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Mike Leach says non-conference schedules have SEC ‘laughing all the way to the bank’
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Washington State coach Mike Leach always calls things like he sees them and has never been shy about sharing controversial opinions.
However, at Pac-12 Media Days on Thursday, he became only the latest college football figure to criticize the SEC for its seemingly weak non-conference scheduling.
It’s a topic that has gotten plenty of action in recent years.
According to AL.com, Leach was asked about particularly about the non-conference games most SEC teams schedule in November as a sort of pseudo-bye week before a big rivalry game.
Leach said he actually thinks people should lay off the SEC and perhaps even follow in their footsteps:
“I think it’s very smart by the SEC, and I think it’s a lesson we can learn from the SEC,” he said. “I think there is a lot of kind of figurative muscle flexing that goes on with regard to how many conference games and who plays who and who they play non-conference, and all this chest beating is kind of — quite overrated.
I think it’s important to win your conference. I think as a result of that, I think the SEC laughs all the way to the bank. And I think other conferences would be able to laugh a little louder if we learned some of those things.”
This year, for example, Alabama has a bye week before a big matchup against LSU and plays host to Mercer the week before the Iron Bowl against Auburn.
Leach’s Cougars, on the other hand, have a bye before their Apple Cup rivalry against Washington, but play only Pac-12 teams from Week 5 on.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
