SEC coaches say they feel ‘misled’ after voting to make their conference schedules harder
For years, the SEC has had a non-conference scheduling advantage over its college football rivals.
The old iteration of the Pac-12 played nine conference games, like the current Big Ten. The Big 12 requires its teams to play nine conference opponents. But until now, the SEC had only allowed its schools to play eight games. Four non-conference games, eight against other SEC opponents.
Some schools have taken advantage of this by giving themselves a “free” win with extra non-conference play. In fact, in a recent interview, Lane Kiffin bragged about his practice planning at Ole Miss. His teams went 20-0 in non-conference games, mainly because they avoided tougher opponents.
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Lane Kiffin speaks at a press conference where he is introduced as the new head football coach of the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., on Dec. 1, 2025. (Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)
This strategy meant his teams started 4-0 every year. This meant his teams needed to go just 5-3 to win nine games in the SEC, or 6-2 to get to 10 and reach the College Football Playoff. Even more impressive, Kiffin and others in the SEC were frequently planning an FCS opponent in late November. Essentially giving his team an extra late-season send-off, he also avoids the pitfalls of recency bias among poll voters that could result from a November defeat.
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Now those days are officially over. The SEC is moving to nine conference games, creating tougher schedules and more consistent comparison with its rivals moving forward. And the coaches are not happy about it.
Some even said they felt “misled” about the results of voting for the nine-game conference slate this week.
“When we talked to other coaches, they felt that going to nine games would change the playoff model (from the current 12 to 16), but it hasn’t,” new Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall said. told Brett McMurphy. “They felt misled.”
Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall watches his players before the NCAA college football game against Charlotte on Nov. 29, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz said something similar.
“The discussion was about going to an eight- or nine-game schedule.” he said About SEC meetings in 2020. “‘When are we going to debate this? When are we going to vote?’ I remember being very worried. And it took us six years to get to nine games.
“Shoot, I remember last year we were told if we went to nine games the Big Ten would vote for a 16-team playoff in 2026, and I think we’re still in the 12-team playoff.”
That’s why SEC coaches voted to move to nine conference games, with the assumption that the playoffs would expand to 16 teams and give them a greater chance of success, even though their schedules would be more difficult. The two power conferences then failed to agree on the issue, leading to a stalemate and the continuation of the current playoff status quo.
There is a lot to explain about these arguments, and it is possible that this is post-hoc justification. Last season, for example, a weekend in November was filled with terrible games designed to give teams some breathing room before rivalry week.
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On November 22, 2025, Texas A&M played Samford, Georgia played Charlotte, Alabama played Eastern Illinois, Auburn played Mercer, South Carolina played Coastal Carolina, and LSU played Western Kentucky. None of this will move the publishing needle. With ESPN as a broadcast partner, it is possible that some pressure was applied to abandon this practice.
Now with nine conference games and the end of cupcake weekend, November will be full of meaningful, must-see matchups. As it should be.
Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz of the Missouri Tigers coaches on the sidelines during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on November 24, 2023 in Fayetteville, Ark. The Tigers defeated the Razorbacks 48-14. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
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The downside to nine conference games is that non-conference schedules become significantly less interesting moving forward. There’s not much reward for Texas playing Ohio State or Michigan now that they have an extra SEC game to worry about. Especially now that coaches are being evaluated for a playoff berth. So on the one hand, some SEC teams will no longer get the extra fourth free win. On the other hand, they’ll be even more determined to get three free wins because a three-loss conference season suddenly becomes much more difficult.
The good news for Drinkwitz and other coaches is that we may already be heading to a 24-team playoff. At least if ESPN gets out of the way.
