No Tennessee-Kentucky or Auburn-Florida? Readers reject my SEC football schedule rivals ideas | Toppmeyer
Determining SEC football rivals after the conference expands to 16 teams with Texas and Oklahoma in 2024 is bound to ruffle feathers, especially considering each team would be limited to three annual rivals if the SEC approves a nine-game schedule embracing the so-called "3-6 model."
This model, a much-discussed candidate for the future schedule, would ditch the existing division structure.
But how to decide on just three rivals for LSU, a team with no shortage of heated foes? Which team should Tennessee play in addition to Alabama and Vanderbilt? And how much should competitive balance factor in, versus simply preserving the best matchups?
I considered these quandaries as I assigned rivalry fixtures for each team in a recent column. Not surprisingly, readers had objections and ideas of their own.
First, a reminder of the rivalry lineup I proposed:
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Alabama: Auburn, Tennessee, LSU
Arkansas: Missouri, Texas, Ole Miss
Auburn: Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt
LSU: Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Alabama
Ole Miss: Mississippi State, LSU, Arkansas
Mississippi State: Ole Miss, Kentucky, Texas A&M
Texas A&M: Texas, LSU, Mississippi State
Oklahoma: Texas, Missouri, Florida
Texas: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Arkansas
Florida: Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma
Georgia: Florida, Auburn, South Carolina
Kentucky: Vanderbilt, Florida, Mississippi State
Missouri: Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina
South Carolina: Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee
Tennessee: Vanderbilt, Alabama, South Carolina
Vanderbilt: Tennessee, Kentucky, Auburn
Here's some feedback I received.
John writes: Come on, no AU versus UF? It needs to be a tradition again. Auburn should face UA, UGA and UF.
My response: Auburn is the closest SEC school in proximity to Gainesville, and, like you, I'd enjoy seeing AU-UF resume annually. Steve Spurrier considered Auburn to be Florida’s second-biggest SEC rival behind Georgia. The Florida Panhandle is a melting pot of fans, with Florida and Auburn prominently represented amid that tussle of turf.
Aligning the puzzle pieces requires a few concessions, though. AU-UF became a sacrifice in my model. Understand, they’d still play each other once every two years in this schedule model, which is a significant improvement over the current division setup.
I also suspect Auburn would balk at being assigned three top-end rivals: Alabama, Georgia and Florida. For competitive balance, I think AU will receive a softer team as its third rival to complement Alabama and Georgia. Nonetheless, Auburn-Florida is a rivalry I’ve always enjoyed.
W.M. writes: I enjoyed your column regarding possible annual opponents in a new SEC schedule format. Two of the matchups don't seem right to me, and you commented on both of them in your column. As you stated, an Oklahoma-Florida pairing seems weird, but I am glad the Vols will not be playing the Gators every year – I never have liked their obnoxious fans! (They probably don't like us either, but at least we Vol fans are not obnoxious!)
And I really do think Tennessee-Kentucky should continue as an annual matchup. I would propose that the Kentucky schedule drop Florida and include Tennessee, and the South Carolina schedule drop Tennessee and include Florida.
My response: In a model I produced last year, I paired Tennessee and Kentucky, but I don’t consider it a must-save game for any reason other than longevity. With 118 meetings in the series, each has played the other more than any other rival. But Kentucky’s mere three victories over UT since 1985 dilutes the rivalry.
For the past 20 years, South Carolina-Tennessee has been competitive. The series is gaining heat, and Vols fans and Gamecocks fans frequently bicker on social media.
Nonetheless, I have little objection with your reconfiguration. In your suggestion, Tennessee’s rivals would be Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, while Florida would be paired with Georgia, Oklahoma and South Carolina. The Gamecocks would get Georgia, Florida and a third team. I've suggested Missouri.
My counteroffer: Maintain the Florida-Tennessee rivalry, which became one of September's biggest games in the 1990s and regained juice last year, thanks to Tennessee finding a pulse under Josh Heupel. Which opponent do Vols fans get more amped up for, the Gators or the Wildcats? For most fans, I suspect it's the former.
By shifting a few puzzle pieces, you could design a model that casts Alabama, Florida and Vanderbilt as Tennessee's rivals and assigns Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky to the Gators.
At its best, the Florida-Tennessee rivalry is quite good. At its best, it dwarfs Kentucky-Tennessee.
Randall writes: I see you’re in the SEC Protect Georgia Club. You and the conference always out to kiss up to Kirby.
My response: Didn’t know there was a club. I’ll be sure to expense the membership fees to my company.
Whom should Georgia play in addition to Florida and Auburn? I consider those rivals locks for Georgia, and the Bulldogs are South Carolina’s top in-conference rival. A Georgia lineup of Florida, Auburn and South Carolina was one of my easiest assignments.
George writes (his rivalries):
Alabama: Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State
Arkansas: LSU, Texas, Texas A&M
Auburn: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi State
Florida: Oklahoma, Georgia, South Carolina
Georgia: Florida, Auburn, South Carolina
Kentucky: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Missouri
LSU: Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M
Mississippi State: Ole Miss, Auburn, Alabama
Missouri: Kentucky, Ole Miss, Oklahoma
Ole Miss: LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri
Oklahoma: Texas, Florida, Missouri
South Carolina: Georgia, Florida, Vanderbilt
Texas: Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Arkansas
Tennessee: Alabama, Vanderbilt, Kentucky
Texas A&M: Texas, Arkansas, LSU
Vanderbilt: Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina
My response: Some good ideas, but you let LSU off easy. Alabama-LSU has developed into one of the season’s most important matchups throughout the past 20 years. I think maintaining that rivalry is a must.
I don’t understand the Missouri-Ole Miss pairing. Why not pair at least one of those teams with Arkansas? By sliding at least one of those teams opposite the Razorbacks, that would free LSU to play Alabama.
Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: SEC football schedule rivals: Tennessee-Kentucky, Auburn-Florida missed
