The SEC is the best football conference in college football and they know it—just listen to the clangorous “S-E-C!” chants at pretty much any bowl game for proof. And with Oklahoma and Texas set to join in 2024, the conference should get even better. While the SEC powers-that-be debate moving to a nine-game conference schedule to accommodate the new additions, LSU football coach Brian Kelly has a simple message: bring it on.
“I've been in this for three decades, and no disrespect to any of the other schools that we play outside of the SEC, but they just don't excite me,” said Kelly, who's heading into his second year as LSU football coach. “I want to play the best—I came down here to the SEC because I wanted to play against Alabama. I want to play A&M; I want to play Auburn, the great teams, and in our new scheduling we get to play Alabama every year, Ole Miss every year and A&M, and that's really why I came down here. I want to play those games, and I think playing nine SEC games is great for your schedule, and it prepares you for the opportunity to play for a championship but also play for the national championship.”
In a nine-game format, each team would have three fixed opponents (the remaining six games would rotate). This would protect the conference's premier rivalry, but would also create a competitive imbalance.
“I've always been an advocate for playing more [conference] games,” Nick Saban told Sports Illustrated. “But if you play more games, I think you have to get the three fixed [opponents] right. They're giving us Tennessee, Auburn and LSU. I don't know how they come to that [decision].”
Brian Kelly, though, is undeterred.
“I think everybody has their take on the schedules,” he said. “Nick has never backed down from a challenge. I'm not too worried about whether Nick Saban is going to have his team ready when he plays LSU. He'll be ready.”
Follow Us
Subscribe