Ah, spring. The flowers bloom, the pollen makes us sneeze, we bust out shorts as soon as the temps hit 60 degrees, and the SEC bigwigs debate whether to add a ninth conference game to the schedule.
These traditions must never die.
SEC schools are rekindling their annual scheduling dialogue, a conversation that keeps bubbling up, going on more than a dozen years now. The SEC will play eight conference games next season. The 2026 schedule remains undrawn. SEC schools will vote later this year whether to stay at eight or increase to nine conference games in 2026.
What’s the holdup in going to nine conference games? Well, some within the conference believe the College Football Playoff committee does not assign enough reward to strength of schedule when selecting playoff teams.
Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams (2) carries the ball during his team’s game against Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey wants nine conference games, but some athletics directors feel squeamish about risking another loss, after the first 12-team playoff included no three-loss teams.
“Trying to understand how the selection committee for the CFP made decisions is really important,” Sankey said last week on “The Paul Finebaum Show.”
“One of the issues in the room for our athletics directors is, what seemed to matter most (to the selection committee) is the number to the right – the number of losses.
“I think (nine conference games) can be positive for a lot of reasons. You watch the interest around conference games. But, not if that causes us to lose (postseason) opportunities.”
Round and round we go, debating whether the juice of another conference game is worth the squeeze.
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/college-football-playoff-concerns-impacting-104549222.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2025-03-10 10:45:00
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