Greene wants breathing room between UGA and UAT

[gr82be 14,423]

Auburn AD Allen Greene wants ‘some breathing room’ between Georgia, Alabama rivalry games

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

tgreen@al.com

A staple of Auburn’s late-season schedule could be done away with if athletics director Allen Greene gets his wish.

Since 1948, when the Iron Bowl rivalry was renewed following a four-decade hiatus, Auburn has had to play both Georgia and Alabama within the season’s final three weeks. Having the Tigers’ two biggest rivalry games bunched so close together is something Greene hopes to change in the near future.

“It doesn’t matter (how spaced out the games are), just not having to play Georgia and Alabama in the last three games of the year — just some breathing room,” Greene said Thursday after speaking to the Auburn Touchdown Club. “I think it’s better for the conference that way as well.”

That late-season combination of The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry and the Iron Bowl within a three-week span has long been part of what former Auburn coach Pat Dye referred to as Amen Corner. That stretch used to include an SEC game against Florida in November, but that changed when the conference split into two divisions.

While Florida hasn’t consistently been on Auburn’s schedule, the November matchups with Georgia and Alabama have remained. Scheduling is a topic that Greene was asked about frequently by Auburn fans in attendance Thursday night — “the most questions I’ve ever gotten as far as scheduling,” Greene said afterward.

While one of those scheduling topics — fixing the situation with the Tigers facing both rivals at home in odd years and on the road in even years, like they will this month — likely won’t be fixed until the SEC’s 12-year scheduling rotation ends after the 2025 season, Greene said he has voiced his opinion to the league office about spacing out the Georgia and Alabama games.

The Tigers’ first-year athletics director said “it’s possible” that a resolution to that could be reached by the 2020 season. While Auburn’s SEC slate has yet to be announced for that season, the Tigers’ nonconference schedule has been established for some time.

Auburn plays North Carolina in Week 2 on Sept. 12 in Atlanta. It also hosts Southern Miss two weeks later on Sept. 26. Auburn will play Alabama A&M in Week 12, the week before the Iron Bowl. The remaining nonconference game is the one that makes that potential SEC scheduling change possible.

Auburn is set to host UMass on Nov. 14 of that season, in Week 11, which has traditionally been the week of The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. While it isn’t necessarily easy, there’s always a chance that game is moved to another date. If it isn’t, though, it could signal that change that Greene has been pushing for.

“It’s possible,” Greene said. “The league is working on the schedules now, and we certainly shared with them our desire to spread those games out, so we’ll see how it ends up in 2020.”

 

 

[Sully to Beasley 643]

I am encouraged to see  AD Greene addressing our scheduling nightmare. Jacobs was pushed around by the bammer led SEC office and got us stuck playing jawja and bammer on the road every other November. Man, I am glad he is gone!

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

It seems like AD Greene gets it. He is nobody's fool....

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

If we could get one big conference rivalry game each month, I'd be so happy.  UGA in Sept, LSU in Oct, and Bama in Nov sounds perfect to me.

[Win4AU 4,052]

Give Georgia two home games the same way Auburn got two in a row.  Do not give the Turds 2 home games in a row.  I like Amen Corner and the drama it creates when Auburn is good.  Just need to get back to one at home and one away every year.  Probably would help season ticket sales a lot too.

[Sully to Beasley 643]

38 minutes ago, Tigerbelle said:

It seems like AD Greene gets it. He is nobody's fool....

True that. He is the "shot in the arm" Auburn athletics needed imho.

[alexava 6,973]

I just say play the darn schedule and hope it doesn’t get worse. These things are cyclical and AnM or whoever replaces that uga spot could be as or more challenging. 

[Shift 350]

Or, field a better quality team and it won't matter.....

[aujeff11 6,243]

50 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

If we could get one big conference rivalry game each month, I'd be so happy.  UGA in Sept, LSU in Oct, and Bama in Nov sounds perfect to me.

That would be ideal.

[DAG 33,982]

6 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

That would be ideal.

You have been screaming what AD Greene has been saying for a while now.

[corchjay 5,311]

43 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

Give Georgia two home games the same way Auburn got two in a row.  Do not give the Turds 2 home games in a row.  I like Amen Corner and the drama it creates when Auburn is good.  Just need to get back to one at home and one away every year.  Probably would help season ticket sales a lot too.

I like the 2 home and both away in the same seasons.  Gives at least an easier go of it for championship runs.  Schedule means a lot for every team and AU has generally played the toughest of all schedules in the conference.  AU, LSU, and UF I should say...   I've always wanted to play Ga earlier in the season around the 1st of October.  

Give me a good OOC game to open the season in week 1 or 2 and a cupcake the opposite weekend.

LSU game 3

OM/MSU game 4

G5 team game 5

UGA game 6

Bye

aTm game 7

Cross divisional game game 8

Arky game 9

OM/MSU game 10

Cupcake game 11

Bama game 12

 

That'd be an schedule ideal for AU in my opinion.  

[aujeff11 6,243]

14 minutes ago, DAG said:

You have been screaming what AD Greene has been saying for a while now.

I have? Cool

[OnthePlains 2,014]

I just came here to disagree with @aujeff11...I’m not even sure what the subject is...but I vehemently disagree with aujeff!

[aujeff11 6,243]

9 minutes ago, OnthePlains said:

I just came here to disagree with @aujeff11...I’m not even sure what the subject is...but I vehemently disagree with aujeff!

[OnthePlains 2,014]

1 minute ago, aujeff11 said:

You’re a lot more fun than Mikey.

[aujeff11 6,243]

Just now, OnthePlains said:

You’re a lot more fun than Mikey.

If I gave a conservative estimate, I’d guess he’s half a bengamin older than me. He’s not even wrong most of the time, he’s playing 3D chess while you’re connecting the dots.

[OnthePlains 2,014]

Just now, aujeff11 said:

If I gave a conservative estimate, I’d guess he’s half a bengamin older than me. He’s not even wrong most of the time, he’s playing 3D chess while you’re connecting the dots.

Mikey couldn’t even spell 3D much less play it. Dude has zero personality. Its a message board. People express opinions, have some fun, threaten each other...its all in good fun. 

[bigman334 56]

6 hours ago, alexava said:

I just say play the darn schedule and hope it doesn’t get worse. These things are cyclical and AnM or whoever replaces that uga spot could be as or more challenging. 

agreed. there is no way of knowing who will be great years from now.

[Rednilla 5,391]

3 hours ago, OnthePlains said:

Mikey couldn’t even spell 3D much less play it. Dude has zero personality. Its a message board. People express opinions, have some fun, threaten each other...its all in good fun. 

Methinks your prejudice causes you to underestimate your message board nemesis.

[Rednilla 5,391]

With regard to this topic, I can't imagine an Auburn season without Amen Corner...I just wish they'd get it back to having one home game against either of our two biggest rivals every season. It's more than a little bit daunting to be forced to play both at their place every other year. I can see the logic of having the UGA game played earlier in the season (maybe even on the third Saturday of October, to mimic Bama's playing of Tennessee on that day), but I'm loathe to do away with the tradition of playing them at the end of the SEC schedule. We'll see how it plays out, though, as none of us have a say in any of this.

[Mikey 16,584]

On a practical note, UGA won't agree to the change as long as Tech stays down, which may be forever. We've played those two at season's end since 1948 so why make a big deal out of it now? I would like to get back to the traditional one at home, one away annual schedule.

 

[OnthePlains 2,014]

7 hours ago, Rednilla said:

Methinks your prejudice causes you to underestimate your message board nemesis.

Nah, I’m sure he’s a great guy. I just like having some fun on here amd not it taking it so seriously. Especduring a season like this one. I was doing some drinkin last night too and was having way too much fun lol.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

Don't both teams have to ok changing the schedule? If so, there is currently no motivation for UGA to allow us to move that game. As @Mikey said, the only way I see them letting us move the game is for Georgia Tech to become relevant again. Until that happens, our AD, or coach, and out fans can want it changed until the cows come home. Just because we want to change it doesn't mean UGA wants to change it. And there currently is absolutely no reason for them to want our game moved. 

We all need to start pulling for them rambling wrecks of Georgia Tech.

[TigerOne 1,140]

16 hours ago, alexava said:

I just say play the darn schedule and hope it doesn’t get worse. These things are cyclical and AnM or whoever replaces that uga spot could be as or more challenging. 

really cyclical? That's true for every team in sports except one. Wonder why that is

[I_M4_AU 7,810]

17 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

We all need to start pulling for them rambling wrecks of Georgia Tech

What do you think @augolf1716?