Could Setting Three Permanent Opponents Based On Times Played Work for the SEC?

If so, how would it shake out and who would be left out in the cold?

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Aug 30, 2023 12:08 PM EDT
Original:
Feb 22, 2023

In this story:

FRISCO, Texas – Last night an Arkansas fan posed the question on Twitter regarding which teams Razorback fans would like to see as the three teams assigned by the SEC to face every year.

To no one's surprise, the majority of people answered some combination of Ole Miss, LSU, Texas and Texas A&M. Oddly enough, Ole Miss was the name that made it into every answer except one at the time of this writing.

However, multiple times, people brought up how long different schools have been playing each other, which led to an interesting idea.

What if the SEC put together these permanent games not based on geography, recent history or perceived current balance? What if, instead, the permanent opponents were created by the number of times two teams have played one another?

Below is a list of the number of times each school has played a 2024 SEC opponent, and following this list is a breakdown of how the permanent opponents would pan out if this list were incorporated.

All-Time Games vs. SEC 2024 Opponent

Auburn – Georgia (127)
Mississippi State – Ole Miss (119)
Kentucky – Tennessee (118)
Texas – Oklahoma (118)
Texas – Texas A&M (118)
Tennessee – Vanderbilt (117)
LSU – Mississippi State (116)
Ole Miss – LSU (110)
Alabama – Mississippi State (106)
Alabama – Tennessee (105)
Georgia – Florida (100)
Auburn – Mississippi State. (96)
Oklahoma – Missouri (96)
Ole Miss – Vanderbilt (95)
Kentucky – Vanderbilt (93)
Alabama – Auburn (87)
Alabama – LSU (87)
Auburn – Florida (84)
Georgia – Vanderbilt (82)
Arkansas – Texas (79)
Arkansas – Texas A&M (79)
Georgia – South Carolina (75)
Georgia – Kentucky (74)
Florida – Kentucky (73)
Alabama – Georgia (72)
Arkansas – Ole Miss (69)
Florida – LSU (69)
Arkansas – LSU (68)
Alabama – Ole Miss (66)
Ole Miss – Tennessee (65)
LSU – Texas A&M (61)
Alabama – Vanderbilt (58)
LSU – Kentucky (58)
Auburn – LSU (57)
Florida – Vanderbilt (56)
Florida – Mississippi State (55)
Georgia – Ole Miss (55)
Auburn – Tennessee (54)
Florida – Tennessee (52)
Georgia – Tennessee (52)
Kentucky – Mississippi State (50)
Auburn – Ole Miss (47)
Mississippi State – Tennessee (46)
Auburn – Vanderbilt (43)
Florida – South Carolina (43)
Kentucky – Ole Miss (43)
Alabama – Florida (41)
Alabama – Kentucky (41)
Tennessee – South Carolina (41)
Auburn – Kentucky (34)
Kentucky – South Carolina (34)
LSU – Tennessee (34)
Arkansas – Mississippi State (33)
Georgia – LSU (33)
South Carolina – Vanderbilt (32)
Auburn – Arkansas (32)
LSU – Vanderbilt (32)
Alabama – Arkansas (31)
Texas A&M – Oklahoma (31)
Georgia – Mississippi State (26)
Missouri – Texas (24)
Arkansas – South Carolina (24)
Mississippi State vs. Vanderbilt (24)
LSU – South Carolina (23)
Auburn – Texas A&M (21)
Auburn – Texas A&M (21)
Florida – Ole Miss (21)
Arkansas – Tennessee (19)
LSU – Texas (18)
Ole Miss – South Carolina (17)
Arkansas – Georgia (16)
Missouri – Texas A&M (16)
Mississippi State – South Carolina (16)
Alabama – Texas A&M (15)
Alabama – South Carolina (15)
Arkansas – Oklahoma (15)
Missouri – Vanderbilt (15)
Mississippi State – Texas A&M (15)
Auburn – South Carolina (14)
Arkansas – Missouri (14)
Kentucky – Missouri (13)
Missouri – South Carolina (13)
Arkansas – Florida (12)
Florida – Missouri (12)
Georgia – Missouri (12)
Ole Miss – Texas A&M (12)
Texas – Vanderbilt (12)
Missouri – Tennessee (11)
Alabama – Texas (10)
Arkansas – Vanderbilt (10)
South Carolina – Texas A&M (9)
Auburn – Texas (8)
Arkansas – Kentucky (8)
Ole Miss – Missouri (8)
Alabama – Missouri (7)
Alabama – Oklahoma (6)
Florida – Texas A&M (6)
Georgia – Texas A&M (6)
Georgia – Texas (5)
Ole Miss – Texas (5)
Auburn – Missouri (4)
Missouri – Mississippi State (4)
Texas – Mississippi State (4)
Tennessee – Oklahoma (4)
Tennessee – Texas A&M (4)
Florida – Texas (3)
Kentucky – Oklahoma (3)
Kentucky – Texas A&M (3)
LSU – Oklahoma (3)
LSU – Missouri (3)
Oklahoma – Vanderbilt (3)
Tennessee – Texas (3)
Texas A&M – Vanderbilt (3)
Auburn – Oklahoma (2)
Florida – Oklahoma (2)
Georgia – Oklahoma (1)
Kentucky – Texas (1)
Ole Miss – Oklahoma (1)
South Carolina – Texas (1)
Mississippi State – Oklahoma (0)
Oklahoma – South Carolina (0)

There's two ways to go about this.

Option A: The first is to just go straight down the line filling up dance cards with the most games ever played as the top priority.

Option B: The second is to give each team a guarantee of playing a fellow SEC member it has played the most provided three other schools didn't play that team more. At that point, it goes to the team that school played second most.

Option A Permanent opponents

Mississippi State

Tennessee

Auburn

Georgia

Alabama

Florida

Texas

Texas A&M

LSU

Georgia

Kentucky

Auburn

Florida

South Carolina

Tennessee

Vanderbilt

Florida

Mississippi State

Ole Miss

Arkansas

Ole Miss

LSU

Alabama

Oklahoma

South Carolina

TBD

Texas

Missouri

Texas A&M

Mississippi State

LSU

Vanderbilt

Georgia

Missouri

TBD

Kentucky

Vanderbilt

Alabama

Oklahoma

Texas A&M

Arkansas

Texas

Arkansas

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Kentucky

Ole Miss

As you can see, with Option A, there is a little bit of a problem. Missouri and South Carolina don't have enough history with any of these teams to fill out their third spot.

Therefore, additional tinkering would be needed to make the schedule work.

Option B Permanent opponents

Mississippi State

Tennessee*

Auburn

Georgia

Alabama*

Florida

Texas

Texas A&M*

Ole Miss

Georgia

Auburn*

South Carolina

Auburn

Florida

South Carolina

Tennessee

Vanderbilt*

South Carolina

Mississippi State

Ole Miss*

Vanderbilt

Ole Miss

LSU

Alabama

Oklahoma

Texas A&M*

TBD

Texas

Missouri

TBD

Mississippi State

LSU*

Arkansas

Georgia

Florida*

Kentucky

Vanderbilt*

Alabama

Oklahoma

Texas A&M

Arkansas

Texas

Arkansas*

Missouri

Tennessee

Kentucky*

LSU

With Option B, again it's Missouri that just can't seem to find a way to fit, which has been a way of life, unfortunately, for the SEC's third wheel Tigers. This time it's Oklahoma that can't make it work alongside the Mizzou.

Not only were teams guaranteed the 2024 SEC opponent they had played the most, but the second most played SEC opponent was incorporated also. If a team didn't have a team in its second slot, then the remaining team that it had played most was put in that slot.

Even though it should have been mathematically possible for each team to have three opponents using this method, Missouri and Oklahoma just have so few SEC ties that even a forced method couldn't make them fit into the conference.

That being said, while it would have been nice to put together a neat system that would have fully recognized the long-standing historical competition between all of these teams, a forced pod will have to be determined.

That means two other teams besides Oklahoma will have to be forced into an awkward alignment with Missouri. The most logical would be Texas and Texas A&M, which have the most history with the Tigers as a result of the limited time together in the Big 12.

That would seemingly place Arkansas with the Mississippi schools and LSU. The Razorbacks share a combined 170 games of history with those three schools.

That would be a huge plus over aligning with Oklahoma and Missouri where Arkansas only has 29 games of combined shared history, less than any single school in the previously mentioned alignment with the Mississippi schools and LSU.

As for the older segment of the fan base that says Arkansas has too much history with Texas and Texas A&M to give up, the Hogs have only played 10 more games each with Texas and Texas A&M than Ole Miss and LSU. It would only take a short time in the pod system for the Razorbacks to have played the Rebels and Tigers more than the Horns and Aggies.

Therefore, not too much history would be lost. Just old history that's not really part of life for anyone 40 or younger and has almost every major moment rooted in a time when people of color weren't allowed on the field.

It's fine to let that go and focus on what Arkansas has now with the Mississippi schools and LSU and let the former Big 12 schools do their own thing. It would be a pod more in line what Arkansas has built in the SEC while allowing Oklahoma and Missouri to have a much-needed natural home.