SEC
The Great Eight
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The SEC’s conference scheduling movement received some insight Thursday on the 2024 season. Here’s what you need to know.
The SEC is not adding a ninth game, at least not yet: It will go with a stopgap solution of an eight-game schedule in 2024, when Oklahoma and Texas join the league, with a decision yet to come on a long-term format.
Keeping eight games in 2024 is more a reflection of not having the votes to go to nine, sources in the conference said, and athletic programs are holding out with hope that an ESPN deal will increase the payout to the SEC in exchange for going to nine.
In the meantime, the 2024 schedule is a stopgap. The exact matchups will be revealed on June 14 in an SEC Network special. It will preserve traditional rivalries, Sankey said.
He didn’t confirm whether that means Texas and Texas A&M will meet in 2024, along with Auburn-Georgia and Alabama -Tennessee, but strongly hinted at it.
The SEC is keeping a requirement that every team must play at least one non-conference game from another Power 5 conference (or Notre Dame) for the 2024 season, but the requirement could end up being dropped if the SEC goes to a nine-game schedule in 2025.
Divisions will be eliminated, as expected, with the top two teams in the 16-team standings will make the SEC championship.
The decision on a long-term format remains between the 3-6 format (three permanent opponents and rotate the other six) or 1-7 format (one permanent opponent and rotate the other seven). And a decision on that could be made soon.
The conference has been debating the schedule for more than a year, and the nine-game format was considered the heavy favorite. But enough resistance emerged over the past few months, and there weren’t enough votes for either the nine-game format or eight-game format on a long-term basis this week at SEC meetings. So the conference went with this solution.
Lack of media money from ESPN still appears to be the main consideration for SEC programs.
Georgia president Jere Morehead has consistently pointed to that, first saying last September: “We have to see, if we go to a nine-game schedule, is that going to provide an opportunity to renegotiate the contracts with ESPN and the like? What we negotiated now was an eight-game schedule.”
All this, according to the two-time defending national championship coach, is ridiculous. “The most overrated conversation there ever was,” Georgia’s Kirby Smart said.
ESPN and the SEC agreed to a 10-year contract in December 2020, prior to Oklahoma and Texas joining the conference. The contract included a pro rate clause where ESPN would pay a basic amount more if it added any new teams.
The SEC was hoping, perhaps assuming, that because it added Oklahoma and Texas, along with a ninth game, it would be more. ESPN/Disney is dealing with layoffs and other uncertainty. They have not made that commitment yet.
The New SEC Schedule Model
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The SEC Spring meetings are taking place in Destin, Florida.
The big topic on the agenda was adopting a scheduling model for the conference.
Oklahoma and Texas formally join the SEC in July of 2024, but were allowed to be a part of the meetings in Destin.
It appears that the SEC will adopt an 8-game conference scheduling format for 2024 where each team will play one permanent opponent annually and play a 7-game rotation with the remaining teams. This format after 2024 has yet to be determined according to commissioner Greg Sankey.
Football matchups for the 2024 season will be released on June 14 on the SEC Network, without exact dates.
Other topics were discussed as well, like tampering, NIL future, etc. but let us not kid ourselves, the thing fans are interested in is the proposed scheduling model.
Some schools wanted a 9-game model, but it appears that the 8-game advocates won out during this round of discussions. Based on the projected model here are my predictions on permanent opponents:
Alabama: Auburn. The Iron Bowl will not be touched. The Third Saturday of October annually with Tennessee is a casualty of this model. Thanks Nick!
Arkansas: Missouri. I’m guessing the Razorbacks were for the 9-game format with 3 permanents so they could renew the Texas rivalry, but that did not come to pass.
Auburn: Alabama. Iron Bowl is the best rivalry game in College Football. Under this format the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry game with Georgia is a casualty of this model. What a damn shame!
Florida: Georgia. The Cocktail Party will continue annually, but where after 2025?
Georgia: Florida. The Dawgs wanted the 9-game model.
Kentucky: South Carolina. Must watch TV, right? NOT!
LSU: Texas A&M. The Florida and Alabama games annually are victims of this model.
Mississippi State: Ole Miss. The Egg Bowl lives on
Missouri: Arkansas. This manufactured rivalry game has no appeal.
Ole Miss: MSU. The Egg Bowl is intense, but the long-standing LSU game is gone.
Oklahoma: Texas. Red River Shootout in Dallas comes to the SEC.
South Carolina: Kentucky. The Gamecocks lose their biggest SEC rival in UGA.
Tennessee: Vanderbilt. Vols are jumping for joy with this automatic W but lose Alabama annually.
Texas: Oklahoma. Welcome to the SEC Horns!
Texas A&M: LSU. I’m thinking the Aggies wanted Texas and the 9-game model.
Vanderbilt: Tennessee: In-state rival.
Gone are the two divisions and teams with the two best conference records play for the SEC Tile in 2024.
All the other major conferences play a 9-game schedule. The SEC is going to take a lot of criticism in the press with the scheduling model, but as the commissioner said 65-7 in the latest national championship game tells you where the balance of power is in college football.
Let the debates begin on who the permanent opponent will be. Texas or Oklahoma coming to Athens would be a treat for Dawg fans. A road trip to Austin would be next level also.
The SEC Portal
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The transfer portal has changed college football forever.
Student athletes now have the option to leave a school at the drop of a hat.
A school can land a good recruiting class but keeping all of those kids on campus for 3-4 years is basically impossible. Let’s examine how the SEC is doing with the transfer portal in 2023.
Auburn: This name is a shocker because they’ve been in bad shape over the last couple of years. Hugh Freeze was hired in November to be the 31st head coach at Auburn. He has a checkered past, but he coached at Ole Miss from 2012-2016.
They have the 5th ranked transfer portal class in the nation. They are bringing in a total of 16 players.
Six of them are four-star recruits and the other 10 are three-star. Some of the big names are wide receiver Caleb Burton (Ohio State), linebacker Austin Keys (Ole Miss), defensive lineman Justin Rogers (Kentucky), linebacker DeMario Tolan (LSU) and quarterback Payton Thorne (Michigan State).
The 2023 recruiting class is ranked 18th, so Freeze looks poised to make Auburn a bowl team again.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks have the 6th ranked portal recruiting class in 2023. They were 7 – 6 in 2022 so they needed to bring in more talent.
They had a breakout season in 2022, finishing 9 – 4. Head coach Sam Pittman is entering his fourth season so he may feel the hot seat warming up.
The class has 17 players; three are four-star and 14 are three-star. The notable players are corner back Jaheim Singletary (Georgia), guard Josh Braun (Florida), QB Jacolby Criswell (North Carolina), corner back Al Walcott (Baylor) and defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat (Mizzou).
I think they will make it back to a bowl game in 2023, but I think they will finish the regular season with six wins.
LSU: The Tigers have the 9th ranked portal class. They also have the No. 6 recruiting class in 2023.
Brian Kelly is entering his second season as the head ball coach in Baton Rouge and he’s getting talented players on campus.
LSU overachieved in 2022, finishing the season 10 – 4 and winning the SEC West.
The portal class has 12 players: 4 four-stars and 8 three-stars. Some big name players transferring in are linebacker Omar Speights (Oregon State), LB Ovie Oghoufo (Texas), corner back Jakailin Johnson (Ohio State), corner Denver Harris (Texas A&M), defensive end Bradyn Swinson (Oregon) and wide receiver Aaron Anderson (Alabama).
They should win ten games again this season.
Kentucky: The Wildcats have the 12th ranked portal class.
Kentucky is slowly becoming a football school. Mark Stoops has been the head coach in Lexington since 2013 and he has turned that program around.
They have made seven consecutive bowl appearances. The team was 10 – 3 in 2021 but went 7 – 6 in 2022.
They have 10 players transferring in; four are four-star recruits and five are three-star. Some of the new faces are inside offensive lineman Ben Christman (Ohio State), tackle Courtland Ford (USC), defensive tackle Keeshawn Silver (UNC), QB Devin Leary (NC State), safety Jantzen Dunn (Ohio State) and tackle Tanner Bowles (Alabama).
Ole Miss (21), Florida (22) and Tennessee (23) were the other SEC teams to land top 25 transfer portal recruiting classes.
Rivalries
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With Texas and Oklahoma entering the SEC in 2024 the conference will move to a 9-game SEC football slate.
Most are speculating that the SEC could adopt a 3+6 scheduling model. Under that model you would have three permanent opponents that you would play annually and six other conference opponents.
Also, under that model every team in the SEC would play each other every two years and play home and home with every non-permanent opponent every four years.
The current SEC scheduling format has some flaws. Example Georgia has only played Texas A&M once since they joined the conference in 2012. The Dawgs have yet to make a trip to College Station to play the Aggies. A 3+6 model will eliminate that.
There are rivalry games in the SEC that need to be protected at all costs under any new scheduling format. Here are my top six annual rivalry games that need to be protected by the expanding SEC.
Alabama vs Auburn: The Iron Bowl is the most iconic rivalry game in all of college football. To tinker with this one is a sign of the pending Rapture.
The Iron Bowl has given us some of the greatest moments in college football history.
Georgia vs Florida: The best border war in all of college football. The “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” currently resides in Jacksonville.
I would like to see it stay there forever. It could end up going to a home and home series, but frankly I would hate it. The game is not going anywhere however and is an SEC staple.
Auburn vs Georgia: The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry has lost some of its luster lately with UGA winning fifteen of the last eighteen games, but there is too much history in place to discontinue playing this contest on an annual basis.
Alabama vs Tennessee: The Third Saturday in October is a classic SEC Rivalry game that needs to stay in place.
The 2022 game in Knoxville was a classic with Tennessee breaking a 15-year losing streak to Alabama. You saw the passion for the contest in the Tennessee postgame celebration.
Oklahoma vs Texas: There is no conceivable way the SEC does not keep The Red River Shootout in place once these two teams join next year.
A huge game played in Dallas every year during the Texas State Fair in the Cotton Bowl Stadium.
Mississippi State vs Ole Miss: The Egg Bowl is very intense and usually played on Thanksgiving Night.
The intensity and passion this game displays must not be touched.
These six games mentioned above are the fabric of the historic SEC and the newly expanded SEC.
The SEC must decide everyone’s three permanent opponents. Other big games that we could see annually depending in the SEC:
Florida vs Tennessee: This was the SEC in the 1990’s. It has lost some luster lately but is still a huge game.
Alabama vs LSU: This has become the matchup that determines the SEC West Champion often.
Texas vs Texas A&M: What a shame this game ended when A&M joined the SEC. I suspect it will get back on track.
Georgia vs South Carolina: Georgia is South Carolina’s biggest SEC rival.
Kentucky vs Tennessee: Kentucky will want Tennessee as one of its permanent opponents and Tennessee will jump for joy.
Tennessee vs Vanderbilt: See Kentucky vs Tennessee above.
Florida vs LSU: This is an underrated rivalry game.
Auburn vs Florida: This was a classic rivalry game that got lost in the shuffle when the SEC reshuffled permanent opponents after the 2002 season. These teams have played 84 times, but only 4 times since 2002.
Arkansas vs Texas: Old Southwest Conference rivals could reunite annually.
You never know how it will all shake out. Some folks will be happy, and some will not. We shall see.
From Where I’m Sitting
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I pretty much think about football year-round these days.
Yes, it is early in the 2023 baseball season, and basketball playoffs are starting our greatest game in this country is football, and in this part of the world it is SEC Football in the greatest conference ever created.
I have been to many SEC football stadiums over the years and here are my rankings from 14 to1 in the most intimidating scale.
14.Vanderbilt: FirstBank Stadium is the only stadium in the SEC where the visiting team is the home team on Saturdays in the fall.
It is formerly known as Dudley Field. Vandy has struggled in football for so long that I don’t know when the trend will change. Vandy fans just don’t turn out for home games.
13.Kroger Field/Kentucky: My saying is that in college football if you have a stadium named after a corporation then you don’t have much of a home field advantage. The Wildcats home field is named after a grocery store. Go figure.
12.Faurot Field/Missouri: Can someone explain to me again why Missouri is in the SEC?
Can have some juice at times for night games but not a hard place to win at.
11.Davis-Wade Stadium/Mississippi State: Without the cowbells this place is just above Vanderbilt.
MSU is a historic bottom-feeder in the conference with a stadium that seats around 60k.
10.Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium/Arkansas: I can only remember the place being loud only once and that is when Texas played there in 2021. Other than that, it always looks half full on the TV most of the time.
9.Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Ole Miss: Ole Miss is a tough place to visit these days with Lane Kiffin running the show.
It is one of the smaller stadiums in the conference capacity wise, but holds its own on big game days.
8.Williams-Brice Stadium/South Carolina: When the Chickens are good this place rocks, just ask Tennessee last fall when their playoff hopes were crushed at South Carolina.
They have a loyal loud fanbase, but when things go bad at home, they will find their car keys and get gone as quick as anyone.
7.Kyle Field/Texas A&M: Bigger is not always better. Yes, Kyle Field holds over 100K, and it has its moments. It is the least intimidating big stadium in the country.
6.Neyland Stadium/Tennessee: Neyland has its moments… like Alabama in 2022, but over the past decade it just hasn’t had much bite at all. Another historic 100K venue that was built in 1921. Could start rising again on this list soon.
5.Sanford Stadium/Georgia: I had season tickets in the 1990’s.
Sanford has its moments like Auburn 2007, LSU 2013, and Tennessee in 2022. It has become more intimidating during the Kirby tenure but still has too many wine and cheese fans that attend for the social aspects of posting a social media picture, etc. rather than being hard core college football fans.
4.Ben Hill Griffin Stadium/Florida: When the Gators are good The Swamp is a hostile environment that is very intimidating.
All of you Georgia fans that say move the game UGA/UF out of Jacksonville to home and home better be careful on what you wish for. You have been warned.
3.Bryant-Denny Stadium/Alabama: Alabama is always going to be a tough place to play. Always has been and always will be. History, national titles, and a 100K seat stadium make it so.
2.Tiger Stadium/LSU: You do not want to roll in here at night. Period end of story. Well documented on how tough this environment is.
1.Jordan-Hare Stadium/Auburn: Ask Nick Saban if he likes playing at Auburn?
Ask any coach in the SEC if they like playing at Jordan-Hare, even if Auburn is bad?
When Auburn is rolling this is the most intimidating place in the SEC to play. Jordan-Hare is loud and the fans are loyal and show up to yell rather than sip wine and take photos.
Hugh Freeze is about to remind us on how intimidating Jordan-Hare is over the next decade.
SEC Stocks
Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2022 College Football season is in the books. Kirby Smart and UGA have won back-to-back National Titles. My annual SEC Football stock report is upon us again.
Stock Keys:
Buy
Sell
Hold
Georgia: The best college football stock on the planet. CEO Kirby Smart has developed a winning organizational culture.
401K plan is the best in the business, and the best employees are recruited year in and year out.
The executive management team is the best in the business and well compensated.
This organization is built for any market and will flourish even during down economic times. Blue blood stock that will make you tons of money. The long-term future of this stock is through the roof. Advice: Buy it all.
Alabama: Over a 10-year period this stock has been the most consistent producer of wealth.
CEO Nick Saban is still the king of CEO’s.
Maybe the stock dipped slightly in 2022, but the long-term future is bright.
Top rated employer with the most talented work force make this stock very attractive.
The CEO training program is the best I the country. The executive management team has become a little complacent over the past 12 months and that has been addressed by the CEO.
This stock will always make you a ton of money. Advice: Buy as much as you can.
Tennessee: This historically producing stock crashed over the past 15 years.
However, in 2022 this stock hit a 20-year high. CEO Josh Huepel has been a breath of fresh air after a string of poor CEO’s dating back to 2008.
If you held on to this stock during the bleak years, then you are a wise investor. This stock will continue to rise to get back to the glory years of the Clinton Presidency.
When the Big Orange stock is producing the SEC portfolio is second to none. Advice: Buy
LSU: After reaching an all-time high in 2019 this blue blood stock crashed over the past two years prompting the board of directors to hire a new CEO in Brian Kelly for 2022.
The early returns have been great. Stock has performed much better than expected.
Changes were made in the human resources department resulting in an influx of topflight employees for 2023 and beyond.
This corporation has invested properly for long-term growth once again. Advice: Buy
Mississippi State: This stock made a huge turnaround over the past 24 months. The tragic loss of beloved CEO Mike Leach has made things difficult over the past month.
Leach leaves behind a great foundation that is positioned for continued growth, and his legacy will live on. Rest easy Pirate. Advice: Buy
South Carolina: This stock made a remarkable turnaround late in calendar year 2022 and recovered from some tough early losses by performing well against superior brands Tennessee and Clemson.
Energetic CEO in Shane Beamer has the stockholders optimistic but not totally convinced to invest great sums of money.
This corporation has excited its stockholders before, and returns have not matched investment. Watch this stock closely in 2023. Advice: Hold for now.
Ole Miss: Aggressive CEO Kiffin takes too many chances and this has become a roller-coaster stock. Exciting to watch but for investors nerve-wracking. This is a high anxiety stock. Advice: Hold and never become emotionally invested in stock.
Florida: This stock should be a solid producer. New CEO Billy Napier inherited a horrible organizational culture.
Mass firings have taken place. Lazy employees have bailed for the transfer portal employment agency.
It will take some time to fix this mess. 401K plan is depleted and new hires are backing out causing this once proud organization to take massive public relations hits.
Advice: Sell it all until the board of directors allows CEO Napier to completely blow up this rotten culture.
Auburn, Texas A&M, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Vanderbilt: These poorly run or non-productive organizations are not worth the ink to write about.
Advice: Sell them off quickly. Watch Auburn and Texas A&M for future reinvestment.
It Just Means More
By: Steve Norris
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
If there’s one thing that truly confuses fans of college football teams from other conferences, it’s why many fans of SEC teams pull for other SEC teams against non-conference rivals.
The chant of “SEC!! SEC!!” can be heard in stadiums all over the country almost every week and especially during the bowl weeks.
In fact, the SEC Network uses that chant to promote itself pretty regularly. But why? Why do fans of other conferences not feel that way about their conference members?
For me, when I’m watching another SEC team play a team outside the conference, it comes down to this…when in doubt, pull for the SEC neighborhood, and it started when I was little.
I grew up in a Georgia household. Both of my parents graduated from the University of Georgia in 1969 and married right after graduation. I came along about a year later.
My mother is definitely a Bulldog fan but it was my dad who truly burned red and black in my formative years.
My dad hated Florida, Tennessee, and Auburn as much as anybody. But one thing he truly hated more was what he referred to as “The Midwest media bias against the SEC.”
In the 60’s and 70’s, sports journalism was dominated by the writers from the Midwest. When it came to the polls, the Heisman, and naming the national champion, teams like Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, and the Big Ten, in general, always seemed to receive the benefit of the doubt.
It all began to change in 1984, when the University of Georgia, along with the University of Oklahoma, sued the NCAA in the Supreme Court over TV rights and won.
The victory meant that conferences and schools could immediately begin negotiating their own television deals.
Once the SEC was able to get their product in front of many millions of more viewers every year, the building of the SEC dynasty began.
Fast forward to present day. In the last fifteen years, the SEC has had a team in the national championship game every year but one. Five different SEC teams have won the national championship game.
The SEC arguably has the best teams, the best coaches, the best recruiting, the best stadiums, the best tailgating, and most of all, the best and most rabid fans, which is why ESPN begged the SEC to take their money.
All of this adds up to bring me to my point: The SEC is a pretty nice neighborhood to live in. It’s so nice that blue blood programs Oklahoma and Texas told the Big 12 to pound sand last year and abruptly announced that they were leaving as soon as possible.
The reason, of course, is money (it usually is). The SEC TV rights net each school some serious bank every year and it continues to go up.
In 2021, each SEC school got approximately a $55 million payout. In 2024, it’s expected to be around $70 million.
Currently, the Big 12 is expected to pay out around $28 million per school. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is why Oklahoma and Texas can’t wait to be a part of the neighborhood.
Now, just because you live in a nice neighborhood, it doesn’t mean you have to like all of your neighbors. But it’s still important for your neighbors to keep their part of the neighborhood looking good.
It’s important to pull for that. This is why I always say, “When in doubt, pull for the SEC.” For some of you SEC fans, there is never any doubt. You pull for your team and everybody else can burn.
I have a Georgia buddy that always says, “I wouldn’t pull for Florida if I was on the team plane and both engines went out.” I certainly understand that and as a Georgia fan I could never pull for Florida, either.
However, I always want the neighborhood to look good and the best way to do that is with money. You only get a lot of money from the likes of ESPN if the product is really good from top to bottom. So, when in doubt, pull for your neighbor. All the other neighborhoods can burn.
Bowl Grades
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
This has been an interesting college football season to say the least in the SEC.
Below are my bowl grades for each team. Auburn, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt did not qualify for a bowl game in 2022. Auburn fired their head coach, and A&M is the biggest disappointment in college football currently.
Current Record: 6-5 (East: 2-4, West: 4-1)
Las Vegas Bowl: Florida got blown out by Oregon State 30-3. Florida holds the longest streak in college football of consecutive games of not being shut out that dates back to 1988.
When it mattered the most the Gators drove the field with little time remaining and kicked a 40+ yard field goal to keep that streak intact.
Florida was a pathetic team in 2022, finishing the season with a 6-7 record for the second consecutive year. Bowl Grade: F-
Gasparilla Bowl: Missouri went to Tampa and got beat 27-17 by Wake Forest. Did anyone watch? Not many did.
A bowl loss to the ACC gives the Tigers a low grade. Bowl Grade: D
Liberty Bowl: One of the most exciting games of the bowl season.
Arkansas with their horrendous defense, blew a huge second half lead against Kansas and then pulled it out 55-53 in triple OT.
This game film will not be shown at coaching clinics that focus on defense. Arkansas finishes 7-6 on the season. Exciting finish. Bowl Grade: B
Texas Bowl: Ole Miss lost to Texas Tech 42-25 in this contest.
Lane Kiffin and his ‘going for it on 4th down’ antics from anywhere on the field perhaps cost Ole Miss this football game.
The Rebels should have beaten Texas Tech but, instead, continued the late season nose dive for Ole Miss. Ole Miss sat at 7-1 on the season going into the Alabama game on November 12th. Ole Miss finished the season at 8-5. Bowl Grade: D
Gator Bowl: South Carolina lost to Notre Dame in an exciting game 45-38.
Both teams acted like they wanted to be there. Carolina finished at 8-5
Bowl Grade: B+.
Orange Bowl: Tennessee finished the season with 11 wins for the first time since 2001 by beating an overrated Clemson team 31-14.
Clemson, under Dabo Swinney, is starting the decline from elite status to coming back to the pack. Tennessee dominated the ACC champs. Bowl grade: B
Sugar Bowl: Alabama missed the college football playoffs, landed in New Orleans, and beat Kansas State 45-20.
Bryce Young did not win a Natty at Alabama is the huge story here. Bowl grade: C
Music City Bowl: Kentucky got shut out in Nashville 21-0 by Iowa and for their crappy showing the Wildcats receive an F as a Bowl grade.
Reliaquest Bowl: The Mississippi State Bulldogs, in memory of Mike Leach receive an A+ from this writer for beating Illinois 19-10. Rest easy Pirate.
Citrus Bowl: LSU curb stomped Purdue 63-7. For doing their job LSU receives an A for their bowl game grade. Florida, Ole Miss, and Missouri take notes on how to take care of business.
Peach Bowl (College Football Playoff Semifinal):
Georgia took down Ohio State 42-41 in an instant classic.
Dawgs trailed 38-24 in the 4th quarter and Stetson Bennett led UGA on the largest comeback in CFP history.
OSU hooked a 50-yard game winner and 2023 rang in. 1000 yards of total offense. Jacked up crowd and the finish you want in a playoff game makes this one a classic.
Bowl grade: A+++
Sharing Is Caring
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The SEC is the premier college football brand in the United States.
It has been this way for quite a while now. The SEC has crowned three straight national champions in football.
As the premier brand in football, I believe the time has come to start rotating the SEC Championship game to different locations throughout the conference region.
The time is now to begin the rotation. Personally, I think Atlanta is a good place to host the game, but other locations have a lot to offer as well.
I’m thinking now that the SEC is expanding with the addition of Oklahoma and Texas it is time to start a six-city rotation that give more fans the opportunity to experience the SEC brand.
Listed below is the suggested rotation from my perspective with comments promoting each city:
Atlanta: Atlanta is pretty much the geographical center of the south. Atlanta has hosted the SEC Championship game since 1994.
The geographical blueprint of the SEC is now expanding outside of the traditional south.
Why not rotate the game to various points to the expanded blueprint?
If the decision is ultimately made to keep game in a central location like Atlanta, then so be it. Atlanta is a great host city, and the city has great facilities, hotels, airport, and overall infrastructure for continued success. Atlanta is the 8th largest metro area in the United States with around 6 million people.
New Orleans: SEC championship in New Orleans would be an amazing experience.
Food, culture, French Quarter, that party type atmosphere in New Orleans is second to none.
The NFL has hosted numerous Super Bowls in the city. Plenty of hotel rooms. If New Orleans is good enough for the NFL, then it is more than good enough for the SEC.
Smaller metro area, but things listed above make this a must stop on the rotation. NO would be the most fun stop on the rotation.
Arlington: the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchored by the major cities of Dallas and Fort Worth.
It is the economic and cultural hub of North Texas. The area has a population of around 8 million people making it the 4th largest metro area in the US and largest in the SEC.
AT&T Stadium or Jerry’s World would be a perfect venue.
Miami: SEC Championship in South Beach. Sign me up.
9th largest metro area in US. Weather is always great and Hard Rock Stadium is awesome.
ACC would fight to keep SEC out of Miami through.
Can you see the SEC coming into Miami and selling out everything when the ACC cannot even sell out their own conference championship game?
Nashville: SEC Title game in the Music City.
Nashville just approved a new domed stadium in downtown Nashville, just a few blocks away from Broadway Street.
Two million people in Nashville metro area. Perfect city and new venue make Nashville a perfect host.
Nashville is a fun city that would quickly be one of the favorite stops in the rotation.
Imagine your favorite team winning the SEC and running into Kid Rock playing an unannounced set at his restaurant on Broadway during your postgame drunk fest.
Houston: Fifth largest metro area in US. Home of the Texans, Astros, and Rockets.
Houston is a world class city that has hosted multiple Super Bowls.
Houston is a must on any SEC rotation even if nearby Texas A&M is a dumpster fire currently in football.
It is time to share the wealth SEC and expand the SEC experience to outside of Atlanta.
SEC Pulse
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The SEC football season is now a month old. Those who follow football have come to consensus about every single team in the best football conference in the country which is the SEC. Here are my thoughts a month into the season on every team.
SEC East:
- Georgia: The defending national champions looked like a beast for the first three weeks of the season. Stetson Bennett looked like a Heisman front runner. UGA was lighting up scoreboards. Over the past two weeks UGA has looked very beatable with struggles against Kent St. and Missouri. Wide receivers need to get healthy, and the defense needs to stop the run better. November is looking brutal now with the recent struggles with Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State, and Kentucky in consecutive weeks down the stretch.
- Tennessee: The Vols look like a scoring machine with Hendon Hooker at QB. LSU this week and Alabama next week will tell us what we need to know about Tennessee. Will the Vols be able to stop any offense with a pulse moving forward? Right now, Tennessee looks like a contender for the SEC title.
- Kentucky: The Cats gave one away in Oxford last weekend. But isn’t that what Kentucky does when the pressure is on? Still in contention in the east. Probably will need to beat both Tennessee and Georgia later in the season. That is not going to happen. They might get one of those big games, but they will not win both. Odds are they lose both.
- Florida: The Gators are in a rebuild. Billy Napier will get 6-7 wins out of this team and make a bowl. Florida will be back soon.
- Missouri: The Tigers played UGA down to the wire last week. Can they take that same intensity to Gainesville this week? The answer is no.
- South Carolina: This is a bad football team folks. End of story here.
- Vanderbilt: This team plays hard, and I respect that. Not a particularly good football team.
SEC West:
- Alabama: How hurt is Bryce Young? The running game looked impressive at Arkansas last week. Defense is solid. Wide receivers are down from previous years. This is still the team to beat right now in the SEC if Bryce does not miss considerable time. The TSIO (Third Saturday in October) next week in Knoxville with Tennessee could be the game of the year in the conference.
- Ole Miss: Running game and defense. That is the recipe in Oxford in 2022. 5-0 sounds good. Alabama comes to Oxford soon.
- LSU: Will the real LSU Tigers stand up? Jekyll and Hyde Tigers right now. Alabama comes to Tiger Stadium in November….
- Mississippi State: MSU is one of the surprise teams this fall. This is a dangerous team to play right now. Are you listening UGA? The November 12th trip to Starkville looks like a beast on the schedule right now.
- Arkansas: The Razorbacks are horrible on defense. They cannot stop a dripping faucet right now.
- Texas A&M: I called this before the season. This team is a fraud. No QB, no imagination on offense, and are about to get run out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama this weekend. The real loser is CBS who used a primetime 8PM slot for this game against Alabama.
- Auburn: If the Tigers lose on Saturday to UGA will Bryan Harsin have a job on Sunday? Auburn has QB issues and have not won in Athens since 2005. It is safe to say that Auburn has hit rock bottom. Recruiting is down and the boosters at Auburn are running and ruining the athletic department.
