The Southeastern Conference waited too long to implement a nine-game conference schedule because it will soon be outdated with the arrival of the 24-team playoff “once the 24-team playoff arrives”, according to Yahoo Sports.
The conference membership dragged its feet for several years before finally adding the ninth conference game this season, Yahoo Sports reported.
The current format works for the final year of the traditional SEC Championship and the last installment of the 12-team College Football Playoff, Yahoo Sports noted.
With divisions extinct and the conference sitting at 16 teams, the ninth conference game increases the chance that the two best teams will reach the top of the standings, per Yahoo Sports.
The schedule also gives the conference extra muscle in strength of schedule debates that are critical for determining at-large bids, Yahoo Sports reported.
Once this season ends, however, the conference would be smart to dial back to eight conference games, Yahoo Sports indicated.
The schedule format was not designed with the extinction of the SEC Championship game and a 24-team playoff in mind, Yahoo Sports reported.
In this new postseason future, fewer conference games and more meaningful nonconference clashes could buoy the SEC, per Yahoo Sports.
Alabama previously disproved any notion that an SEC team could not survive a beefed-up conference schedule during the pandemic, Yahoo Sports noted.
Scheduling strategy should change accordingly once Atlanta becomes a chapter in the conference history book, according to Yahoo Sports.
A second Power Four nonconference game for every SEC team could be a more useful measuring stick than a ninth conference game, Yahoo Sports reported.
The SEC is currently 10-2 in games against the ACC, Big Ten or Big 12, which is reflected in the CFP rankings, per Yahoo Sports.
The Big Ten and SEC should increase their number of interconference clashes rather than relying on debate, Yahoo Sports concluded.