In four weeks the future of the Bama-Tennessee game will be determined...

[PirateVOL]

I'm for 9 conference games. 
Three reasons
1) given a 14 team league it allows teams to play each other more often, perhaps going to the rotating hom and home that occurred prior to expansion.
2) should keep us playing bamer every year.  Though it is more often played on the 4th Saturday now the 3rd Saturday in October means something special to me and a lot of other fans, of both schools.
3) One less Sisters of the Poor game each year!

[BGHarper]

I'm for 9 conference games.  
Three reasons
1) given a 14 team league it allows teams to play each other more often, perhaps going to the rotating hom and home that occurred prior to expansion.
2) should keep us playing bamer every year.  Though it is more often played on the 4th Saturday now the 3rd Saturday in October means something special to me and a lot of other fans, of both schools.
3) One less Sisters of the Poor game each year!

Agree with the entire post, but unfortunately I think unless something unforeseen happens very soon this annual series is over. Just read Saban said there was a coaches meeting this morning, and while he still favors nine games he is in the minority and doesn't think 9 games will happen. Let's tailgate again in about 2020


BG

[droner]

Speaking as one of the elders on the board, I hate to see the series end, all other things being equal. But all other things aren't equal. If you have the divisions, having Bama as the permanent opponent from the other division puts UT at a distinct disadvantage. Without divisions and with a rotating schedule, you might could keep a few permanent rivalries.

I've been calling for an end to the divisions for about 20 years. Line 'em up, rotate the schedules and let the two top teams play in the SECCG.

But if you end the UT/Bama permanent game, you have to eliminate them all including AU/UGA, UGA/UF and, get this, Bama/AU.

One other note, some people, especially younger fans will say that UT/UGA and UT/UF are two of those traditional rivalries. Not so. Before the divisions, UT didn't play those two very much at all. Hard to believe.

[Black Diamond Vol]

One other note, some people, especially younger fans will say that UT/UGA and UT/UF are two of those traditional rivalries. Not so. Before the divisions, UT didn't play those two very much at all. Hard to believe.

Yep.  When I was growing up, our schedule came down to bammer and Auburn, and then everyone else.  In fact, UT/AU was THE early season must-see game in the SEC for a while.  That was a fun rivalry, and I miss it.

[BGHarper]

Yep.  When I was growing up, our schedule came down to bammer and Auburn, and then everyone else.  In fact, UT/AU was THE early season must-see game in the SEC for a while.  That was a fun rivalry, and I miss it.

It was a great series. Besides being the first game I attended, I usually went to the game as a kid when it was played in Birmingham as did many Tide fans.


BG

[PirateVOL]

Yep.  When I was growing up, our schedule came down to bammer and Auburn, and then everyone else.  In fact, UT/AU was THE early season must-see game in the SEC for a while.  That was a fun rivalry, and I miss it.

3rd Saturday in Oct and the 4th Saturady in Sep.  when I was in HS we went to Gadsden for the Mid South Marching Festival and we always played Aurburn the 4th Sat in Sep

[Black Diamond Vol]

3rd Saturday in Oct and the 4th Saturady in Sep.  when I was in HS we went to Gadsden for the Mid South Marching Festival and we always played Aurburn the 4th Sat in Sep

What made that game so great was its unpredictability.  It's a cliche, but that was truly a rivalry where you could throw the recordbook out the window.  It didn't matter if one team was winless and the other #1 in America, that game was usually a coinflip.

[VinnieVOL]

Isn't it! Great post by CW! Vinnie, I wish your dad posted here. I bet he's got all kinds of great stories about this series. 

Yep, tons of stories.  So many it's hard for me to recall them all.  Sometimes he'll drop a new one, other times he tells me a story he's already told me several times.  I think he knows it too, he just wants to tell it again.  And that's good cause I want to hear it again.   

[BanditVol]

One other note, some people, especially younger fans will say that UT/UGA and UT/UF are two of those traditional rivalries. Not so. Before the divisions, UT didn't play those two very much at all. Hard to believe.

Nah, those rivalries were more or less created by the divisions split.

I do remember some classic AU-UT games in the late 80s and early 90s though.  It was a heck of a rivalry.

[Cobbvol]

I am for 9 games as well. The main reason is that with an 8 game conference schedule with a 6-1-1 format and 14 teams means you play the same 7 teams every single year. You also only play the other 6 teams in conference TWICE every TWELVE YEARS. So it takes 12 years to see UT-LSU, UT-AU, Georgia-Alabama, Florida-Alabama to play at each others home stadium? Not for me. Expanding the conference and not the conference games is watering down the product in my opinion.

[BanditVol]

I am for 9 games as well. The main reason is that with an 8 game conference schedule with a 6-1-1 format and 14 teams means you play the same 7 teams every single year. You also only play the other 6 teams in conference TWICE every TWELVE YEARS. So it takes 12 years to see UT-LSU, UT-AU, Georgia-Alabama, Florida-Alabama to play at each others home stadium? Not for me. Expanding the conference and not the conference games is watering down the product in my opinion.

This is pretty much what I think.  The flip side is that playing 9 SEC games is brutal.

I wonder how other conferences do it...there may eventaully be an NCAA standard for that, as there is requiring 12 teams for a championship game.

[BGHarper]

If the annual series is DOA within the SEC, one alternative is for each school to schedule the other as an out of conference game; it would not count in the SEC standings, but would still retain national ramifications and preserve the series. We had a limited series with Ole Miss prior to divisional alignment that was done for similar reasons.

One drawback would possibly be not getting the cooperation from the conference for a late October game date, but if they vote out the annual series possibly Slive can twist some arms, or throw a bone or two, in order to entice some cooperation with the remaining schools on schedule date leniency. As for Alabama, Saban has said if the conference did approve the nine game SEC schedule, Bama would still play at last one big out of conference game each season, so my above scenario with scheduling one another wouldn't affect Alabama in having that big game out of conference, nor should it Tennessee.

The issue comes down to some schools not wanting such a strong schedule for potential bowl reasons. Teams such as Kentucky don't want their 6-6 season with a bowl bid turning into a 5-7 year with no reward. However, the upper tier teams would still have a decent chance of getting two teams in the playoff due to increased strength of schedule. Regardless, if TV viewership is lacking for the SEC Network package of games, the conference will probably be forced into the nine game season.  



BG