Steve Sarkisian Pitches Idea That Would Completely Change How the SEC Operates

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian gives his radical change that would alter the SEC football season

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks on in the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

As the SEC meetings continue to roll on, the feeling around Destin, Florida is the uneasiness of the direction the sport is heading, particularly regarding conference championships and the College Football Playoffs.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, though, isn't short of any ideas and has some that would not only change how the SEC operates during the regular season but would completely alter how the postseason is viewed.

In an interview with Peter Blackburn and Chris Doering, Sarkisian believes the SEC conference championship should be replaced with a mini-playoff, and his reasoning makes sense as well.

Why Playoffs Before the Playoffs is the Right Move to Sarkisian

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian talks with quarterback Arch Manning (16) during a timeout in the second half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The dialogue surrounding the Power Four conferences this offseason has been a combination of combating NIL and what to do with the thought of expansion regarding the College Football Playoffs. For some, the right idea to them is to expand, seeing 16 or 24 teams as the ideal landing spot for the future of the sport.

For other programs, including Sarkisian and the Longhorns, he is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. He believes that expansion is the wrong call and would ruin the effect that conference championships, and furthermore, their games, have on a season.

"If we went back to four, we could have our own SEC Playoffs, for the SEC championship game," Sarkisian said while sharing his ideal postseason scenario. "Because now the conference has expanded to where not everybody gets to play each other anymore. So if we had our own mini playoff, that could lead to an SEC championship game, and that winner, you know, is going to the final four, and maybe even the team they beat."

One of the consistent beliefs in the college football world is the dominance and the eyes that are upon the SEC during the season. More often than not, the best teams in the country come from there. A mini playoff would not only heighten the end-of-season pressure, but would be a spectacle that nearly everyone would tune in for.

With conference expansion as well, it's growing tougher each year ot properly gauge how deep a conference is when teams go throughout the season without playing each other. Rather than having to guess the strength of depth in a conference, the mini playoffs would work themselves out, bringing clarity to playoff spots.

It doesn't seem as if any conclusion will come before this season, nor will every program and conference be happy with whatever that decision may be. For Sarkisian and the Longhorns, though, he wants a different path, and while it might make it tougher on his program, earning that spot will make the hard work pay off over time.

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