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The Associated Press
November 20, 2025, 1:21 PM
Whereas competitors heats up within the last weeks of the faculty soccer season, a handful of SEC groups are getting their annual present: a late-season cupcake earlier than rivalry week and the postseason.
Undefeated and No. 3 Texas A&M hosts Samford (1-10), No. 4 Georgia welcomes Charlotte (1-9), No. 10 Alabama welcomes Jap Illinois (3-8) and LSU hosts Western Kentucky (8-2).
Whether or not these video games promise a stress-free Saturday is up for debate, however they have been scheduled with the intention of giving projected contenders a breather earlier than the house stretch. This can be a longtime scheduling characteristic within the SEC, helped considerably by a schedule that requires solely eight convention video games.
That involves an finish subsequent season. In August, the SEC announced a switch to 9 convention video games in 2026, which has left coaches fearing much more is at stake than the lack of a straightforward late-season win.
“I’ve already been on the file saying it is senseless to go to 9 video games within the SEC,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops stated Wednesday. “All people exterior of our league, in fact they need us to. They need us to devour one another like we’re doing. Is not sensible.”
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is close to the tip of his second 12 months teaching within the SEC. The Longhorns competed within the Large 12 for his first three seasons.
“Within the Nationwide Soccer League proper now, at this time, there are 451 active players from the Southeastern Convention,” Sarkisian stated. “The subsequent closest convention with gamers within the NFL is the Large Ten with 288, then the ACC with 218, after which the Large 12 with 207. So that ought to simply communicate to the amount of high quality gamers which are on this league.”
The Large Ten and Large 12 already play nine-game convention schedules and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey made clear the rationale for the transfer, noting “our requirement to play a further energy opponent ensures SEC groups are nicely ready to compete and succeed within the Faculty Soccer Playoff.” A month later, the ACC made the transfer as nicely, albeit with some wrinkles.
All conferences are searching for methods for his or her groups to spruce up their CFP resumes. Nonetheless, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz criticized the choice course of, which this fall added more emphasis on a team’s schedule strength. The CFP committee this week ranked Notre Dame (9) forward of Alabama (10), a choice that turned heads. Each groups have two losses, however the Crimson Tide have 4 ranked wins in comparison with Notre Dame’s one ranked win in opposition to USC.
“The extent of inconsistencies which have been created is difficult to disregard, and we have been all given the promise there’s gonna be a power of schedule metric factored in — didn’t occur,” Drinkwitz stated.
9-game convention schedules gained’t remove all so-called assure video games from the schedule. Most energy convention groups play 12 regular-season video games and try for 10 of these to be in opposition to their friends, leaving room for 2 different video games that can virtually definitely be in opposition to Championship Subdivision or Group of 5 groups. Payouts for FCS video games are normally lower than Group of 5 matchups.
This season, Bowl Subdivision groups are 118-4 in opposition to FCS opponents with a margin of victory of 34.5 factors, in line with Sportradar. Inside that, energy convention groups are 56-0, successful by a median of 42.7 factors. They’re nearly assured wins and that may be engaging to workforce schedule-makers taking a look at seasons that may stretch to 16 video games when the CFP is included.
Kentucky is out of the playoff image, and Missouri and Texas are within the decrease half of the CFP rankings with three losses apiece. But it surely’s not simply these on the surface trying in who’ve complaints. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko, whose Aggies prime the convention and are primed for the first-round bye, worries about the way forward for SEC groups within the 12-team CFP bracket if power of schedule isn’t taken into consideration.
“We’ve to determine find out how to reward SEC groups for taking part in within the SEC, as a result of if we’re not going to be rewarded for power of schedule metrics, and we’re not going to be rewarded for power of file, then it’s going to change into actually, actually difficult with us going to 9 SEC video games to determine how the perfect groups are going to get into the playoffs,” Elko stated.
Simple wins aren’t the one factor in danger. With the addition of a ninth convention sport, coaches concern they might be buying and selling them for fewer bids. And with out acknowledgement from the CFP committee, the SEC might discover itself taking over a more durable problem with a lesser reward.
“The coaches have been pounding this drum and no one appears to be listening,” Elko stated.
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