I know it will never change but I have maintained from the get go when the conference split into divisions...we should play 3 teams from the east home and away for two years, then the 3 other teams home and away for two years. I am a tradition guy and love traditional games like Ala-Tenn and Auburn-UGA, but they broke up OU and Nebraska, which was as tradtional as they come. When they used to play the day after Thanksgiving was classic college football. But it is simply inequitable to have a permanent opponent on the schedule, and I would feel this way even if Vandy was ours. If they insist on keeping the yearly rivalries, divide up the divisions differently, ex. Div 1 LSU,Ole Miss,Miss St,SC,Ky,Ark Div 2 Bama,Auburn,UT,UGA,Fla,Vandy Essentially, you trade Bama & Auburn for SC & KY, but at least you keep the rivalries intact, AND you wouldn't have to go more than two seasons without playing everyone in the other division.
What about the intense rivalries LSU has with Alabama and Auburn? We have a lukewarm rivalry with Kentucky and no real rivalry with South Carolina at all. The Big 12 would have done themselves a favor if they had followed the SEC example even if the only reason was to keep the yearly OU-Nebraska rivalry alive.
I agree. I would hate to give up playing Bama or AU every year as well. I just hate the idea of the powers that be deciding who everyone's permanent opponent is. Not to mention, I also dislike there being 5 years between home games. A whole graduating class of players will have come and gone by that point. (and it used to be worse, like 8 years between meetings) I'd like to see SEC players getting to play against every SEC school at least once in their careers. Not to mention from a fans viewpoint, because of this, we missed getting to see players like Herschel Walker, Peyton Manning, and Bo Jackson, just to name a few.
obi-wan you make a good point in that we miss so many good players some times with the way the schedules work out. Of course we use to miss entire generations when the old format was in place as we went a lot of years without ever playing some of the SEC teams such as UGA and UT, but with 12 teams in the SEC I don't know if there is a better way to do it then what they have now.
