Former longtime Gainesville Sun sportswriter Pat Dooley contributes on a weekly basis to Gators Wire with “Pat Dooley’s Book of Lists,” chronicling his thoughts on the past, present and future of Gators sports. Look for more frequent contributions during football season.
Think about this possibility.
We may be looking at the last time we will see an East and a West champion in the SEC.
Oh, I don’t believe for a second that the SEC Championship game will go away with the new world we are going to enter eventually. Not only is there a contractual obligation, but it is important financially for the conference.
I know there are people who think if the SEC expands to a nine-game conference schedule when Texas and Oklahoma come aboard, the SEC title game will go the way of the Walkman, Pluto as a planet and the dodo bird.
I don’t see that happening.
But let’s think about a scenario where the Big 12 – facing the loss of its two biggest teams – either is absorbed by another conference or just disbands and lets the remaining eight teams fend for themselves.
If the Big 12 crumbles soon enough it could pave the way for Texas and Oklahoma to move right away to the SEC.
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And there is a predominant feeling the SEC would eliminate divisions and just take the two best teams to Atlanta to play for the title.
I know. This is all so complicated, and nobody knows for sure what will happen in the next few months. And I may be getting way ahead of myself because the TV folks may ask us to pump to brakes.
But we do know there will be an East and a West champ in 2021.
Here are the 10 games that will decide the two teams that end up at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 4.