Gil Pound: Pound for Vengeance
Jun. 20—SEC football fans got a glimpse into the future when the league announced each team's slate of opponents for the 2024 season Wednesday.
Remember, that's the first season where college football blue bloods Texas and Oklahoma will join the conference. With new membership came the need for a new scheduling model. Instead of opting for a nine-game conference schedule like many hoped, SEC leaders went with a stopgap eight-game model and eliminated the East and West divisions. The sport has long been moving towards the no-division model, and now we get it next season. But removing divisions also got rid of built-in opponents, so matchups had to be determined.
Those 2024 matchups were revealed in a 7 p.m. SEC Network special Wednesday, actual dates and kickoff times to come later. We could have a similar special in the future after a more permanent scheduling solution is agreed upon, but that should be the last since any new model ought to come with a steady rotation. That of course is barring any further conference expansion, which I wouldn't rule out.
Once '24 opponents were made public, many were quick to point out that Georgia will have it pretty rough with games at Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss, and Kentucky. On the home front, the Bulldogs will host Tennessee, Auburn, and Mississippi State. UGA is also the "home" team in its neutral-site rivalry against Florida next season. This wasn't part of Wednesday's announcement, but the Dawgs have another neutral-site game in 2024 as they open up against Clemson at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Missing from the slate is a Georgia trip to face Texas A&M, a game that was used as the poster child for the SEC's need to update scheduling practices since the Bulldogs have yet to visit College Station since the Aggies joined the conference.
Georgia fans probably feel like the tougher schedule is vengeance on the league's part for what's perceived as a stroll down easy street this upcoming season. Outsiders may call it justice. Funny how different words can be used based on which sideline you stand, isn't it?
Maybe the SEC is balancing the scales, but rather than look at it as Georgia being placed between a rock and a hard place, I'd like to draw inspiration from the old "Watchmen" comic book series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. One of the "heroes" gets put in jail with a lot of people he helped put away through his work as the vigilante Rorschach. The criminals have the numbers, so one of them decides to try for a little retribution. Rorschach then gives a not-so-gentle reminder: "None of you understand. I'm not locked up in here with you. You're locked up in here with me." Beatdown ensues. One combatant gets taken to the prison infirmary while the other is dragged off to solitary confinement. One guess as to which is which.
