No matter how hard Greg Sankey tries, he can’t seem to get the SEC on board with a nine-game schedule. Long-term, that means deciding a format that’s best for an eight-game slate. Right now, a model in which teams have two protected rivalries and play six others on a rotational basis looks most likely. What does that mean for Tennessee football?
Well, the Vols would have to ditch three of five games among the Alabama Crimson Tide, Vanderbilt Commodores, Kentucky Wildcats, Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators. Georgia and Florida are gone. The history just isn’t there for those two games.
That leaves Alabama, Vandy and Kentucky. Tennessee Football should embrace the blasphemy and advocate for an end to the annual series with the Tide. Yes, it goes against all lore on Rocky Top, but it could be necessary for the program to accomplish its goals in the future.
For those concerned about tradition, that died the second the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams. The Ohio State Buckeyes just won the national title as a two-loss team who dropped their season finale to their heated rivals, the Michigan Wolverines. The CFP has rendered tradition useless.
Then there’s the fact that the committee clearly doesn’t value strength of schedule. The Indiana Hoosiers were rewarded for an SOS outside of the top 100 just last year by taking advantage of it en route to an 11-1 record to get to the CFP. If that continues going forward, there will be no incentive to play tougher games.
Taking that into account, Tennessee Football should want Vanderbilt and Kentucky to be its two annual rivalries every year. Because of what the sport has become, everything should center around the CFP. Based on this past year, that means finding the easiest path possible to get there.
Do you think the New England Patriots complained about playing in the weakest division in the NFL for most of the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era? Of course not! Why should the Vols approach this situation any differently? They should be lobbying the SEC to drop Alabama.
Five years ago, I never would have called for this. However, tradition is over in college football given the expanded playoff. Holding onto a rivalry, even Alabama, is Tennessee football trying to cling to a past that would only hurt the program in the future.
