re: if 16 are teams are inevitable

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It's not, but if MSU and LSU decide we want to play each other, how is that different than AU/UA and UA/Tenn?

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If the game LSU/MSU was as emotionally invested as the UA/AU and UA/UT games, then it wouldn't be any different. But since it isn't, so it is.

Why not?

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If the game LSU/MSU was as emotionally invested as the UA/AU and UA/UT games, then it wouldn't be any different. But since it isn't, so it is.

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Well there is no lsu game that is as "emotionally invested" as those games. In fact I bet 75% of the conference is in the same boat. But I am invested in creating a balanced rotation that plays all members frequently, which it turns out, is good for the entire conference.

Bama, Au, UT, Kentucky and especially Arky, Mizzou, SC, NC make no geographic sense.

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SECNORTH Kentucky Tennessee Arkansas Missouri

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If this is also how they would be divided up for hoops that division would be tough but a lot of fun.

With 4 pods you could play your pod home and away and every other team once for a nice 18 game schedule.

Having Arky, Kentucky, and Tennessee every year home and away would make for some fun seasons.

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Since when has LSU/MSU been a rivalry?

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MSU has played LSU 103 times -- 7 more than anyone else(OM). We've played OM 106 times. We are Alabama's most-played team as well with 95 to Tennessee's 94. I'd be willing to bet all 3 series are among the top 10 most-played in the SEC, and I believe our LSU and OM series are probably top 5...

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Would playing MSU every 3 years instead of yearly really be that big of a deal for LSU fans? Would the same be said for MSU fans? I honestly never knew that the LSU/MSU yearly game was a big deal.

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It would be a big deal for me -- and I've spent practically my whole life losing to LSU in a "rivalry" that was pretty evenly split in my parents' days. People don't realize that John Bond walked off the field with the series @ 31-41 LSU. Since? 3-25. Does that run of dominance mean that I want to avoid playing them? Absolutely not -- It's one of the games MSU fans always look forward to regardless of outcome.

This is essentially like asking a Vandy or Kentucky fan if they are ok with playing Tennessee every third year...since that rivalry has been one-sided for so long...

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If the game LSU/MSU was as emotionally invested as the UA/AU and UA/UT games, then it wouldn't be any different. But since it isn't, so it is.

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This is a pot calling a kettle black though. Alabama fans defend their TSIO game to the death, when it doesn't mean much to the rest of the SEC right now. Who does it mean alot to? Older Alabama and Tennessee fans. The same can be said about older LSU fans in relation to MSU and OM series -- moreso OM due to the events of 40-50 years ago probably, but make no mistake -- ask LSU fans about the late 70s/early 80s against MSU.

"Emotionally invested" and "close series" are two different things. Let Alabama win a dozen more TSIO games in blowout fashion and we'll see how that "rivalry" looks going forward. Let Bama win 22 of 25 -- and you will watch Tennessee become an afterthought to your entire fanbase.

If MSU ever wins a couple games against LSU(and at this point, I'm not sure), you can watch how emotionally charged that series becomes. Hell, the 150 pages of baseball smack between the two should give you a pretty good indication of the potential there...

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But I have a very hard time believing that the majority or LSU & MSU fans (especially MSU fans) consider that game to be a true rivalry game. But I don't think the LSU/MSU game has ever been all that passionate between the two fanbases, even though it has been played for a lot of years.

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You are misunderstanding MSU fans then. The LSU game is just as important to us as the Alabama game.

"Don't consider it a rivalry"? It's hard to when you lose 22 of 25, many in heartbreaking fashion, and for the first 15 years often with the superior overall team. But don't get it twisted. That game is still a VERY big deal to MSU fans. We just need to win one and no one will be questioning this anymore...

Baseball:
MSU biggest rivals? LSU and OM with slight edge to LSU. LSU fans will mostly say MSU is their traditional baseball rival.

Basketball:
MSU biggest rivals? LSU and Alabama ahead of OM IMO. Why ahead of OM? Because we've dominated the series over them the past 15-20 years while we've had several all-out wars with LSU and Alabama...

Football:
MSU biggest rivals? OM ahead of LSU, Bama, and Auburn. All 3 of those are on the same tier -- and again, the only thing preventing them from becoming a bigger deal to the other fanbases is our ineptitude historically. Let us win a few and revisit. No honest Auburn fan will tell you that the MSU game this year isn't a huge deal to them...

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You are misunderstanding MSU fans then. The LSU game is just as important to us as the Alabama game.

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I don't doubt that MSU fans like playing LSU. But I think in most MSU fans' minds, the OM game is head and shoulders above it in terms of being a heated rivalry (in football, the other sports won't be divided up like football will/is). But some of those "2nd tier" games are the ones that may have to be sacrificed (although they can still be played every 3 years).

I think from a MSU standpoint in regards to pod divisions, they will either have to sacrifice their annual LSU game, or both of their annual Bama & au games. They will not be able to keep all 3 unless the SEC divides strictly into western and eastern divisions.

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Damn - I like it.

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This is actually the best division that will cause the fewest heartaches for the ADs when they try to divide up the pods. Sure the SECNorth is a bit weaker, but if UT can ever get back to their historic level, and if VT can sustain their level once Beamer is gone, I don't think it is weak enough for the ADs to reject considering the heartaches they will have with other pod alignments.