Eli Drinkwitz weighs in on preference for 8/9-game SEC schedule
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Bring it on, says Eli Drinkwitz.
During his time at the podium at SEC Media Days, Missouri’s head coach insisted that he is all for the SEC increasing its conference slate to 9 games from 8 games. “If it’s for the players and fans, it’s a 9-game season. If it’s for the coach preservation… hey, I get it,” Drinkwitz said.
Plenty around SEC country have noted the benefits of a 9-game schedule – not only from a fan perspective. An added conference game eliminates one of the multiple cupcake games that each SEC team plays each year – forcing the team to face tougher, more competitive competition.
In a certain sense, this will make proper team evaluation better, too – more games against competition at your level eliminates the doubt and uncertainty that comes from demolishing the Missouri State and Central Arkansas’s of the world 73-6. Even a win against the SEC’s worst team tells you more than that aforementioned buy game would.
There’s also a College Football Playoff angle to the conference game talk. Depending on how the playoff format looks in a few years, it may be beneficial (or detrimental) for the SEC to turn to a 9-game conference schedule.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
