Georgia beat writer says if Bulldogs don't play Auburn annually, 'that's not even college football'
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey took the podium on day one of SEC Media Days.
Among other topics, Sankey discussed the future of the SEC's schedule with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma to the league in 2024 changing the conference schedule format.
The SEC has already released the 2024 conference slate but is expected to change the schedule again in 2025.
Commissioner Sankey was asked about the internal discussion around the discussion to eliminate divisions and how they came to the conclusion.
"That discussion in football goes back to 2018, 2019, so the discussion of is our current divisional approach in football the most competitively equitable," Sankey said. "So the words "fair and balanced" came up a lot. You had to define what do you mean by fair and what do you mean by balanced in the schedule [...] Balance was rotating teams through with greater frequency, so I think plenty of people have written about a team may not see a team certainly for six years or may not go someplace for 12 years if they're in another division. So that was balanced."
There's a possibility that with another changing of the scheduling format, we could see the league go to a 1-7 or even 1-8 model, meaning every team gets one permanent conference opponent while the rest of the conference slate rotates through various teams around the SEC.
Could that mean Auburn loses Georgia - The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry - as an annual game?
Benjamin Wolk, formerly a member of the Auburn beat and current Georgia beat writer for 247Sports, sat down with Zac Blackerby of Auburn Daily to discuss Auburn's trajectory, recruiting vs the Tigers, and how Bulldogs fans may view the potential changes coming to the SEC conference schedule format in 2025.
"Well, I think the Georgia side of it is if you're only allowed to have one annual common opponent, like everyone's going to want Florida as that matchup," Wolk said, "And I think likewise, Auburn would want Alabama as that matchup. So would The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry be what gets lost in that. I'm of the belief that there will eventually be a nine game conference schedule because everybody wants to see more competitive games. Greg Sankey mentioned it yesterday [...] I am going to keep an optimistic approach and just assume that there will be a nine game schedule sooner rather than later. And as a result, Georgia vs Auburn will survive. But I'll say that will be a weird year. It's already going to be weird next year, Georgia not playing South Carolina. I find that one a weird one. But if Georgia doesn't play Auburn, I mean, that's not even college football to me."
SEC Media Days is being hosted this year in Nashville, Tennessee for the very first time.
Auburn Daily is here covering Media Days all week long. You can catch updates, quotes, predictions and more here on auburndaily.com.
More from SEC Media Days
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Jayden Daniels shared his thoughts on playing in Jordan-Hare Stadium
Jake Crain believes Auburn football can be 'sneaky' under Hugh Freeze
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey discusses the elimination of divisions in future conference scheduling
College football expert 'doesn't see' eight wins on Auburn football's 2023 schedule
Hugh Freeze provides updates for Auburn players injured in the spring
Auburn's Hugh Freeze says new QB Payton Thorne has impressed with his 'attention to detail'
Hugh Freeze: 'Robby Ashford helps us win football games'
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The Tigers kick off the 2023 season on September 2nd at home vs UMass at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Here's a look at the entire 2023 schedule:
Sept. 2nd vs UMass
Sept. 9th at California
Sept. 16th vs Samford
Sept. 23rd at Texas A&M
Sept. 30th vs Georgia
Oct. 14th at LSU
Oct. 21st vs Ole Miss
Oct. 28th vs Mississippi State
Nov. 4th at Vanderbilt
Nov. 11th at Arkansas
Nov. 18th vs New Mexico State
Nov. 25th vs Alabama
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