With the news of the SEC moving to a nine-game schedule, there was going to be some schedule shuffling to be had. The conference already has a rule that each team must play at least one power four opponent in their non-conference schedule. While that seems like a great idea on paper, it appears that the Big 12 is the one suffering from the move by the SEC.
Earlier this year, Alabama cancelled their home and home series against Oklahoma State that was slated for 2028 and 2029. And just this past week, LSU cancelled their home and home with Arizona State that was supposed to be played in 2029 and 2030.
Some teams already had power four opponents on their schedule from the Big Ten or a team like Notre Dame. So why would these SEC schools cancel their games against the Big 12?
While it may seem harmless to some, this is going to give the Big 12 a tougher time to get teams into the college football playoff. If teams from the Big 12 are denied opportunities to play teams from the SEC, it hurts their strength of schedule and come playoff time the SEC can use that against the Big 12.
Some people in the SEC probably think “What do we have to gain from playing a team from the Big 12?” One could argue that they have nothing to gain and everything to lose because come playoff selection time if those two teams were being compared to one another that head-to-head matchup will be the deciding factor.
If teams from the SEC can schedule the easiest non-conference games imaginable, then the only thing that they have to worry about is being compared to other teams in their own conference.
Now I know that this is just a small sample size but over the next couple of years, I am expecting this to be the new normal. The best way to keep other conferences out of the playoff if you are the SEC is by not playing them at all. If the Big Ten and SEC agree to only play each other when it comes to the power four games, then it gives the ACC and Big 12 fewer opportunities and nothing to compare them to.
For example, a 11-1 Big 12 team being compared to a 10-2 SEC team. If there is no common opponent, then they look at strength of schedule. And with the national perception of the two conferences, the SEC will always get more respect than the Big 12.
That’s their argument here moving forward when it comes to the playoff, strength of schedule. And with the extra game, that’s exactly what they are going to do. They are going to eliminate games against the Big 12 so they can use strength of schedule against them.
Unfortunately, there is nothing the Big 12 can do here. They can try to schedule games against teams from other conferences but if those conferences don’t want to play, then where do they look next? That’s why it’s important that teams from the Big 12 play those teams from the SEC and Big Ten.
