Just in case you live under a rock: Texas and Oklahoma are set to officially become SEC members in the coming years. It’s a move that continues to change the landscape of college sports – especially football – each passing day.
By nature, it raises some tough questions. How will divisions work? Will there be divisions at all? Will storied rivalries such as the Egg Bowl, Iron Bowl and even Bedlam be retained moving forward?
The answer to all of those, hopefully even Bedlam cross-conference, is a resounding ‘Probably? Let’s wait and see’
Because nobody truly knows as of now. The SEC model of six divisional games, one cross-division opponent and one static rivalry per year may be outdated anyway. This realignment at the very least could fix that.
Four-team pods have been suggested, a better alternative to implementing a problematic eight-team version of the current division model. But those aforementioned rivalries are important, too.
Tennessee redshirt senior tight end Jacob Warren agrees. Though it hasn’t been much of one as of late, the Third Saturday in October is a rivalry he would like to see continue yearly past 2025.
“That’s one of the staple rivalries, staple matchups in the SEC and it has been for years now. It dates back to when my dad was playing,” Warren said on The Vol Report. “As someone that is from here, it’s huge because that game is so exciting for so many people, everyone is invested and everyone is really concerned with how we do against Alabama.”
The Vols went 0-3-1 against the Crimson Tide when his father, James, played for the Vols in the early 90’s. Seems similar to today, but it was far more competitive than the win-loss column would dictate.
The Tennessee-Alabama rivalry has been streaky the past couple decades. Shortly after Warren’s dad left Tennessee, the Vols rattled off seven straight wins against the Crimson Tide. In 1992, Alabama’s on going win streak was also seven games.
As for right now, it’s 15 in favor of Alabama. If history and probability law have told us anything, it’s that a flip is coming at some point. But that’s just an anecdote, even with Tennessee on the upswing.
Warren still doesn’t want to see it go.
“I think taking that away, obviously would makes some changes and stuff whatever they end up deciding to do is what they do,” Warren said. “But I think that’s one that should be preserved every year for the yearly matchup.”
Warren added another rivalry to his wish list as well: The Florida Gators.
Florida has been Tennessee’s second most legitimate rivalry the past few years. Every year, 2022 included, Vols fans expect the head coach to be able to down Florida. Butch Jones is the only to accomplish that task in the last 15 years.
But this year could be a little different. Florida is farther back in the rebuild process under first-year head coach Billy Napier. With Tennessee’s potent offense and the setting slated for Knoxville, Tennessee in late September, you’ve got to think the pendulum is finally swinging in the Vols’ favor.
Four-team pods seem to be the most reasonable fix for the Oklahoma and Texas problem. That way, the most important rivalries can be kept and each team will play each other every couple of seasons instead of every six years or so. Maybe the SEC will even kick the schedule up to nine conference games per year.
Hopefully, the storied SEC rivalries such as the Third Saturday in October will be preserved.
We’ll just have to wait and see.
