Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Texas will not be playing Texas A&M on Thanksgiving day next year.
Although Texas will play Oklahoma State on Saturday for the Big 12 Championship game, it’s never too early to examine next year’s schedule. Continue reading “ESPN releases dates for key Texas games next season”
The SEC is home to some of the best coaching jobs in college football.
The Southeastern Conference is considered the premier college football conference in the country, and as a result, coaching jobs in the SEC are highly coveted.
Texas and Oklahoma are transitioning to the SEC for the 2024 season, adding two more excellent coaching jobs to the conference. Both schools hold proud transitions of success and a strong passion for college football.
Steve Sarkisian and Brent Venables are early in their careers with Texas and Oklahoma but are thrown into a new challenge in the SEC.
Expectations in the SEC are higher than any other conference in the nation. SEC teams have won six of the nine national championships in the College Football Playoff era. Texas and Oklahoma want to take part in the SEC’s championship pedigree.
Here is a look at a ranking of all 16 SEC football coaching jobs into four tiers, based on factors such as the prestige of the program, the resources available and the recent success of the team.
Texas playing Texas A&M and Arkansas is good for college football.
The revival of football rivalries between Texas, Texas A&M and Arkansas is a topic of excitement with the Longhorns’ move to the SEC.
These rivalries have a long history, dating back to the early days of college football. They have produced some of the most memorable games and moments in college football history.
Texas and Texas A&M have a deep-rooted rivalry that dates back to the late 19th century. The two schools have faced each other on the gridiron more than 100 times and were always a Thanksgiving Day staple.
The rivalry between the two schools was put on hold (aside from ongoing Twitter wars between the two fan bases) for several years after Texas A&M left the Big 12 Conference in 2012.
Arkansas and Texas have an equally intense rivalry, having faced each other on the football field many times in the past few decades. The Razorbacks and Longhorns have produced some exciting games and memorable moments, including the “game of the century” back in 1969.
Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte spoke this week about the importance of getting these rivalries back.
“I think what makes college so great is the rivalries,” Del Conte said. “Those deep-rooted family rivalries that last a lifetime. You cherish your mom and dad took you, their parents took them, your grandparents. When you can see the rivalries of schools and what it means, those are so important.
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The Aggies can’t run or hide from Texas now.
The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners are heading to the SEC early. Rest assured, there are winners and losers in the move.
Multiple stakeholders stand to gain from the move, not the least of which are Texas and Oklahoma.
The Longhorns and Sooners have already seen a recruiting bump from the move to their new conference. Both teams have put up Top 5 recruiting classes, each of which is their best in a long time. For the Sooners, the 2023 class might be their best class ever assembled.
In addition to improved recruiting, Oklahoma and Texas will have much more appealing home schedules. Needless to say, season tickets are a much easier sell when LSU, Arkansas and A&M come to town than when the Longhorns host the Kansas Jayhawks or Iowa State Cyclones.
Here are a few parties that stand the most to gain or lose by Texas and Oklahoma’s entry into a new league.
Big 12 commissioner loosens grip on Oklahoma and Texas.
Texas and Oklahoma would like to leave the Big 12 for the SEC earlier than 2025. If the rest of the conference is willing, it appears Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is open to letting them leave.
Not much has changed as far as the timeline for when the Longhorns and Sooners could leave. For 2023, the two SEC bound programs are all but guaranteed to play in the Big 12 for at least one more season. According to Yormark, that could be it for the two teams.
The buyout has been a huge holdup for Oklahoma and Texas, though the Longhorns are doing well financially. Should the conference’s other teams let them free of their conference obligations, that hurdle could disappear.
TCU and Baylor’s recent success could make the conference more open to parting ways with the conference’s two moneymakers. Last season, Baylor won the Sugar Bowl after defeating Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship. TCU is potentially on the verge of its first national championship since 1938.
We will continue to monitor when Texas could depart from the conference.
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The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns may soon be joining the SEC. Would Georgia benefit from their addition?
The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns may soon be joining the SEC. The Sooners and Longhorns are traditional powerhouses in college football, but the landscape of the sport is rapidly changing.
A 12-team College Football Playoff has been proposed and would allow numerous teams from the SEC to play in the proposed format.
If those two schools join the SEC, there will likely be another major reshuffling of the college sports conferences. Many schools are less concerned about geographical proximity these days and are prioritizing money instead. There is no doubt SEC teams like Georgia would monetarily benefit from Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC.
If approved, then the SEC would become a 16-team conference. The SEC would certainly switch to a nine-game conference schedule.
The current eight-game format has benefited the SEC and helped the conference place multiple schools in the College Football Playoff. Interestingly, Georgia has played both Oklahoma and Texas more recently than conference foe Ole Miss, so the current format does not allow for frequent competition between cross-division schools.
Fans would benefit from the longer conference schedule. Fewer meaningless games would be a welcome sight for Georgia fans, but the Bulldogs already have an impressive future nonconference slate. Georgia would benefit from their conference foes having tougher schedules.
Georgia has a relatively easy path to the SEC Championship from the SEC East at the moment, but that could change if Texas and Oklahoma join the conference. How would the divisions be formatted if the Sooners and Longhorns join the SEC? That could determine if the move would be a net positive or negative for the Dawgs.
Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs have been narrowly missing the College Football Playoffs in recent seasons partially due to Oklahoma’s dominance in the Big 12. The Sooners have made four of the last six College Football Playoffs, but that would not have been the case if they played in the SEC West.
Overall, there remain too many unknowns to be convinced that Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC would benefit Georgia.
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The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns may soon be joining the SEC. Would Georgia benefit from their addition?
The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns may soon be joining the SEC. The Sooners and Longhorns are traditional powerhouses in college football, but the landscape of the sport is rapidly changing.
A 12-team College Football Playoff has been proposed and would allow numerous teams from the SEC to play in the proposed format.
If those two schools join the SEC, there will likely be another major reshuffling of the college sports conferences. Many schools are less concerned about geographical proximity these days and are prioritizing money instead. There is no doubt SEC teams like Georgia would monetarily benefit from Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC.
If approved, then the SEC would become a 16-team conference. The SEC would certainly switch to a nine-game conference schedule.
The current eight-game format has benefited the SEC and helped the conference place multiple schools in the College Football Playoff. Interestingly, Georgia has played both Oklahoma and Texas more recently than conference foe Ole Miss, so the current format does not allow for frequent competition between cross-division schools.
Fans would benefit from the longer conference schedule. Fewer meaningless games would be a welcome sight for Georgia fans, but the Bulldogs already have an impressive future nonconference slate. Georgia would benefit from their conference foes having tougher schedules.
Georgia has a relatively easy path to the SEC Championship from the SEC East at the moment, but that could change if Texas and Oklahoma join the conference. How would the divisions be formatted if the Sooners and Longhorns join the SEC? That could determine if the move would be a net positive or negative for the Dawgs.
Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs have been narrowly missing the College Football Playoffs in recent seasons partially due to Oklahoma’s dominance in the Big 12. The Sooners have made four of the last six College Football Playoffs, but that would not have been the case if they played in the SEC West.
Overall, there remain too many unknowns to be convinced that Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC would benefit Georgia.
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