Expanding and Realigning SEC Divisions with Texas, Oklahoma
The college football world was turned upside down on Wednesday as news broke that Texas and Oklahoma were planning to abandon the Big 12 in favor of the SEC sometime in the coming years. At first, the goal was to verify the bombshell news, but now that several people have dug in, it's clear that this isn't just rumor or hearsay.
That doesn't mean it's a done deal yet, but that's the direction we are currently heading.
So what is the next step? Well, the time is now to start figuring out how a 16-team super conference could look. On Wednesday night, OutKick founder Clay Travis did a fantastic job breaking down a lot of important questions surrounding the move.
Here's a point Clay brought up that really interests me:
That got me thinking. What would a four-team, four-division SEC look like? As Clay points out, the realignment would be interesting as schools would undoubtedly have varying inputs. But I put together a combination that I believe would work -- or at least I want it to work.
Teams
Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M
Permanent Cross-Over Opponents
Why It Makes Sense
The West division was fairly easy to sort out. With this grouping, Texas and Oklahoma still likely need to win the Red River Rivalry to win the division, and the Longhorns and Aggies get to play each other annually once again.
Arkansas has a history with the other three schools dating back to the Southwest Conference, but they would still get to keep their rivalry game with LSU. Plus, Texas would get to reignite an old game against Missouri with one of its cross-over games, while A&M would get to keep three of its old SEC West opponents: Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Teams
Florida, Georgia, LSU, South Carolina
Permanent Cross-Over Opponents
Why It Makes Sense
This would be a tough division, which might upset the powers that be, but it makes too much sense geographically. Most importantly, the Florida-Georgia game, formerly known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, would remain one of the most meaningful in the conference.
The Dawgs would also get to keep its most important cross-over rivalry game with Auburn, while LSU would continue to see Arkansas and Alabama on an annual basis. As a second cross-over game, I gave Florida one of the newbies, Oklahoma. They played for a national title in 2009 and most recently faced off in 2020.
Geographically, LSU in the East doesn't make sense, but they had to go somewhere. At least Louisiana is a coastline state like Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
Teams
Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Permanent Cross-Over Opponents
Why It Makes Sense
Tennessee and Kentucky would absolutely love this alignment, especially if Clay's suggestion to give all four division winners an automatic bid to the Playoff came to fruition. There are no heavy-hitters in the North, but it made the most geographical sense.
I did try to even out schedule difficulty with the cross-over games, however. Kentucky would get one of the league's top players in Georgia, while Tennessee would have the tough task of keeping their rivalries going with Alabama and Florida. And once again, the Missouri-Texas connection from the Big 12 also makes sense.
Losing the annual Georgia-Tennessee game was a tough pill to swallow with this realignment though.
Teams
Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State
Permanent Cross-Over Opponents
Why It Makes Sense
Any realignment has to keep Alabama happy now that Oklahoma and Texas are in the mix. Putting Alabama in a division with Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State once again makes sense from a location standpoint, and it also keeps the annual Iron Bowl alive.
In fact, it would make the Iron Bowl that much more important with only four teams vying for a division title.
The Crimson Tide would also get to keep its other two main rivalries against LSU and Tennessee intact. Auburn gets to keep Georgia, while the other two get the benefit of maintaining four of their former West opponents from the previous alignment. Mississippi State would also get to rekindle its old rivalry against Kentucky.
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Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.