How About an SEC Week 1 Matchup of Ole Miss vs. Miss State Followed by Auburn at Alabama?
When the Southeastern Conference announced the two additional non-divisional opponents each school will play as part of the league's conference-only football schedule for this fall, everyone except for Arkansas and Missouri got a little more excited about the possibility of playing college football.
Those schools are probably wondering whom they offended at the league office. The Razorbacks were given Florida and Georgia, while the Tigers drew Alabama and LSU. Both programs have new head coaches.
But now comes the really interesting part: When will all these games be played?
If you watched the "Dog and Pony" release show, as SEC Associate Commissioner Herb Vincent referred to it in a tweet, host Dari Nowkhah made a point of saying that no one should believe that any of the dates on the original schedule will remain the same.
That means the Third Saturday in October game against Tennessee may not be played in October, or that Iron Bowl of Auburn at Alabama will automatically close out the regular season.
The SEC will play a 10-game season beginning Sept. 26, with the championship game in Atlanta slated for Dec. 19. So if the traditional Thanksgiving weekend games aren't moved they'll end up being played with three weeks to go in the regular season.
Why not play some of the biggest rivalries early on, just in case?
Take a look at what the Pac-12 did. Its revamped 10-game conference-only schedule features USC vs. UCLA, Arizona State vs. Arizona and Washington vs. Stanford all on Week 1. All three games were originally scheduled for November.
The SEC has some time to work on this, as it may not publicly announce the dates for all games for a couple of weeks as it continues to monitor developments around COVID-19.
Here's an idea for when it does: Make sure there is a marquee matchup each week. We're talking taking the CBS game of the week and maximizing it, with the 10 best matchups scattered throughout the season instead of bunched up at times.
For Week 1, what would be better than the Egg Bowl?
Coaches Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach could make their debuts at Ole Miss and Mississippi State, respectively, against each other.
That matchup out of the chute could potentially break the league's all-time ratings record for a regular-season game.
Then top it with an untraditional Auburn at Alabama showdown on October 3.
The last time they played in a month other than November or December was 1903.
Football barometers
• The deadline for NFL players to opt out of the 2020 season passed, with 67 deciding not to play. Only three teams avoided having any players opt out — the Falcons, Chargers and Steelers — while the Patriots had the most (eight), followed by the Browns (five). As of Friday, 102 players had been placed on reserve/COVID-19 list for testing positive or having been in contact with someone with the virus. According to Howard Balzer of AllCardinals (a legend in sports journalism) 51 had been activated after having two negative tests. However, 31 players had been on the list for at least a week. That's a big concern.
• As of Friday night, approximately 30 college football players had announced they were opting out for the 2020 season. Look for that number to significantly grow as fall camps begin to open around the nation. "I think they just have to do what's best for them, what makes sense for them and their situation, for them and their families," Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry said when asked what advice he'd give college players weighing the decision. "It’s a crazy time for everyone right now, across the world, so it's really what makes sense for you and what’s the best situation possible for you and your future."
• At the high school level, every state south of Tennessee except for Alabama has at least pushed the start of the high school football season back. Per MaxPreps, Hawaii, Delaware, Oregon and Colorado were the latest states to move football to 2021, Pennsylvania and Ohio will push back their seasons following governor recommendations, and South Carolina will delay the start of its season three weeks. Among the states that have already announced they'll play in the spring include California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, Virginia and Washington. Georgia recently announced it will delay the start of the season two weeks, the same as Mississippi.
Did you notice?
• Déjà Vu All Over Again: Tokyo and Another Lost Olympics: Long before the 2020 Summer Games were postponed by a pandemic, Japan was chosen as the first Asian host nation. However, the 1940 Tokyo Olympics went up in smoke. Eight decades later, entering what should have been the weekend of the closing ceremonies, here we are again.
Sports Illustrated
• Players in the American Athletic Conference were the latest to voice concerns of coronavirus safety and more in a proposal being sent to schools. The document, a copy of which was obtained by Sports Illustrated, apparently originated at Central Florida. A “Proposal for Change" listed 10 concerns, ranging from COVID-19 safety to scholarship security, plus a request for “hazard pay” and 20 percent of AAC revenues. The document begins by saying athletes within the conference “are disappointed with the way the AAC and NCAA has handled COVID-19,” and alleges that there are “gaps where institutions are grossly insufficient.”
• Conference USA announced each football team can play up to four non-conference games in addition to eight league matchups. UAB is set to open at home against New Mexico State on Sept. 3.
• Jim Harbaugh used a Big Ten conference call to accuse Ohio State’s Ryan Day of cheating.
• Former Olympic speedskater Eddy Alvarez (a silver medalist in 2014) made his MLB debut with the Marlins.
• Play-by-play broadcasters give their favorite calls of all time.
