Several coaches at SEC Media Days in Atlanta over the week were asked about their thoughts on scheduling should the SEC go to a three-team permanent schedule with five rotating league games.
Arkansas was a popular team among them.
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin called the game between the Rebels and Razorbacks a rivalry. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, whose team plays the Hogs for the Southwest Classic trophy every year already, also mentioned the Hogs as a potential permanent rival when he was the last to take the dais at the gathering.
“You want Texas. When Texas comes into the league, when that schedule comes in, definitely because of that rivalry,” Fisher said. “I think LSU is a great rivalry. But that’s probably our two biggest. Then Arkansas goes into that, too. But I don’t know if that was one of our three that they equated to us in what we did.”
That type of schedule hasn’t seriously been discussed yet, or at least, it hasn’t been reported as such yet, anyway. But when Texas and Oklahoma join the league in the next few years, the 16-team conference will be so massive, the new scheduling system has been unofficially bandied about.
Arkansas getting Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma every single season would be difficult given the year-in, year-out quality those three finish with. But which would be booted for a Missouri or a Mississippi State or an Ole Miss?
It’s a fun question to consider and one that might be legitimately coming sooner rather than later based on the questions coaches fielded at media days.