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Big against SEC

wlawn

Well-Known Member
Sep 27, 2016
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Is it possible at the beginning of the year to do what basketball does BIG vs ACC but with BIG vs SEC.
 
You mean like Big vs. MAC? Yes, it is possible. One issue is that the SEC doesn't backload all their conference games like the Big Ten.

LdN
 
Is it possible at the beginning of the year to do what basketball does BIG vs ACC but with BIG vs SEC.

I have often thought it could happen. Matchups would be based in part, on relative success of the programs over a period of time. But, in order to make it happen, I think it would have to be a 2 year cycle with each team getting one home game, but not necessarily against the same opponent, but one that is still along the same lines of success. So, that way Rutgers doesn't get Arkansas one year and Alabama the next.

It would make for a good opening weekend/Labor Day schedule.

Next time I sit down for cocktails with Jim Delaney, I will make sure to bring this up.
 
I say do it at the end of year instead of beginning.

Have always said I would love to see Bama, Auburn, UGA, LSU, etc come north and play in November at OSU, Mich, PSU, Wisconsin, MSU outside.
 
I say do it at the end of year instead of beginning.

Have always said I would love to see Bama, Auburn, UGA, LSU, etc come north and play in November at OSU, Mich, PSU, Wisconsin, MSU outside.

Those teams don’t go any place where the temperature drops below 60 degrees. Southern Speed is measured by how fast they head for a heater when the thermometer dips to 65.
 
Southern teams coming north?

I believe it was the Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein who said recently “you need a court order to get southern teams to even leave their own county”!
 
Miami may not leave the Yankee stadium locker room for their bowl game. Good luck getting a southern team to voluntarily go north in October or November.
 
Miami may not leave the Yankee stadium locker room for their bowl game. Good luck getting a southern team to voluntarily go north in October or November.

ACC teams do come north to play Boston College in Oct and November.
AAC teams do come north to play Temple and UConn in Oct and November

If there is a paycheck involved, they will show up.

That said, if this were a viable scenario, it would still be easier to schedule early in the season.

By the way - ever been to the south during late August/early September? The humidity takes your breath away. It's a prickly heat, different than the heat that we have north of the Mason - Dixon line. That can't be fun to play in with full pads either - unless you are used to it.
 
Give us an 8 team playoff - then I'll bite on this idea. Reason being that as others have said if not having a playoff makes every game of the season matter then I don't want to do these kinds of games for the risk/reward that they bring at the end of the year.

Say we lose to SEC team at the start of the year, and lose 1 against Mich/OSU/Mich St. etc., but win the B1G Championship. That puts us as a 2 loss team on the outside looking in with the current setup.

With the imbalance of the B1G East vs. West we already play enough teams that are equal to - or thereabouts - our skill level in a regular 9 game conference schedule. In the current setup the schedule should be 1 marquee but beatable opponent with 2 cupcakes and call it a season.

But if you go 8 team playoff - with autobid for conference champs - then I say have at it since there is more reward than risk for playing these kinds of matchups on a yearly basis.
 
ACC teams do come north to play Boston College in Oct and November.
AAC teams do come north to play Temple and UConn in Oct and November

If there is a paycheck involved, they will show up.

That said, if this were a viable scenario, it would still be easier to schedule early in the season.

By the way - ever been to the south during late August/early September? The humidity takes your breath away. It's a prickly heat, different than the heat that we have north of the Mason - Dixon line. That can't be fun to play in with full pads either - unless you are used to it.

Those are required conference games. No sure I'd consider them voluntary as they'd need to leave their conference to avoid them. That said,

Florida State played at OU in 2010. Thats the furthest "north" they've gone in awhile.
Miami actually played in South Bend in late October in 2016 so kudos to them.
Florida hasn't played OOC in the north since 1991 at Cuse which, somehow, is also the last time played a OOC road game outside of the state of Florida.

As far as heat, I used to live in Texas. Different set of challenges.
 
If memory serves me correctly the last SEC team to play a true road game (not neutral site) out of conference was Alabama when they came to PSU in 2011. I don't see the SEC ever agreeing to such an arrangement that would require them to play up north regularly.
 
If memory serves me correctly the last SEC team to play a true road game (not neutral site) out of conference was Alabama when they came to PSU in 2011. I don't see the SEC ever agreeing to such an arrangement that would require them to play up north regularly.

If you're talking about road games in the north that might be true but SEC teams play true road games ooc all the time. Florida plays FSU at FSU every other year. Georgia and GT have an ongoing Home and Home. South Carolina and Clemson.
 
If you're talking about road games in the north that might be true but SEC teams play true road games ooc all the time. Florida plays FSU at FSU every other year. Georgia and GT have an ongoing Home and Home. South Carolina and Clemson.
Yes, omitted a key part there. I believe the stat was about true non-conference road games played outside of their home state.
 
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Mark it down, with an 8 team format the $EC will get at a minimum 3 teams in every year and in a superb year they will push for 4 teams in. Going to 8 only increases the odds for them. And the seeding will be such that it almost guarantees an $EC team(s) in the final
 
ACC teams do come north to play Boston College in Oct and November.
AAC teams do come north to play Temple and UConn in Oct and November

If there is a paycheck involved, they will show up.

That said, if this were a viable scenario, it would still be easier to schedule early in the season.

By the way - ever been to the south during late August/early September? The humidity takes your breath away. It's a prickly heat, different than the heat that we have north of the Mason - Dixon line. That can't be fun to play in with full pads either - unless you are used to it.

Agreed. I was at Alabama in 2010 and found the heat to be unbearable at times.
 
Those are required conference games. No sure I'd consider them voluntary as they'd need to leave their conference to avoid them. That said,

Florida State played at OU in 2010. Thats the furthest "north" they've gone in awhile.
Miami actually played in South Bend in late October in 2016 so kudos to them.
Florida hasn't played OOC in the north since 1991 at Cuse which, somehow, is also the last time played a OOC road game outside of the state of Florida.

As far as heat, I used to live in Texas. Different set of challenges.

How would being a schedule non conference game or playoff game be different? They are still games to be played. There is no such thing as "voluntary". That's just an inane comment. Is Miami's selection to the Pinstripe Bowl "voluntary"? No. Do they get to say "no, we turn it down because it's cold?" No.

Come on man, that's just crazy talk about "voluntary". The games are scheduled and the teams have to be there - there is no such thing as "voluntary".

Florida State played in Chestnut Hill, MA on October 29, 2017. When Boston College first joined the ACC, Florida State played in Chestnut Hill in November a few times.
Miami played in Chestnut Hill, MA October 28, 2018. When both teams were in the Big East Miami played in Chestnut Hill several times in November.
The 1991 Florida- 'Cuse game was indoors - prior to that, the last time Florida played outside north of the mason Dixon line was against Rutgers in October 1986.

I lived in Alabama for a while - I know what that southern heat is like. It takes your breath away.

From a scheduling perspective, for both the Big Ten and SEC, it's simply going to be easier to schedule the games in the early part of the season. There is more flexibility for both conferences to schedule early in the season that there is late in the season.
 
How would being a schedule non conference game or playoff game be different? They are still games to be played. There is no such thing as "voluntary". That's just an inane comment. Is Miami's selection to the Pinstripe Bowl "voluntary"? No. Do they get to say "no, we turn it down because it's cold?" No.

Come on man, that's just crazy talk about "voluntary". The games are scheduled and the teams have to be there - there is no such thing as "voluntary".

Florida State played in Chestnut Hill, MA on October 29, 2017. When Boston College first joined the ACC, Florida State played in Chestnut Hill in November a few times.
Miami played in Chestnut Hill, MA October 28, 2018. When both teams were in the Big East Miami played in Chestnut Hill several times in November.
The 1991 Florida- 'Cuse game was indoors - prior to that, the last time Florida played outside north of the mason Dixon line was against Rutgers in October 1986.

I lived in Alabama for a while - I know what that southern heat is like. It takes your breath away.

From a scheduling perspective, for both the Big Ten and SEC, it's simply going to be easier to schedule the games in the early part of the season. There is more flexibility for both conferences to schedule early in the season that there is late in the season.

I said teams southern teams don’t want to voluntarily come north, ie scheduling ooc games against northern schools, and rarely do. This is evident just looking at their ooc schedules historically. Programs choose who they play ooc. You don’t choose where the conference sends you unless you are Ohio state/Michigan and it will make you so sad that you can’t play Michigan/Ohio state the last weekend.
 
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