Expected Future Vol SEC schedule if 7-1 format adopted.

#26
#26
I hate the 9-game model as it gives huge advantage to teams in anyone season with the extra home game or those that play a yearly neutral site game.

I would even prefer going to 10-game model and ditch the SEC title game.

I would also like to see the SEC even the playing field by:

(1) Making all SEC teams play all out-of-conference games to start season. No more OOC after September or first week of October.
The end of season rivalry games (UF/FSU Clemson/SoCar UGA/Ga Tech UK/Louisville) must be played in September
(2) No more SEC games where 1 team had prior bye week and the other does not. Teams with common bye weeks matchup the next weekend.
This is actually a simple thing to do.
(3) Take a LONG look at the neutral site games between conference foes. Are games in Jacksonville, Cotton Bowl and at Jerry's World really all that important
as they really allow teams to avoid true road games in hostile environments.
(4) With expanded playoffs, does SEC need a championship game? The top-2 teams are likely to be in playoffs anyway and a loss would risk one of those spots.
(5) I have not done the math, but If there is a 7+1 model? Is it not possible to create pods where half the SEC play each other in round robin and the other half play a separate round robin?
The winner of each pod play in title game. The 8th game would be outside the pod. The pods would change every 2 seasons. If a rival is rotated into pod, then the +1 game would be someone else.
This would result in possible longer gaps between opponents but would allow better apple-to-apple comparisons. This is basically the current system with more rotation.


(EDIT)

I had an additional thought. Should the SEC go to a 9 game schedule and opts to keep the championship game; the best record of teams playing 5 home games could play the best record of teams playing 5 road games in the title game. This would obviously merit the end of the neutral site games
 
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#28
#28
NighthawkVol said:
If this is adopted, there’s really no point to being in a conference anymore, at least to the fans. Yes, I get that the money sharing is the reason, but to us fans, there’s no difference in being an independent or any other conference if we can’t keep annual rivals. Hell, we could play in another league and still play Vandy every year.
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I had not really considered this yet, but now that you mention it, Sankey and the rest of the SEC bigwigs, in their lust for dollars, threw all of the fans right out of the window. They simply don't give a hoot in Hell about us. Combine that with the NIL money and you are looking at a semi pro football league where the rich will get richer and screw the rest of you. It's only a short walk until you start talking about stuff like relegation for the losers to the " minor conferences ". General Neyland is spinning in his grave.
 
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#29
#29
volbound1700 said:
What happened to the 3-6-6 format? That seemed to be the main setup for a while there.
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Saban learned that his 3 permanent opponents would be Aub, LSU, and Vols.
he had a shoo shoo fit with Sankey, so the conference office caved and moved to the 1-7 format.
 
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#33
#33
Pro-traditional schedule here. I used to love professional baseball but lost interest in it about 30 some years ago. The sport is totally unrecognizable now and, to me at least, unwatchable. That's what college football is and keeps getting worse.
 
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#34
#34
UT Hill Man said:
I would hate to lose yearly matchups against traditional rivals Fla, Ga, Bama and Uk
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I agree with this. Tennessee should play Georgia, Kentucky and Alabama every year. Florida would be the next one to play every year. And never have to play Vanderbilt again. And while I'm on my soapbox, I would kick out Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas from the SEC. If you want to add teams. Add Clemson, Georgia Tech, and maybe Florida State and North Carolina
 
#35
#35
Vfl2407 said:
Should Saban get his way, and doesn’t he always, the SEC will go to a 7 rotating and 1 permanent team format starting in 2025.
That would probably mean that they would just take the 2024 7 teams and drop them and use the other 7 in 2025.

For Tennessee that would mean we would play these teams in 2025 including our 1 permanent game Vandy:
TAMU, OM, MIZ, USC, LSU, AUB, TEX, VANDY.
(imagine how all of our traditionalists would react to a season with no UF, UGA, BAMA or UK).
going a step further, we would probably host TEXAS, VANDY, MIZ, LSU and play at TAMU, OM, USC, AUB due to recency of hosting and visits.
This schedule would then just flop the home and away for 2027.

going another step ahead, that would mean in 2026:
we would host ARK, UGA, OU, VANDY and go to UF, BAMA, MSU, UK.
This schedule would then just flop the home and aways for 2028.

So to recap, if the 7-1 format is adopted, here’s how I see the next 4 seasons for the Vols:

2024 HOME UF, BAMA, UK, MSU. AWAY OU, ARK, UGA, VANDY
2025 HOME TEX, MIZ, LSU, VANDY. AWAY TAMU, OM, USC, AUB.
2026 HOME OU, ARK, UGA, VANDY. AWAY UF, BAMA, UK, MSU
2027 HOME TAMU, OM, USC, AUB. AWAY TEX, MIZ, LSU, VANDY
2028 HOME UF, BAMA, UK, MSU. AWAY OU, ARK, UGA, VANDY
(observant readers will note that an adjustment had to be made in the Vandy home/away site in 2026 to preserve 4 home games for UT, giving UT back to back home games in 2025/2026…so Vandy loses a home game to UT, but they get it back in 2027/2028 with 2 straight home games).
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If the SEC adopts the 7-1 schedule, which is not the consensus view, they'd flip the home and aways in back to back years and then stick the next 7 in and play them back to back. No sense to do an every other year schedule.

Everything being talked about mostly revolves around a 9 game SEC schedule with 3 permanent opponents. That's what the SEC wants and that's what tv wants.
 
#36
#36
Older man with 35+ years of watching the Vols. For me playing Bama every year does not make or break my heart. If bama was the only game I cared about it might change my mind, but I watch every game and I want the Vols to beat everyone they play. If they go 11-1 and lose to bama, I feel the same as if they go 11-1 and lose to USCe.
Actuall enjoy them playing different teams. OU (hone & away) was very exciting. I look forward to Texas.
The thing that really bothers me the most: I am beginning to think all the games are rigged. If you can bet on it, it probably crooked. Officiating is obviously suspect.
I have stopped watching any pro sports because of this, now I’m afraid it has gotten big time into college.
 
#38
#38
Florida got a brutal schedule. Missouri got a favorable schedule very well spaced out a lot of cupcakes and timely bye weeks before tough games. I haven’t dissected each one but the Missouri looked the easiest at a quick glance.
 
#39
#39
I guess the big hold up of 9 conference games is getting extra TV $$. If that gets straightened out, then we pick up 3 rivals of: Vandy, Kentucky and Alabama.

Either way, we are only going to play FL and GA every other year from 25 on out.
 
#40
#40
I would like to see the SEC conference schedule expand to 9 games. An extra SEC game would be more interesting than playing Austin Peay or Chattanooga. Keep Alabama, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt as our permanent opponents. I will also look forward to playing some of the old SEC west opponents more often like Ole Miss, Auburn, etc.
 
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#41
#41
HuntlandVolinColo said:
I guess the big hold up of 9 conference games is getting extra TV $$. If that gets straightened out, then we pick up 3 rivals of: Vandy, Kentucky and Alabama.

Either way, we are only going to play FL and GA every other year from 25 on out.
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Most of the reports have South Carolina not UK as the 3rd permanent opponent if 6-3 is adopted. Even Stoops has pretty much come out and said that.
 
#43
#43
volbound1700 said:
To ease the Traditionlists, keep in mind that Florida and Georgia were not really even consider rivals of Tennessee until 1992. Sure we would lose some rivals like we did in the past with Auburn and Ole Miss but we would gain new ones.

Honestly, as a Tennessee fan, I am ready for the change. Most of these rivalries with Alabama, Florida, and Georgia have just been miserable the past 20 or so years. I hate losing Kentucky though 😄
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Long time fan that has seen many rivalries. In the 80’s Tennessee-Auburn were big rivals. Majors-Dye had some great battles. We usually played them early like we play Florida now. Rivalries have changed over the years before, people just forget. I think the 16 team sec is going to create some new rivalries as well. Before the 90’s we weren’t rivals with Florida either. I think the sec needs to stand pat at 16 teams, we don’t need anymore. With Texas and Oklahoma we are the SEC 16, I am not in favor off adding anymore the product would only be watered down at that point. I think folks will come to like the SEC 16. As far as 8 or 9 games I think they should stick with 8 and have to play 1 legit out of conference power 5 matchup. I love the every year with Bama and any schedule is going to be tough. But I also kinda like the idea of everybody playing everybody on a rotating basis. We could still end up meeting Bama in a championship game. In the end however it happens new rivalries will be born and UT-Bama rivalry is never going away even if we only play every 3-4 years or 4-5 years. It may even be more intense. GBO
 
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#44
#44
volbound1700 said:
To ease the Traditionlists, keep in mind that Florida and Georgia were not really even consider rivals of Tennessee until 1992. Sure we would lose some rivals like we did in the past with Auburn and Ole Miss but we would gain new ones.

Honestly, as a Tennessee fan, I am ready for the change. Most of these rivalries with Alabama, Florida, and Georgia have just been miserable the past 20 or so years. I hate losing Kentucky though 😄
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The only rivalry I've ever cared about is Alabama. You can't consider Vandy a 'rivalry', as they barely belong in the conference any more, at least with regard to football. Georgia was never a rivalry, really, and Florida was essentially about the Spurrier-Fulmer years - since then it has kind of lessened, and only exists to some because of this perceived 'jinx' some fans think is there.

I'd be happy with the 3-6-6 formula and Bama, Vandy, and UK as permanent rivals. And another SEC game would be better than another cupcake. Instead of running away from tough games and rivalries, let's welcome them. It is what has always made the sport great, not yet another game against Tennessee-Martin.
 
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#45
#45
fryeguy93 said:
(4) With expanded playoffs, does SEC need a championship game? The top-2 teams are likely to be in playoffs anyway and a loss would risk one of those spots.
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100% agree with this, and not only for the SEC. I know these conference championship games are cash cows, but if both teams in that game are likely playoff teams anyway, it really is just adding a pointless game that loses much of its meaning, and possibly results in one of the teams playing 17 games if they happen to get to the NCAA title game. So much for caring about the 'safety' of the 'student-athletes'.
 
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#46
#46
VolNGA1 said:
The math doesn't add up. This would require adding a 17th team to the conference. A 9 game SEC schedule would require a 6/3 setup.
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6/3 is the best for traditional types and change types. Then we could play VANDY ALA, KY every year.
 
#48
#48
I believe some (Saban) is still hung up on the undefeated season being a must. With the larger conferences taking on more teams and 12 teams in the playoffs, being undefeated and just having 1 loss will no longer be a requirement for making the playoffs.

Just go to 9 games with the 3 permanent and 6 rotating and be done with it. The top 2 or 3 maybe even 4 SEC teams are going to make the playoffs more than they don't.

If you are one of the best teams, you shouldn't care who you play year after year.
 
#49
#49
sami said:
100% agree with this, and not only for the SEC. I know these conference championship games are cash cows, but if both teams in that game are likely playoff teams anyway, it really is just adding a pointless game that loses much of its meaning, and possibly results in one of the teams playing 17 games if they happen to get to the NCAA title game. So much for caring about the 'safety' of the 'student-athletes'.
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Championship games are needed to decide who the champion is. Now if being the SEC champion is no longer a goal, fine - but you will not be able to crown a SEC champion without it. You could end up like the PAC and Big 12 have in years where you have two 1 loss teams that never played each other in the regular season.
 
#50
#50
As for the number of games played - this already happens with the lower division championship. Why should the larger teams be special??
 
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