SEC Pods and Semifinal Play-In

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

4 hours ago, WalkingCarpet said:

I admire the creative thinking but I don't think you can get the fans to go along with games that have been played yearly for more than a century moving to every other year at least. Georgia has eaten our lunch for the last 15 years but I still want to play them every year. There's going to be a fan revolt if these administrators think we can play the DSOR, Third Saturday in October, or the Egg Bowl every other year. People just aren't going to go for that.

Nine conference games seems inevitable with expansion. If we do pods, which I like, I would rather play three games in your pod, one protected game in every other pod, and then rotate a game in every other pod. You would see everyone every three years and visit every stadium every six years which is still better than what we have now. I'd rather take the teams with the two best records because I don't like the idea of adding even more games.

I mean...what are we going to do? We fans I mean. Revolt and not watch? I bet you there are just as many if not more fans that would prefer this over keeping annual rivalries as there are fans like yourself. So we would take it and grin. Might bitch a little for a few years, but nothing would change.

[gr82be 14,421]

6 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

I mean...what are we going to do? We fans I mean. Revolt and not watch? I bet you there are just as many if not more fans that would prefer this over keeping annual rivalries as there are fans like yourself. So we would take it and grin. Might bitch a little for a few years, but nothing would change.

Yep, we got over not playing UF and UT every season. 

[ellitor 33,076]

2 hours ago, SRBautigerfan said:

In other words, you pesky old fans just get on board, sthu about your "rivalries" because the SEC and ESPN don't care.  They're getting rich doing it and that means it's happening regardless of how you feel.  

You don’t have to shut the hell up because we have freedom of speech in our country. ESPN will benefit from whatever decision the SEC makes but I’m not sure they are the driver here. As others have said  balancing  out the schedule to where we play everybody at least every other year is much healthier for the conference in the long run.

[ellitor 33,076]

2 hours ago, AubieinNC2009 said:

I thought the "ALLIANCE" was supposed to be against playoff expansion.  Did they change their minds?

I have no clue but I seriously doubt they can carry much weight especially considering how much more money eight more playoff games will bring in to the sport.

[ellitor 33,076]

2 hours ago, woodford said:

No it’s not lol it’s an annual rivalry. College football sells history. It’s a big part of the product. 

Playing the game every other year is still not losing rivalry. Your stance is factually incorrect and based on emotion.

[ellitor 33,076]

14 minutes ago, gr82be said:

Yep, we got over not playing UF and UT every season. 

Exactly. And Our early and mid 90s battles with Florida is what helped me become an Auburn fan and is now my second favorite Rival behind Bama and ahead of Georgia for me personally.

[McLoofus 35,182]

59 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Exactly. And Our early and mid 90s battles with Florida is what helped me become an Auburn fan and is now my second favorite Rival behind Bama and ahead of Georgia for me personally.

Bingo. Scott Norwood in '93. Frank Sanders in '94. In the 90s it was UF. In the aughts it was LSU. (And, bizarrely, UF, lol.)

And like you said in another post, it's totally fine for fans to hate the idea of not playing uga every year, just like it's fine to hate the idea of wearing alternate unis. But those emotions don't dictate whether or not these things happen. That's all anyone's saying. Just accepting the reality of it. 

[gr82be 14,421]

8 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Bingo. Scott Norwood in '93. Frank Sanders in '94. In the 90s it was UF. In the aughts it was LSU. (And, bizarrely, UF, lol.)

And like you said in another post, it's totally fine for fans to hate the idea of not playing uga every year, just like it's fine to hate the idea of wearing alternate unis. But those emotions don't dictate whether or not these things happen. That's all anyone's saying. Just accepting the reality of it. 

Scott Etheridge was the name I believe you were looking for. 

Norwood was in hiding from angry Bills fans. 

And beating Spurrier's UF teams was special, very special. I will always appreciate Bowden for those two wins. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, gr82be said:

Scott Etheridge was the name I believe you were looking for. 

Norwood was in hiding from angry Bills fans. 

And beating Spurrier's UF teams was special, very special. I will always appreciate Bowden for those two wins. 

Holy crap. I was actually saying Etheridge in my head as I was composing the response. I guess I've just made too many Norwood jokes. 

I was at a pizza buffet for the Norwood miss.

I was in the student section in JHS for the Etheridge make.

I should really have those straight.

[gr82be 14,421]

2 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Holy crap. I was actually saying Etheridge in my head as I was composing the response. I guess I've just made too many Norwood jokes. 

I was at a pizza buffet for the Norwood miss.

I was in the student section in JHS for the Etheridge make.

I should really have those straight.

Etheridge was pretty good for a feminine kicker...can't believe Dye called him that. 🙄

[gr82be 14,421]

5 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Holy crap. I was actually saying Etheridge in my head as I was composing the response. I guess I've just made too many Norwood jokes. 

I was at a pizza buffet for the Norwood miss.

I was in the student section in JHS for the Etheridge make.

I should really have those straight.

That's what Norwood probably said too. 

Edited October 7, 2021 by gr82be

[IronMan70 3,277]

1 hour ago, gr82be said:

Yep, we got over not playing UF and UT every season. 

Yes we did and the UF game was my favorite game on the schedule every year. I look at it like this. AU can play UGA every year then play UF and UT once in a blue moon, OR, AU gets to play all 3 of them every 2 years. It's an easy choice for me, door number 2. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

34 minutes ago, gr82be said:

Etheridge was pretty good for a feminine kicker...can't believe Dye called him that. 🙄

Whoa, now that I didn't know

[AUwent 3,747]

2 hours ago, ellitor said:

You don’t have to shut the hell up because we have freedom of speech in our country. ESPN will benefit from whatever decision the SEC makes but I’m not sure they are the driver here. As others have said  balancing  out the schedule to where we play everybody at least every other year is much healthier for the conference in the long run.

See, ESPN calling the shots is why I assumed that I would automatically hate what format they went with. I was really fearing that they would actually put OU in the east and keep everything else as is. We would actually benefit from pods and rotating everyone outside our pod!

And thinking about UF as a rival, the two wins over Urban are in my top five all time favorite games.

Edited October 7, 2021 by AUwent

[ellitor 33,076]

1 hour ago, AUwent said:

ee, ESPN calling the shots is why I assumed that I would automatically hate what format they went with. I was really fearing that they would actually put OU in the east and keep everything else as is. We would actually benefit from pods and rotating everyone outside our pod!

You come up with some strange theories & I'll leave it at that.

[AU9377 4,918]

21 hours ago, AubieinNC2009 said:

Got to keep some rivals.  I don't see them going into a pod system where we don't play BAMA and UGA and Bama won't give up Tenn either.

We cannot accept not playing uga every season.  The SEC shouldn't accept it either.

[AU9377 4,918]

4 hours ago, ellitor said:

Playing the game every other year is still not losing rivalry. Your stance is factually incorrect and based on emotion.

 I hate the idea. Period.  We should play uga every year.  There are a lot of people that feel this way.

[AU9377 4,918]

4 hours ago, gr82be said:

Yep, we got over not playing UF and UT every season. 

We let our representatives and uga's reps throw some weight around.

[AUwent 3,747]

56 minutes ago, ellitor said:

You come up with some strange theories & I'll leave it at that.

One thing I've been trained to assume from many years of being a fan of things (not just Auburn but in general) is that the most profitable option for the PTB is the exact opposite of what I want. 😂

(UAT and UGA are also the SEC's big cash cows and I figured they'd just give them whatever they wanted.)

Edited October 7, 2021 by AUwent

[ellitor 33,076]

8 hours ago, AU9377 said:

There are a lot of people that feel this way.

I understand but it may not be feasable to do that & maintain long term competitive balance for everyone & getting to play everyone in a timely manner.

[ellitor 33,076]

8 hours ago, AU9377 said:

We let our representatives and uga's reps throw some weight around.

If Bama's willing to give up UT yearly to play them every other year then we won't have much to stand on or weight to move around.

[ellitor 33,076]

8 hours ago, AUwent said:

(UAT and UGA are also the SEC's big cash cows and I figured they'd just give them whatever they wanted.)

Their opinions may have priority but if the long term goal is competitive balance & playing everyone in a timely manner then they will have to make some compromises like everyone else.

[SLAG-91 1,483]

If we're going to NFL-ize college football, then none of these half measures with pods and s***...

Two divisions, 8 teams each.

14 game schedule. One nonconference game, 13 conference. Everyone plays 7 home, 7 away.

Set up the nonconference game to be a home game when you have the 6 home, 7 away split, and a road game when you have the 7 home, 6 away split.

Play 6 of the 8 in the other division, and 4 of those are permanent...establish a rotation for the others.

East: AU, FL, GA, SC, TN, KY, VU, AL

West: TAMU, UT, ARK, LSU, MO, MSU, OM, OU

I guess since this is Arkansas' 30th season in the SEC, you can call them a "long-term" member now, and the West would have 4 "old hands." 

In this hypothetical, I'd be good with keeping LSU and Arkansas, and adding TAMU and Missouri on an annual basis. Add in a rotation of MSU and Texas, Ole Miss and Oklahoma and let 'er rip.

* As an aside, I think the way the original Big XII (1996-2010) handled football scheduling was a mistake. There were no cross-division permanent opponents, and that was the beginning of the end of OU-Nebraska. There should have been at least one permanent cross-division opponent to establish at least a little continuity with the four SWC schools that were blended in.

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

21 hours ago, DAG said:

No and that is not how that works unless you like watching games at 11 pm and midnight.

The SEC is not the most entertaining league this year.  The title game is a forgone conclusion.

You can be the best and also not be the most entertaining.  For example, Premier League is the best soccer league in the world.  But from a pure WTF entertanment standpoint, MLS is way better.

And yes, I do enjoy 11 pm games because I'm a deginerate that watches football from 11 am until 1 am every week.

[DAG 33,957]

1 minute ago, Brad_ATX said:

The SEC is not the most entertaining league this year.  The title game is a forgone conclusion.

You can be the best and also not be the most entertaining.  For example, Premier League is the best soccer league in the world.  But from a pure WTF entertanment standpoint, MLS is way better.

And yes, I do enjoy 11 pm games because I'm a deginerate that watches football from 11 am until 1 am every week.

Hahah okay guy