So about expansion…
It’s a done deal. Texas and OU are heading to the SEC, it’s just a matter of when. So what has B&S been thinking?
By: The Hammer
How we feelin’ SEC fans? It’s been a WILD last few weeks. We’ve stayed pretty quiet here at Biscuits & SEC, outside of our Twitter feed and newsletter (you can subscribe here), but we couldn’t keep silent forever. The news of Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC has shaken college football to its core. Just the initial report from Brent Zwerneman was enough to send SEC Media Days and the entire college football media landscape into a frenzy.
This is one of the craziest and most pivotal college football stories in the last 20 years. Right up there with the introduction of the CFP, NIL, etc. I really believe it will have that big of an impact when all the dust settles. Especially when you consider all the moving parts including ESPN’s network deal with the SEC and how it impacted this move, the BIG 12 firing off a cease and desist letter to ESPN, the Big 12 and PAC 12 commissioners meeting for 6 hours, other conferences reportedly contacting Big 12 schools, Clemson and FSU reportedly contacting the SEC, and on and on. The fallout from this will be huge, and in all likelihood there are many more dominoes to fall.
If you can’t tell from my tone, I’m not a big fan of this move. I think it was done in part due to television network pressure and due to a select group of schools wanting to make even more money. It only benefits Texas, Oklahoma, and the current SEC teams, and it essentially kills an entire conference. I believe the Big 12 will either fold, or morph into another G5 conference. And that includes joining the PAC 12 because if that happens, the Big 12 will be the one getting a lifeline, not the PAC 12. So I’ll miss poking fun at the Big 12 when it's gone. No more Bedlam. No more tortillas flying through the Lubbock sky. No more 11 am kickoffs in Manhattan, KS where the Wildcats pull off a big upset. Though those things may still happen in one form or another, it won’t be the same.
I’m going to miss seeing OU and Texas fall flat against teams like Kansas State, starting off the day with an upset. (Photo: CBS Sports)
Outside of killing a conference, I think this jump starts the eventual formation of super conferences and college football separating itself from the NCAA. I’m still processing what all of this means as most of us are, but right now I’m not a huge fan of this. All of this is hard to picture in a lot of ways, I honestly feel like I don’t know what it will look like. That scares me, but at the same time it could end up being really cool. Maybe I’m not ready for that change now, but I could be when the time comes. And I realize that big of a shift is (likely) still years and years away, but this feels like a massive domino falling in that direction.
Now that I’ve complained a bit, let’s look at the positives. At the end of the day, this was a GREAT move by the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are two of the biggest brands in college football and there is now zero doubt who the biggest, baddest conference is in America. It was already that way before this move, but there is no question now. It’s the gosh dang SEC, brother. We are the bully. We will dominate on the field and get what we want from it. The SEC is now in position to shape the future of college football, and that’s cool. I’d much rather have the SEC at the wheel than any other conference.
As a football fan, you can’t help but get hyped up as well. I know I mentioned some things I’ll miss about classic Big 12 matchups, but these SEC matchups will be damn good. And they’ll probably have more on the line. Think of Oklahoma and Texas making road trips to Death Valley, Bryant-Denney, The Swamp, Jordan-Hare, Sanford Stadium, Williams-Brice, Neyland, Vaught-Hemmingway, Davis-Wade, Fayetteville, and on and on. I mean, come on! Those games and atmospheres will be awesome. It will be college football to the highest degree and at the highest level. What an incredible time to be in the SEC.
Oh, and everyone will make more money too. Like, a lot more money. The SEC will continue to get better and better and widen the gap against the rest of college football. I cannot state enough how massive of a move this was by Greg Sankey, especially considering if the SEC didn’t get them, someone else was. Oklahoma and Texas wanted to move and Sankey seized the opportunity.
I’m also extremely excited to renew some old Big 12 and Southwest Conference rivalries. If y’all aren’t from Arkansas or Texas, you may not know how much Arkansas hates Texas. That was a classic Southwest conference rival, and if you ask some older Hogs, they would still consider Texas their biggest rival. Oklahoma and Texas A&M have a lot of history as well, and I think A&M is finally on pretty even ground with the Sooners. Aggies aren’t worried at all about OU joining the conference. I expect that game to be a really, really competitive matchup for many years.
Make no mistake, the Arkansas vs. Texas rivalry was a heated one in the SWC. (Photo: Imasportsphile)
Then of course we have the renewal of the Lonestar Showdown. Texas A&M and Texas will finally be playing again, hopefully every year. Quick sidebar: if they don't play every year I take back every positive thing I said because that would be the dumbest decision of all time. These two fan bases who have been bickering at one another for a decade will finally be able to settle the score on the field. There is baaad blood between these two, especially since A&M left for the SEC. I foresee these games to be some of the best matchups in the conference each year. The game will be massive. Outside of the Iron Bowl and Egg Bowl, it will be the only in-state rivalry game in the league. Apologies to Tennessee and Vandy but no one cares about that game. The Lonestar Showdown will be a marquee SEC rivalry for years to come.
If you really pressed me, I’d say I would have preferred this not happen because deep down, I wish it hadn’t. I thought the SEC was great before Texas and OU. But now that it is inevitable, I can’t help but be really damn excited. What it does to the rest of college football remains to be seen, but the SEC matchups will be phenomenal, and that gets me jacked up. My hope is both Texas and Oklahoma get run over in their first few years as a nice welcome to the league reality check, but either way, it’s going to be a helluva time, and a ton of fun.
Strap up.