The Pac-12 and the Big Ten did not like the fact that the SEC has been able to get away with scheduling only eight conference games in college football. The Pac-12 and Big Ten have been playing nine conference games, which makes their schedules tougher. SEC teams do not get punished for playing The Citadel or Chattanooga before their rivalry games in November. If the SEC doesn’t get punished, there’s no incentive for SEC teams to change their scheduling practices. However, the move to 16 teams in the SEC with Texas and Oklahoma means that ESPN and Disney want more games. Ole Miss’s athletic director recently said — when talking about the cancellation of the home and home series with USC — that changes are coming to college football scheduling in the SEC.
“I think you’re seeing some of these more marquee matchups maybe coming off the books because of that. If you look at USC, they’re going into the Big Ten and they’re playing nine conference games now. I think that’s probably in our future, too.”
There you have it. The SEC is likely to eventually move to nine games — maybe not in 2025, but probably by 2026 at the latest. Finally, the Big Ten and USC will get something they have wanted for a long time in college football.
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