The BCS Era has come and gone, I know I am a minority, but I actually liked what it did for college football. Its primary intent was to get #1, on the field, against #2 and it did just that with a high degree of accuracy over the years! That said, the $’s to be had overwhelmed this simple concept; … Conference / Bowl tie-ins, the evolution of 4 BCS Bowls + the Championship Game, (How the hell do you get four BCS Bowls from one vs two?), 6 BCS Conferences & 5 Conferences… well … not so much, and all the other add-ons in getting 1 against 2 that developed during its 16 year run! I know the answer, its money and a whole bunch of money always seems to equal an insatiable need for more money! Maybe the NCAA should have the O’jays sing their hit song ” For the love of Money” at the National Championship game on January 12, 2015 … a song that they released late in 1973 … I guess some things just don’t change! Ok, I’m done … preaching, whining, bitching … whatever that was … let’s take a peek at who the Mighty SEC plays from the Power Conferences (PC)!
Let’s start in the SEC West, the SEC plays eight conference games, 6 in the division and two cross divisional battles, one against an annual or permanent opponent and one that rotates. So the West has 56 conferences tilts (8 games x 7 teams), leaving each team with 4 non-conference games for a total of 28, out-of-conferences contests (4 x 7)! The teams in the West choose to play 4 of these 28 games against Power Conference opponents; Bama plays West Virginia (B-12), Auburn challenges Kansas State (B-12), LSU takes on Wisconsin (B-10) & Arkansas battles Texas Tech (B-12). Ole Miss, Mississippi State, & Texas A&M do not play a team from a Power Conference in 2014! Thus, the SEC West has elected to play 14% of their non-conference schedule against the “Big Boy” conferences. I know they like to say the SEC is “Big Boy football”, yet “Big Boy’ is not reflective in their scheduling out of conference opponents. Here is the really interesting thing, not one of these 4 games in 2014 is in a SEC West Stadium; Bama & LSU play West Virginia (Georgia Dome) & Wisconsin (Reliant) while Auburn & Arkansas play Kansas State & Texas Tech on the road! You would think SEC West folks would like to see USC, UCLA, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Florida State, & ND in their stadiums! To accomplish this, we are going to have to talk to Saint Nick (Coach Saban), who likes to play one really good opponent (Power Conference) at a neutral site, two FBS, Non Power Conference, teams (Sun Belt, MAC, C-USA, etc..) and one FCS opponent at Bryant-Denny. The lone exception in the past six years, is a home & home series with Penn State in 2010 & O11. With Saban’s approach to scheduling, Bama plays 3 non conference & 4 SEC, a total of 7 home games @ home, 1 @ a neutral site, & 4 conferences games on the road. PC’s will want a return trip to their arena, if they agree to play at Bryant-Denny! Thus Bama would have 5, not 4, road games, see what Nick is doing? / Smart Huh!
The SEC East: One of the very different realities between the West & East Divisions takes place during rivalry week at the end of the season. The West plays an SEC schedule and mostly within the division; LSU plays Arkansas, Bama battles Auburn (Iron Bowl), Old Miss takes on MSU (Egg Bowl), & A&M plays Missouri, an East Division opponent. Compare this with what the East does and you see a marked difference as to why they play the better (meaning … more …) out of conference schedule! The East plays 7 of their 28 non-conference games (25%) against Power Conferences, almost twice the # the West plays. In part, because of who they play on rivalry weekend, SC plays Clemson (ACC), Georgia steps up against Georgia Tech (ACC), Florida battles FSU (ACC), & Kentucky has moved their Louisville (ACC) game to this Thanksgiving / Rivalry Weekend. This year, Georgia plays 2 Power Conference teams, G-Tech, as mentioned & Clemson; Missouri takes on Indiana (B-10); and Tennessee travels to Oklahoma (B-12). It should also be noted, 4 of the seven games are true road games for the SEC and only one, the Texas Tech game, is at a neutral site (Arlington). Vandy is the only team in the East Division not to have a Power Conference team on their schedule in 2014.
SEC: plays 11 Power Conferences opponents out a possible 56 games, an average of 19.64% or one in every 5 NC games is against a PC team; while playing 14 games against FCS teams, this 14/56 is average of 25% or one in every 4 NC games! If you don’t, you should get the strength of the SEC and as a result, have an understanding as to why they do not want to schedule up when playing out of conference! The simple truth is the SEC is the best league and other PC teams get a break with in-conference scheduling, that, for the most part, the SEC teams do not experience! However, in this ‘Final Four’ play-off system, strength of schedule does matter and you have to demonstrate, in the regular season (not just in the bowl season and primarily against the Big Ten) that you are, who you like the rest of the country to think you are, the best! If you thought the BCS was political, wait till you get aloud of the Final Four Politics! The SEC gets a C grade for its out of league scheduling during the 2014 regular season! Last thought, look it, the SEC Champion is in the final four, that is not the question, the real question is, does the SEC get two teams, my answer is … yes, I think that they are that good, but they won’t get the second team, unless the conference schedules more PC teams (14 minimal) during the regular season! In the end, its not what ESPN, Bleacher Report, or Sully’s CFP says or thinks, its the stakes: the politics & the dollars! Clearly reputation, will not be enough, it has to be one’s body of work on the field … and even that … may not be enough for two teams from the Mighty SEC to get to the dance’!
Up Next: Big Ten vs Power Conferences
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