It’s not, but the top four conference champs get byes. No way you risk giving every advantage to your best team to win it all. It’s all about the money and I expect us to go to a 9 game SEC schedule with 3 permanent rivals. Pretty sure UT and OU will join in ‘24 so this could happen as early as the year after next. Here’s a good article on everything related to this. Decision on new SEC schedule expected in early 2023
It will happen again, count on it. Birmingham has always been trying to keep us down. That's why I have hated this move to bring OU and Texas in.
I don't understand how that is a negative. If the 8-4 team gets lucky and beats the better team (rarely has happened in the history of the SEC Championship game) then the better team(s) get in as at-large teams. The losers of who gets at-large teams in if a dark horse wins the SEC will be other conferences....not the SEC. The money is the same regardless how the SEC teams get in....and it will actually be a reward for something done on the field rather that some stupid ranking by biased and uninformed voters.
I just read between the lines because these P5 conferences aren’t going to flat out and say it. The PAC-12 got the rule change to play a conference championship game without divisions in 2022 to open up the door for all the conferences. I think a lot of it has to do with giving your best teams every benefit possible to get into the playoffs and the conference a chance to win it all. Just look at Purdue this year. If they had fluked out and beat Michigan, they would’ve gotten into the expanded playoffs with a bye and probably get shellacked. Just watch all the conferences go to this model. Not good, for the fans, but the conferences are about maximizing profits, not providing a level playing field.
I'm not saying you are wrong...it appears that this is the direction it is heading to me too. Screw what is best for the average fan. The thing that makes zero sense to me is having a championship game with no divisions. It opens up all kinds of fairness issues and is just a money grab. Its almost the equivalent of the SEC basketball tournament. I'm envisioning stadiums all over the SEC sporting banners that say "202x Regular season champs."
Not likely now, apparently. Texas and Oklahoma not expected to join SEC in 2024 as talks for early exit from Big 12 stall, per report
Almost started a thread with that same link but seen this one was bumped to the top lol beat me to it.
The big 12 knows as soon as they are gone, even if they are both down now, that the big 12 will be considered a 2nd tier conference like the AAC is, UC? UCF...lols.
Not likely to happen. And if they just cancel joining the SEC all together then I would not mind one bit. I do NOT like the stupid "pod" system they want to implement. Traditions in college football matter! Sorry... I just now read ahead.
Good. Delay it as long as possible. I wish they would stay there for good. In fact, go ahead and take back A&M and Mizzou while you're at it too. We don't want them, we don't need them.
Yes, as long as it takes................ to delete the possibility of a "pod" schedule type crappy azz system.
Sorry but you CAN include UGA getting favoritism. And it NEVER stopped for those 2 teams, esp now since every BLOODY year the team always with the easiest SEC schedule is UGa. Except once every decade when Ala and Uga play each other and even then Auburn ( which hasnt beat Uga in 5+ years) always goes to Athens that year.
If UF and Tennessee would get off their ass and be national contenders. Georgia wouldn’t have it so easy
