The 2024 SEC Cupcake Wars Begin

Welcome to the summer of 2023.  Happily, the Southeastern Conference slate of football games for this fall will begin in a little more than two months. This year will be the final season for the SEC’s current West and East divisions.  The 14-team league will expand to 16 beginning in 2024 with the addition of two Big 12 Conference teams.  The University of Oklahoma (referred to as “OU” by fans) and the University of Texas (referred to as “Texas University” by former students of a school located in College Station) will jump into the SEC football pool in 2024. The SEC recently released the new conference schedule for their 16-team league beginning in 2024.  Without an East or West division anymore, the conference scheduling brainiacs were put to the test. The SEC officials met in Destin, Florida in late May to discuss how many conference football games to play.   Should the league increase the conference football schedule from eight to nine with the addition of these two new schools? A wise gentleman by the name of Nick Saban recently gave his opinion on the issue, and (gasp!) the SEC decision makers listened to him.  The SEC expansion would have justified going from the current eight game conference schedule to nine beginning in 2024. There was hidden danger lurking.  What happened if one of the top-ranked SEC teams lost an extra game during the 9-game conference schedule?   By playing an additional conference game, the SEC would risk losing one or more spots in the upcoming expanded 12-team College Football Playoffs.  Most top teams in the other major conferences will (generally) play a softer conference schedule. More playoff spots going to SEC universities means greater revenue for all of the conference schools.  Money talks.  So, the newly expanded SEC will continue playing just eight conference games when OU and Texas come aboard in 2024. If any SEC school sweeps through its four game non-conference schedule and happens to go 5-3 within the conference, that team could display a 9-3 resume for post-season playoff consideration. The key to a good season will be to schedule as many lightweight opponents as possible during your team’s four game SEC non-conference schedule.  A 4-0 start is almost mandatory due having such a difficult conference schedule. This newly expanded SEC Bakery will be searching far and wide for additional cupcakes to schedule beginning in 2024!