Kentucky writer argues for SEC realignment

[82_VOL_83]

Like this idea:

North:
TN
Ky
Vandy
West Virginia or Virginia

East:
SC
Fl
Geo
NCSt

South:
Ala
MissSt
Ole Miss
Aub

West:
aTm
LSU
Ark
Mizzou

but the proposed South division would be brutal and North relatively easy. SEC will go to 4 divisions in next 10 years IMO.

Why? With the playoff system there is nothing good that comes from expanding your conference. Play 8 conference, 2 cupcakes, a mid-grade team and a true D1 powerhouse OOC. Win the SEC with that schedule and you will always be in the playoff, generally, even with one loss.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Vanderbilt is the only team in East that is West of I40, but they are right on the line since I40 runs right near Vandie.

I40 runs east to west from the carolinas to Cali. So I'm confused by this.

 

[82_VOL_83]

Good luck making a sell on that which both the SEC and ACC would bite on.

How hard would it be to boot two founding members?

 

[82_VOL_83]

I40 runs east to west from the carolinas to Cali. So I'm confused by this.

The interstate system in Nashville confuses everyone, even those who live there.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

I40 runs east to west from the carolinas to Cali. So I'm confused by this.

He probably meant I-65, a true North-South route (East Chicago IN-Mobile AL) or perhaps I-24, a NW-SE route (Southern IL-Chattanooga).

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

Like this idea:

North:
TN
Ky
Vandy
West Virginia or Virginia

East:
SC
Fl
Geo
NCSt

South:
Ala
MissSt
Ole Miss
Aub

West:
aTm
LSU
Ark
Mizzou

but the proposed South division would be brutal and North relatively easy. SEC will go to 4 divisions in next 10 years IMO.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, might as well start with a built-in advantage!

 

[LittleCat]

Good luck making a sell on that which both the SEC and ACC would bite on.

Will never happen. No idea how other Vandy/Clemson/FSU fans would be, but as a UK fan I'd be 100% behind it. As much as a like the SEC, our true rivals in our best sports are in the ACC. It would actually be better for UK basketball to be in a league where you might play 6 times against UL/Duke/UNC instead of an OOC series.

 

[CAVPUT]

Baloney. These things run in cycles. There was a time not that long ago where the east was king and the west was down. Author is full of it.

 

[volgrad500]

but the proposed South division would be brutal and North relatively easy. SEC will go to 4 divisions in next 10 years IMO.

Yeah, might as well start with a built-in advantage![/QUOTE]

Honestly, every team that gets to play Vandy every year has a built in advantage. It's like playing a 7 game conference schedule.

 

[Iam4utalways]

I think the answer is for the SEC to go to 9 conference games. That's not a new idea, but I do agree with it.

 

[bamawriter]

Baloney. These things run in cycles. There was a time not that long ago where the east was king and the west was down. Author is full of it.

It's been said before:

In the 90s, the East had the two best teams in the conference. The East also had the three worst teams. In the 24 years of divisional play, the West has been better, top to bottom, in all but maybe 5 or 6 seasons.

 

[TrueOrange]

How hard would it be to boot two founding members?

Very.

 

[99gator]

MSU is the Kentucky of the west.

Ole Miss really hasn't been that special besides the past few years.

Mississippi State was ranked #1 in November of 2014.

People love to make this argument, but there is no comparison between Mississippi/Mississippi State and Vanderbilt/Kentucky, now or historically.

There is also no comparison between Arkansas/Texas A&M and Missouri/South Carolina.

 

[99gator]

It's been said before:

In the 90s, the East had the two best teams in the conference. The East also had the three worst teams. In the 24 years of divisional play, the West has been better, top to bottom, in all but maybe 5 or 6 seasons.

This.

And spare me the charts and graphs people try to use.

By and large, Vanderbilt and Kentucky are bye weeks.

 

[bamawriter]

This.

And spare me the charts and graphs people try to use.

By and large, Vanderbilt and Kentucky are bye weeks.

Exactly. In the 90s, Florida lost more games against the West than against the East, and that's despite playing 16 more games against the East.

 

[TrueOrange]

Assign each team 3 permanent rivalries and rotate the other ten. The important rivalries stay intact and each team plays a home-and-home with every other team within a 4 year cycle as opposed to the 12 year cycle we have now.

And what would you use as tiebreakers?

 

[TGVol]

UK and Vandy should STFU cause neither belong in SEC football no matter how you realign it. Or maybe those two should be in their own division?

 

[Preachervol30]

I was always a big fan of the Tennessee Auburn rivalry that existed way back when. I would love to see those two teams play again every year. But, I don't know that I could stomach sacrificing the UT / Alabama rivalry for it. As far as the weaker division argument is concerned, I believe Tennessee's weakening over the last several years has contributed to that reality as much as anything. But with the Vols back on the rise, I think things will stabilize in the East. The wildcard is what happens now that USC and Georgia have new coaches. My bet is that those schools stay fairly strong, hopefully a tier lower than UF and UT. Anyways, whether it be in the East or the West, a strong SEC can only be a good thing for the VOLS in my opinion. Go VOLS!!!!

 

[HARTUPM]

No, he is from Louisiana. He is not from Tennessee and he sucks on corn dogs among other things.

I hear he smells like corn dogs and pee

 

[bamawriter]

And what would you use as tiebreakers?

Head-to-head, games against common opponents, and winning % of conference opponents, in that order. It doesn't need to be complicated.

 

[Vfl2407]

I was always a big fan of the Tennessee Auburn rivalry that existed way back when. I would love to see those two teams play again every year. But, I don't know that I could stomach sacrificing the UT / Alabama rivalry for it. As far as the weaker division argument is concerned, I believe Tennessee's weakening over the last several years has contributed to that reality as much as anything. But with the Vols back on the rise, I think things will stabilize in the East. The wildcard is what happens now that USC and Georgia have new coaches. My bet is that those schools stay fairly strong, hopefully a tier lower than UF and UT. Anyways, whether it be in the East or the West, a strong SEC can only be a good thing for the VOLS in my opinion. Go VOLS!!!!

Then, send Vandy and Mizzou to the West and Bama and Auburn to the East.
That way you can drop the permanent cross divisional opponent. Aub/Uga and UT/Bama stays intact and you add Aub/UT. Of course, the 3 Vandy fans would be upset to lose the Vandy/UT game. :whistling:

 

[onevol74]

It's a terrible idea. Tennessee-Alabama would die and I couldn't handle that

I am a old timer and I could care less about the Bama game. To make the schedules even in the east we need to drop Bama as a divisional opponent.

 

[02rk59]

The divisions should've been realigned when Texas A&M and Missouri joined the conference. It makes no sense for Missouri to be in the east. Probably would have made sense to bring Auburn over to the east and put both the new teams in the west but that would've caused a problem with long time rivals.

 

[LostinMillersCave]

Bama would never go for this. They would lose their trip to the Smoky Mtns. every October.

 

[LordBolton]

Not going to happen, but it's a better discussion than the BS Manning reports.

Commentary: Time for SEC to realign football divisions | Lexington Herald-Leader

Thought this comment was laughable:

"The SEC West is the strongest division in college football. The SEC East is so far behind, it shouldn’t even qualify as a member of a Power Five conference." Also this gem:

"Take away Vanderbilt’s Golden Ages (from 2011 through 2013 under coach James Franklin) and the Commodores have had only one winning season since divisional play began in 1992."

I remember not that long ago it was just the opposite. You had Tennessee and Florida, then Georgia, then the rest of the SEC, then Kentucky and Vanderbilt. It will be that way again once Saban is gone from Alabama.