SEC Pods and Semifinal Play-In

[AUwent 3,748]

For a nice change of topic, I've come across a new idea (on r/CFB I think) that would eliminate the worry about needing semifinals while still making sure everyone goes to each other at least once every four years. It's called the "3402" format.

-Use the SECN's proposed pods.

-Play everyone in your pod every year.

-Each pod has a pod all members will play two games with every year, alternating. A-B, C-D.

-Each pod will pair with and play all four games with one of the remaining two pods and none with the last remaining pod, then alternate. So odd years--A-C, B-D, even--A-D, B-C.

-The teams that finish at the top of the pairings in the above point will meet in the championship game.

So, here is how our schedule might look on a four year basis:

Year 1
Alabama, @ Tennessee, Vanderbilt
@ Arkansas, Missouri, @ Oklahoma, Texas
@ Georgia, Kentucky

Year 2
@ Alabama, Tennessee, @ Vanderbilt
Louisiana State, @ Mississippi, @ Mississippi State, Texas A&M
@ Florida, South Carolina

Year 3
Alabama, @ Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Arkansas, @ Missouri, Oklahoma, @ Texas
Georgia, @ Kentucky

Year 4
@ Alabama, Tennessee, @ Vanderbilt
@ Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, @ Texas A&M
Florida, @ South Carolina

We would be competing with the teams in the first two rows for the division title.

Thoughts?

Edited February 18, 2022 by AUwent

[AUwent 3,748]

With spring practice over, might as well bring this back up. 

Edited April 11, 2022 by AUwent

[W.E.D 11,070]

Nothing else to talk about until August 

[Hank2020 3,199]

34 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Nothing else to talk about until August 

That usually doesn’t limit us in the least.

[AUwent 3,748]

On 4/11/2022 at 5:19 PM, W.E.D said:

Nothing else to talk about until August 

Which is why I figured this is a good topic. 

[AUBwins 10,075]

For those that don’t know, our gymnastics team finished top 2 today in the semis and made it to the Saturday Final 4 meet.  Winner take all. 

[AuburnEagle79 2,165]

I am already fully prepared to be put in the most difficult pod and have the most difficult crossovers with very little reasoning from the SEC office. 

[AUwent 3,748]

2 hours ago, AuburnEagle79 said:

I am already fully prepared to be put in the most difficult pod and have the most difficult crossovers with very little reasoning from the SEC office. 

Some of the proposals (albeit from people with absolutely no inside knowledge, so it’s ultimately meaningless) have just made me shake my head. Putting the two newbies in opposite divisions and keeping everything else as is would be a death sentence for us. The layout proposed by the Network is near perfect if they could just figure out how to do the championship—will teams really be willing to play 16 games?

Edited April 15, 2022 by AUwent

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

8 hours ago, AuburnEagle79 said:

I am already fully prepared to be put in the most difficult pod and have the most difficult crossovers with very little reasoning from the SEC office. 

Surprisingly I don't think so. Unless they figure out how to do permanent cross-pod rivalries, Bama will undoubtedly be paired with Auburn and the SEC in no way would jeopardize Alabama's win potential.

I think the prevailing speculation is Auburn, Bama, Tennessee, and Vandy which I don't totally hate.

[AuburnEagle79 2,165]

2 hours ago, JBiGGiE said:

Surprisingly I don't think so. Unless they figure out how to do permanent cross-pod rivalries, Bama will undoubtedly be paired with Auburn and the SEC in no way would jeopardize Alabama's win potential.

I think the prevailing speculation is Auburn, Bama, Tennessee, and Vandy which I don't totally hate.

I'd love that option.

[LocalTiger 13]

On 10/7/2021 at 4:10 PM, McLoofus said:

Whoa, now that I didn't know

It's a fact. On TV too!

[CMRVHS 52]

My pod & permanent cross-rival suggestion is (nine SEC games, don't ask me about tie-breakers or play-offs, open to suggestions):
Pod and cross-pod permanent rival

Alabama	Oklahoma
Auburn	Georgia
Vanderbilt	Ole Miss
Tennessee	Kentucky
Florida	LSU
Georgia	Auburn
Kentucky	Tennessee
South Carolina	Missouri
LSU	Florida
Ole Miss	Vanderbilt
Mississippi State	Arkansas
Texas A&M	Texas
Arkansas	Mississippi State
Oklahoma	Alabama
Missouri	South Carolina
Texas	Texas A&M

 

Biggest rivalries are maintained or restored, or created. Sorry USC & Missouri.

[oracle79 3,569]

11 hours ago, CMRVHS said:

Biggest rivalries are maintained or restored, or created. Sorry USC & Missouri.

I like it, but don't see anyway they make Alabama and Oklahoma rivals.

[AUBwins 10,075]

17 hours ago, CMRVHS said:

My pod & permanent cross-rival suggestion is (nine SEC games, don't ask me about tie-breakers or play-offs, open to suggestions):
Pod and cross-pod permanent rival

 

Biggest rivalries are maintained or restored, or created. Sorry USC & Missouri.

Can't leave out UTenn vs Florida. 

Without changing the divisions you have listed, which are pretty balanced IMO, I like these staples:

Auburn - Georgia

Vandy - Ole Miss

Tenn - Florida

Texas AM - Texas

Then out of the remaining 8 teams, 3 setups IMO to have fewer completely new rivals. 

Alabama - Miss St, LSU, or Ark

Kentucky - Oklahoma, Mizzou, or Miss St. 

South Carolina - Mizz, Okla, or Mizz

LSU - Ark, Bama, or Okla

Arkansas  - LSU, Miss St, or Bama

Oklahoma - Kentucky, SC, or LSU

Mizz - SC, KY, or SC

Miss State - Bama, Ark, or KY

Personally, I like the last batch.  I'll try to plug these in now to show full lineup. 

Alabama	Arkansas
Auburn	Georgia
Vanderbilt	Ole Miss
Tennessee	Florida
Florida	Tennessee
Georgia	Auburn
Kentucky	Mississippi St
South Carolina	Missouri
LSU	Oklahoma
Ole Miss	Vanderbilt
Mississippi State	Kentucky
Texas A&M	Texas
Arkansas	Alabama
Oklahoma	LSU
Missouri	South Carolina
Texas	Texas A&M

I really like this layout. I think all have some history together whether on recruiting or former rivals. 

 

[AUwent 3,748]

On 4/16/2022 at 12:48 AM, CMRVHS said:

My pod & permanent cross-rival suggestion is (nine SEC games, don't ask me about tie-breakers or play-offs, open to suggestions):
Pod and cross-pod permanent rival

Alabama	Oklahoma
Auburn	Georgia
Vanderbilt	Ole Miss
Tennessee	Kentucky
Florida	LSU
Georgia	Auburn
Kentucky	Tennessee
South Carolina	Missouri
LSU	Florida
Ole Miss	Vanderbilt
Mississippi State	Arkansas
Texas A&M	Texas
Arkansas	Mississippi State
Oklahoma	Alabama
Missouri	South Carolina
Texas	Texas A&M

 

Biggest rivalries are maintained or restored, or created. Sorry USC & Missouri.

I like this one way better than the next one listed. Much fairer. We should not have to play the toughest schedule in the country every damn season.

Play everybody in your pod, then swap pods on three year cycle that combine to form divisions.

AB-CD, AC-BD, AD-BC

Plus two extra games that function to preserve rivalries. 
 

May not be my ideal format, but *with your proposed cross-division matchups* it’s a huge improvement over what we have now.

Edited April 18, 2022 by AUwent

[VicTree 143]

On 4/16/2022 at 6:14 PM, AUBwins said:

Can't leave out UTenn vs Florida. 

Without changing the divisions you have listed, which are pretty balanced IMO, I like these staples:

Auburn - Georgia

Vandy - Ole Miss

Tenn - Florida

Texas AM - Texas

Then out of the remaining 8 teams, 3 setups IMO to have fewer completely new rivals. 

Alabama - Miss St, LSU, or Ark

Kentucky - Oklahoma, Mizzou, or Miss St. 

South Carolina - Mizz, Okla, or Mizz

LSU - Ark, Bama, or Okla

Arkansas  - LSU, Miss St, or Bama

Oklahoma - Kentucky, SC, or LSU

Mizz - SC, KY, or SC

Miss State - Bama, Ark, or KY

Personally, I like the last batch.  I'll try to plug these in now to show full lineup. 

Alabama	Arkansas
Auburn	Georgia
Vanderbilt	Ole Miss
Tennessee	Florida
Florida	Tennessee
Georgia	Auburn
Kentucky	Mississippi St
South Carolina	Missouri
LSU	Oklahoma
Ole Miss	Vanderbilt
Mississippi State	Kentucky
Texas A&M	Texas
Arkansas	Alabama
Oklahoma	LSU
Missouri	South Carolina
Texas	Texas A&M

I really like this layout. I think all have some history together whether on recruiting or former rivals. 

 

bama would love this one.  They get Arkansas, while all of their most likely challengers are beating each other.😆

[AUwent 3,748]

58 minutes ago, VicTree said:

bama would love this one.  They get Arkansas, while all of their most likely challengers are beating each other.😆

Yeah I think that would be a very bad format. 

[IronMan70 3,277]

* 9 game conference schedule, 2 year rotation.

* 3 yearly games will be within the POD where as many rivalries as possible will be addressed.

* 6 games will be vs 6 of the remaining 12 SEC teams.

* Every SEC team will face the entire conference on a 2 year basis. This will be the tradeoff for teams that currently may have a 2nd rival that ends up in a different pod.

 

As an example, AU vs bama (in the same POD) would play yearly. AU vs UGa (in different PODS) would now play every other year. In exchange, AU will get to play all the SEC teams every 2 years.

[AUBwins 10,075]

6 hours ago, VicTree said:

bama would love this one.  They get Arkansas, while all of their most likely challengers are beating each other.😆

Yea they would.  Although if they kept a perm rival in addition to the pods there is no way it would be fair to everyone and we know they won't make it tough for Bama, so we can only hope Arkansas continues to get better because it's probably a more likely scenario lol

[AUwent 3,748]

1 hour ago, IronMan70 said:

* 9 game conference schedule, 2 year rotation.

* 3 yearly games will be within the POD where as many rivalries as possible will be addressed.

* 6 games will be vs 6 of the remaining 12 SEC teams.

* Every SEC team will face the entire conference on a 2 year basis. This will be the tradeoff for teams that currently may have a 2nd rival that ends up in a different pod.

 

As an example, AU vs bama (in the same POD) would play yearly. AU vs UGa (in different PODS) would now play every other year. In exchange, AU will get to play all the SEC teams every 2 years.

As badly as I want this to happen, I just don’t know how the conference championship would be pulled off—15 games is already a stretch. Adding conference semifinals… 😵‍💫 

Maybe play just one cupcake a year and add on a de facto 10th conference game instead against a team in another pod that finished the same as you? Of course, the small schools need that $.

(The easier way to do this would just be reverting to an 11 game regular season and just the pod winners play the extra games but I’m aware there’s no way the PTB will allow that.)

Edited April 18, 2022 by AUwent

[Cardin Drake 1,825]

Texas-OU is a non-negotiable rivalry. Oddly enough, both Texas and Texas A&M would probably be happy not playing each other every year.  I know nobody wants to give up an Auburn-Georgia rivalry, but I'm tired of having one of the hardest schedules every year.  Playing Alabama and Georgia every year would keep anybody out of the playoffs.

[AUBwins 10,075]

3 hours ago, Cardin Drake said:

Texas-OU is a non-negotiable rivalry. Oddly enough, both Texas and Texas A&M would probably be happy not playing each other every year.  I know nobody wants to give up an Auburn-Georgia rivalry, but I'm tired of having one of the hardest schedules every year.  Playing Alabama and Georgia every year would keep anybody out of the playoffs.

I'm good with Georgia every 2 years.  We need to break this cycle anyways.  All we do is lose to them now. 

[AUwent 3,748]

@Cardin Drakeand @AUBwins:

If I could post this gif a million times in response to your above posts, I would.

To add to your points, IF Harsin doesn't work out and we find ourselves back on the coaching market, it is very possible that playing both every year makes us a less attractive job. We could actively be harming ourselves as a program all over some obsession with "trudishun." It's not like we'd be going seven years without playing the Humpers, we would literally alternate between them and a team that's also been a major rival throughout our history.

Edited April 22, 2022 by AUwent

[AUwent 3,748]

Alright so here's what I currently think is the best idea:

-Four pods

-Play everyone in your pod

-Pods are placed in pairs that rotate every two years, to form divisions

-Pods also have "secondary" pairs from which they play two opponents

-Keep guaranteed tiebreakers (problem with many of the proposals thus far)

-No needed additional games for conference championship (ditto)

(Assuming expansion starts in 2023 or 25; if it starts in 2024, reverse):

-(If freshman year is an even year) play all fifteen teams at least once during four years, visit AND host eleven of fifteen teams at least once during four years (compared to current system, visit AND host seven of thirteen teams during four years)

-(If freshman year is an odd year) play thirteen of fifteen teams at least once during four years, visit AND host thirteen of fifteen teams at least once during four years

-Play everyone at least six times, and therefore visit AND host everyone at least three times, in twelve years

An example for Auburn:

Year 1/2--Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

Year 3/4--Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt

Year 5/6--Alabama, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

Year 7/8--Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana State, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt

Year 9/10--Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt

Year 11/12--Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

Edited May 3, 2022 by AUwent

[augolf1716 21,109]

Not really going to matter for too long imo because we'll be in a Super League fairly soon 75 or so schools