OrangeEtBlanc
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I think the best way to handle such realignment would be 4 Pods that couple each year for a rotating division. This allows you to play every team in the conference within 3 years, maintain only 8 conference games, and keep the SECCG as only 1 game instead of 2.
3 intra-pod games. 4-rotational division pod games. And 1 rotating opponent from the most distant (in time) pod yours will couple with, OR a rotating list of rivals you would play when not in your coupled-pod schedule.
Pod 1:
Tennessee
Vandy
Alabama
Auburn
Pod 2:
Georgia
Florida
Kentucky
South Carolina
Pod 3:
LSU
Ole Miss
Miss St
Mizzou
Pod 4:
Arkansas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Texas
The winners of each “coupled-pod” division will play in the SECCG that season.
Year 1:
Pods 1 & 2 make “East” Division
Pods 3 & 4 make “South” Division
Year 2:
Pods 1 & 4 make “East” Division
Pods 2 & 3 make “South” Division
Year 3:
Pods 1 & 3 make “East” Division
Pods 2 & 4 make “South” Division
Year 4:
Back to Pods 1&2 VS 3&4.
Year 1 example schedule for Tennessee vs Pod 2:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
The three intra-pod games.
4. Florida
5. Georgia
6. South Carolina
7. Kentucky
The 4 “coupled-pod” opponents.
8. Mizzou (“most distant pod in rotation” rotating opponent)
Year 2 vs Pod 4
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas A&M
7. Arkansas
8. Kentucky
Year 3 vs Pod 3:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. LSU
5. Ole Miss
6. Miss St
7. Mizzou
8. Arkansas
Year 4 vs Pod 2:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Georgia
5. Florida
6. South Carolina
7. Kentucky
8. Ole Miss
Year 5 vs Pod 4:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas A&M
7. Arkanas
8. South Carolina
Year 6 vs Pod 3:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. LSU
5. Ole Miss
6. Miss St
7. Mizzou
8. Texas
Year 7 vs Pod 2:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Georgia
5. Florida
6. South Carolina
7. Kentucky
8. Miss St
Year 8 vs Pod 4:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas A&M
7. Arkansas
8. Florida
Year 9 vs Pod 3:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. LSU
5. Ole Miss
6. Miss St
7. Mizzou
8. Oklahoma
Year 10 vs Pod 2:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Georgia
5. Florida
6. South Carolina
7. Kentucky
8. LSU
Year 11 vs Pod 4:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas A&M
7. Arkansas
8. Georgia
Year 12 vs Pod 3:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. LSU
5. Ole Miss
6. Miss St
7. Mizzou
8. Texas A&M
Rotation complete.
You would play 3 teams every year and ALL the others at least once every 3 years. You would play ALL the other non-pod SEC teams at least 5 times in a 12-year span.
And this is only with an 8-game SEC schedule. The rotation could be improved with a 9-game schedule at the cost of uneven home/away games.
At current, with the one permanent cross-division opponent and one rotating, you play every other SEC team every 6 years. For instance, we just played Arkansas last season and likely won’t see them again until 2026. We play Ole Miss at home this season, but under the current format (maintaining a home & home series) we won’t see them in Knoxville again for 12 years!
Under the format I described, we would have a home & home with every team at least every 4 years, not including the “most distant pod” rotational game.
Take Mizzou in my scenario: By Year 13 we will have played 3 home & home series as non-pod opponents by the time we would play just one home & home as cross-divisional in current format.
In an 8 vs 8 non-pod divisional format even without locked-in cross-division rivals, it would take 8 years to have a home & home with every other team, even if we have 2 cross-division opponents each season.
9-game SEC schedules would be difficult from the standpoint of inability of maintaining equal home vs away schedules.
Ever since realignment happened with A&M and Mizzou I have spent WAY too much time about a 16-team SEC with a pod schedule, lol.
Thoughts? Critiques?
3 intra-pod games. 4-rotational division pod games. And 1 rotating opponent from the most distant (in time) pod yours will couple with, OR a rotating list of rivals you would play when not in your coupled-pod schedule.
Pod 1:
Tennessee
Vandy
Alabama
Auburn
Pod 2:
Georgia
Florida
Kentucky
South Carolina
Pod 3:
LSU
Ole Miss
Miss St
Mizzou
Pod 4:
Arkansas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Texas
The winners of each “coupled-pod” division will play in the SECCG that season.
Year 1:
Pods 1 & 2 make “East” Division
Pods 3 & 4 make “South” Division
Year 2:
Pods 1 & 4 make “East” Division
Pods 2 & 3 make “South” Division
Year 3:
Pods 1 & 3 make “East” Division
Pods 2 & 4 make “South” Division
Year 4:
Back to Pods 1&2 VS 3&4.
Year 1 example schedule for Tennessee vs Pod 2:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
The three intra-pod games.
4. Florida
5. Georgia
6. South Carolina
7. Kentucky
The 4 “coupled-pod” opponents.
8. Mizzou (“most distant pod in rotation” rotating opponent)
Year 2 vs Pod 4
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas A&M
7. Arkansas
8. Kentucky
Year 3 vs Pod 3:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. LSU
5. Ole Miss
6. Miss St
7. Mizzou
8. Arkansas
Year 4 vs Pod 2:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Georgia
5. Florida
6. South Carolina
7. Kentucky
8. Ole Miss
Year 5 vs Pod 4:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas A&M
7. Arkanas
8. South Carolina
Year 6 vs Pod 3:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. LSU
5. Ole Miss
6. Miss St
7. Mizzou
8. Texas
Year 7 vs Pod 2:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Georgia
5. Florida
6. South Carolina
7. Kentucky
8. Miss St
Year 8 vs Pod 4:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas A&M
7. Arkansas
8. Florida
Year 9 vs Pod 3:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. LSU
5. Ole Miss
6. Miss St
7. Mizzou
8. Oklahoma
Year 10 vs Pod 2:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Georgia
5. Florida
6. South Carolina
7. Kentucky
8. LSU
Year 11 vs Pod 4:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas A&M
7. Arkansas
8. Georgia
Year 12 vs Pod 3:
1. Vandy
2. Bama
3. Auburn
4. LSU
5. Ole Miss
6. Miss St
7. Mizzou
8. Texas A&M
Rotation complete.
You would play 3 teams every year and ALL the others at least once every 3 years. You would play ALL the other non-pod SEC teams at least 5 times in a 12-year span.
And this is only with an 8-game SEC schedule. The rotation could be improved with a 9-game schedule at the cost of uneven home/away games.
At current, with the one permanent cross-division opponent and one rotating, you play every other SEC team every 6 years. For instance, we just played Arkansas last season and likely won’t see them again until 2026. We play Ole Miss at home this season, but under the current format (maintaining a home & home series) we won’t see them in Knoxville again for 12 years!
Under the format I described, we would have a home & home with every team at least every 4 years, not including the “most distant pod” rotational game.
Take Mizzou in my scenario: By Year 13 we will have played 3 home & home series as non-pod opponents by the time we would play just one home & home as cross-divisional in current format.
In an 8 vs 8 non-pod divisional format even without locked-in cross-division rivals, it would take 8 years to have a home & home with every other team, even if we have 2 cross-division opponents each season.
9-game SEC schedules would be difficult from the standpoint of inability of maintaining equal home vs away schedules.
Ever since realignment happened with A&M and Mizzou I have spent WAY too much time about a 16-team SEC with a pod schedule, lol.
Thoughts? Critiques?