New SEC football scheduling format

To me, the bigger issue here that isn't being talked about is the game inventory for TV/fans. Throw the competitive advantage thing between 8 or 9 games out the window. No Florida fans want to watch games against Idaho, Eastern Michigan, Eastern Kentucky. More and more people are giving up season tickets because 4 of 7 home games are against the likes of the aforementioned three and Kentucky or Vandy.

With the way things are going these days with HDTVs getting bigger and better and less fans showing up, it's only a matter of time until the conference is actually hurting its schools by playing these crappy schedules.

The new playoff system lessens the need to be perfect, especially if it ultimately expands to eight teams. That alone should give schools a little more leeway to schedule better opponents instead of the traditional cupcakes.

 

Don't undervalue the value of watching your team whip the shit out of someone.

 

And my point would be there are enough "cupcakes" at the FBS level that so-called "elite" FBS schools don't need to play FCS teams to get a blowout tuneup win. Bama can schedule Eastern Michigan instead of Eastern Kentucky. LSU can play Georgia State instead of Georgia Southern. South Carolina can host Central Michigan instead of Central Connecticut, etc.

 

Georgia Southern would probably beat Georgia State seven times out of 10.

 

Resurrecting the thread to note that apparently ACC schools are considering making their required big-5 nonconference game against ... another ACC school.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10930219/some-acc-teams-consider-fulfilling-future-nonconference-obligations-playing-other-acc-teams

If it worked in the SEC, it would present an interesting wrinkle.

And yes, Georgia State sucks. Cream of FCS > bottom of FBS.

 

Georgia working on home-and-home with Notre Dame:

http://www.macon.com/2014/05/27/3118577/georgia-moves-closer-to-scheduling.html?sp=/99/160/166/823/

 

Note to Notre Dame: Make sure the home game is first. ;D

 

The Eagles will get that chance, as both are now members of the Sun Belt.

 

This is overriden by the impact caused by losing to a team like Appalachian State or Georgia Southern at home.

Unless Will Muschamp wins back-to-back titles, he will be known in Gainesville as the coach who lost to Georgia Southern.

 

An upset like that's a 1-in-100 event at best. (Both App State and GSU are joining FBS, so that's an upgrade from 1-in-Tunguska-asteroid-event.)

 

Mississippi State to play Arizona:

http://www.hailstate.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=16800&ATCLID=209517229

 

Alabama to face USC in Dallas to open the 2016 season:

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2014/07/alabama_to_open_2016_season_ag.html

As Brett McMurphy points out, Notre Dame at Texas and UCLA at Texas A&M are also that day.