiting areas have always been the states of Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Auburn fought to have UF as an annual rival (and would never have fought to avoid having that game annually).
Of course the DSOR speaks for itself.
I can see where it made a big difference in a divisional schedule setting, where you don't see teams in the other division often, but with the 3/6, any marginal strength differential in your permanent opponents ought to be offset, or nearly so, by the fact that your rotating opponents will be weaker.
Hopefully, sanity will prevail, we forget about trying to balance the "permanent" opponents (which would probably require constant revision), and Auburn gets that UF rivalry restored. Then you can tease Bama about having State as one of their 3.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 3:07 pm to LSU Grad Alabama Fan
You gotta remember that in 1990 when the divisions were put together, Florida was hovering just above .500 all time and coming off a 6-6 record i 1989. . the thought of Florida winning a national title was about like Ole Miss winning one. Auburn was a much stronger program. and the two had played forever. Certain teams weren't anything like they are today. Most people thought Arkie would come in and be a championship contender most years as they had been in the SWC.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 3:13 pm to Barstools
quote:
Everyone knows the heated rivalry of Ole Miss vs UGA. It's been played an astounding 45 times in history. Truly a rivalry to behold.
The only other teams from the west that UGA has played more are Auburn and Alabama. UGA has only played Tennessee 53 times (22 times before both were placed in the SEC East).
It wasn't a rivalry, but UGA and Ole Miss were at least somewhat familiar with each other in terms of having played a fair number of games. Alabama is the only other west team that might have made more sense from a "rivalry" perspective.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 3:20 pm to TouchdownTony
quote:
You gotta remember that in 1990 when the divisions were put together, Florida was hovering just above .500 all time and coming off a 6-6 record in 1989.
This.
It was in the summer of 1990 that the league added South Carolina and Arkansas and announced it would be re-organized into divisions. That was before Steve Spurrier had coached a single game at Florida. Prior to that season, Florida had been a joke - save for a stretch in the 80s with Charlie Pell as their head coach. But that stretch led them straight into major probation and the vacation of their 1984 SEC title. When the divisions were decided upon no one had the first clue what the Gators were about to become.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 3:51 pm to paperwasp
quote:
Auburn didn’t schedule Alabama for41 years.
I’m assuming you are young. The Alabama governor and State legislature had to force University ofAlabama to agree to resumption of the game in 1947. It was not a question of Auburn (officially Alabama Polytechnic Institute at the time) not scheduling Alabama.
Posted on 5/9/24 at 4:00 pm to paperwasp
quote:
For a long time, LSU scheduled towards the west and Auburn scheduled east, towards Georgia and Florida.
but oddly enough, LSU and Florida have been playing every year since the since 1971 and every year from 1953-1967. Never could figure out exactly how that came to be with how far they are from one another.
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