Intro the SEC has a golden opportunity to do something that makes a ton of sense but according to multiple reports they are about to botch it there has been a ton of talk about an eight or nine game schedule for the SEC starting in 2024. the SEC powers that b have already determined that they will go to one of two models starting in 2024. an eight game or a nine game schedule with no divisions all right and I'm going to give you a little note of reference for the no divisions until last year to participate in a conference Championship game for a a conference to hold a conference Championship Game there had to be either a round robin format or divisions to allow for that conference Championship to exist so this rule change is only allowed because of that rule change to conference games SEC Schedule all right so now we get to the argument for eight games the SEC already has the toughest schedules in the conference right these teams beat up on each other week in and week out and they play harder opponents than teams in the Big Ten in the Big 12 in the Pac-12 in the lowly ACC all right the SEC is King the best college football is played in that conference do we really need to make the schedule even tougher I don't know that there's a huge need to make things more difficult for teams to get to the championship game than it already is by the time these schools make it to the playoffs generally they've seen harder Home Games competition than they may even see in the playoffs later on right there is also extra Revenue that will be generated for keeping a home game every single year currently there are eight SEC games four home games excuse me four out of conference games and the SEC requires at least one of those out of conference games to be a power five now the game that would go away if the SEC transitioned to a nine game conference schedule would be your McNeese State right your your Northwest uh Children of the blind School your directional schools so that guaranteed revenue of a home game every single year would be gone because that game would then be a home and away now are you getting a better opponent yes but these these SEC schools would be losing a home game that is guaranteed on their schedule every single year another argument that we have heard from the SEC meetings this week is that the SEC is so hard physically on the players because the level of competition is so high that adding a ninth game could open schools up to even more injuries could be harmful physically for players I don't know that I really buy this excuse which is what I think it is because this wasn't something we heard a whole lot about from coaches when college football moved from 11 games to 12 games it's not an argument we've heard a whole lot about from expanding the playoffs from four teams to 12 teams even though when that happens more physical football games will get added to those teams that do make the playoffs so I do kind of think that's a little bit of an excuse it does seem like most coaches that are willing to speak up because most of them have been mum on this topic this week are in favor of an eight-game schedule I do think the powers that be in the SEC do really listen to what coaches think on topics before they vote the coaches are not the people that actually vote it's the athletic directors but I do think athletic directors are heavily swayed by the influence of their coaches that's also why I think it's kind of funny that a lot of SEC coaches haven't had a whole lot to say on the eight versus nine model this week because this would be their opportunity to get it on record what they think should happen and most of them are staying quiet but listen y'all here is what is being missed the argument should only be for nine games alright we need nine conference games in the SEC not eight nine game format keeps more rivalries Schedule especially now that Texas and Oklahoma are getting added to the SEC next year 16 teams y'all in the SEC if they stick with an eight-game schedule you are going to have one common opponent and seven rotating so if you're Florida you have to imagine that you're one common opponent is going to be Georgia a question I have about that is does that mean that our one annual opponent will never be at home because Florida Georgia in Jacksonville is an incredible tradition obviously it's an incredible rivalry but what does that do to those two schools if you're one opponent that you have every single year doesn't even ever have the opportunity to play at home a nine game schedule would give you three common opponents we've been told that there's a good chance that that would be Georgia Oklahoma and South Carolina now obviously personally I would love Tennessee Georgia and LSU because those are Florida's rivals in my opinion but at the very least when you have three that you see on a on a regular basis every single year I think that that gives a little bit more room for parity among the permanents think about this Tennessee if there's only one permanent rival do you know who they are more than likely going to end up with Vanderbilt so Tennessee gets Vanderbilt every single year and Florida gets Georgia there is zero parity in that and I understand the other seven will rotate each year so the positive of the eight game schedule is that you will see every other team in the conference once every two years and that's great but the ability for schedules to be equal to be similar seems to kind of go out the window with the one permanent opponent I think it's a lot easier for there to be some scheduling parity when there is three opponents so let's say we get Georgia Rivalry one of the toughest teams in the SEC we have to play them year in and year out but that's balanced out by South Carolina who is going to be an easier opponent than let's say an LSU or an Alabama imagine losing not one not two but three rivalries that we love you lose all of them right any game that you have a huge affinity for on that schedule you Circle it on the calendar every single year that's your favorite rivalry they're all going to be gone on an annual basis except for likely Georgia you'll see them every couple of years but in my opinion that's not the same as this rivalries that take place every single year I can't imagine a September without Tennessee I can't imagine in October without LSU those are going to be our realities if the SEC does in fact stick with this eight game schedule which it appears that they're going to and guys this isn't just a UF complaint either think about it from other teams perspectives in the conference as well if you are an Alabama fan you look forward to that third Saturday in September right when I say third Saturday in September we're not even Alabama fans over here and you know that I am talking about their game with Tennessee that's gonna be gone more than likely Alabama's permanent opponent will be Auburn but then if Auburn is Alabama's permanent opponent that means Georgia loses Auburn can you imagine that there'll be a season without Georgia Auburn think about Texas newcomer to the SEC probably really excited about the idea of getting to play a m on a regular basis again Texas Arkansas is one of the original college football rivalries that could be back in Action Oklahoma but Texas is going to have one of those games one so if Texas gets to keep one permanent opponent let's say it's Oklahoma we're not going to see some of these traditional rivalries every year that we were so excited about when we heard that Texas is coming back to the conference I just I really think that this is going to damage some of the greatest rivalries in college football when we don't see them every single year you know and another reason to go to a nine game schedule is super simple guys more interesting football rivalries and SEC games fuel fan interest okay I would rather watch Florida play any team within the conference than a McNeese State then a USF I care most about our conference games I think that pretty much every college football fan across the board feels the same way keeping fan interest is really important right that is how these conferences make money that's how stadiums sell out that's how merchandise sells rivalries and SEC games are what fuel that that should be what is driving this this pick to begin with fan interest fuels everything else another factor to take into consideration is that the Big Ten the Big 12 and the Pac-12 all already play a nine conference game and we all know the ACC is just waiting to see what their daddy does and they'll head to a nine conference game or nine conference schedule if that's what the SEC chooses to do right so now that the playoffs are expanding they're going from four teams to 12 teams it is going to be imperative for strength of schedule to continue to be as strong as it has been in the SEC I don't know that it's a great look that the conference expands to 16 teams but keeps only eight conference games okay when the SEC was a 10-team conference there were seven conference games played when it expanded to 12 is when the SEC put in that eighth game that's when the model changed to eight conference games we added two more teams became a 14 team conference we stayed at eight conference games now that the SEC is expanding in one year to 16 teams I do think that it's really important to add that ninth game for strength of schedule the SEC is King and college football they want to stay that way they need to lead that means that they've got to be make some Dynamic decisions be willing to Pivot make some some hard moves and while I understand why a coach like Nick Saban may stay quiet this week about going to a nine game schedule especially after having just lost to Tennessee and LSU in 2022 and that kind of damaging his chances at a playoff he's probably saying shoot why would I why would I want to play them every year if I have the opportunity to not play them every year but you can't look at it from any one team's perspective you've got to look at it as the conference as a whole every six if every team within the conference all 16 teams plays nine conference games the strength of schedule there is going to be unmatched when we move to 12 teams getting to the playoffs the SEC will have the opportunity to get up to seven teams in there'll be six six teams with guaranteed spots one of those will be the SEC Championship game and then the next six bids are completely at large if the SEC has as much talent has as much uh you know incredible teams in it as we all know it does there's a good chance that they're going to get four or five SEC teams in on some years strength of schedule is gonna be a factor in determining who gets picked though so making sure that the conference is sitting at the very top with their strength of schedule year in and year out is going to help get more playoff births I think it's important for fan interest I think it's important for playoff interest the move is nine games y'all eight games is is taking the easy way out in my opinion I think they'll be back to the drawing board way sooner than later if they decide to in fact go with the eight game model which is what we're hearing they're doing I think it will hurt rivalries I think it'll hurt the conference overall and I think they're gonna be right back at it correcting their own mistake in a couple short years what do you guys think do you want to see more of uf's natural rivalries preserved and are you a fan of the eight game schedule with seven rotating opponents let's talk about it in the comments below I'd love to hear your thoughts and I appreciate you guys for watching if you missed our last video on some recruits that UF is trending very well for click right here