Lane Kiffin explains why he disagreed with a 9-game SEC schedule
By Ethan Stone
Published:
The SEC is moving to a 9-game conference schedule this season, meaning each league program will shed a buy game for a tougher in-conference matchup. The deal is done, and LSU head coach Lane Kiffin told reporters that he doesn’t want to complain about it when asked about the upcoming change on Tuesday.
Kiffin did, however, delve into his reasoning for originally being against the idea of a 9-game conference schedule before the SEC had made a decision. As he explained it, Kiffin is against the idea because the process for selecting College Football Playoff teams is still inconsistent. As Kiffin put it, 10-2 gets you into the College Football Playoff, but 9-3 doesn’t. Adding another conference game, as Kiffin says, would only make it tougher for SEC teams to compete and reach the postseason.
Here’s Kiffin’s main quote on the topic:
“I’m not gonna complain about it, I was very outspoken in meeting with the commissioner, with presidents and athletic directors that was not my opinion, that was not a good idea until the system of how they selected teams was fixed,” Kiffin said. “Until it was fixed, until there were automatic bids, until it was truly fixed, when strength of schedule matters as it should — more like basketball does — it made zero sense to me to go add another hard game, put teams 5 times on the road in this conference, which top to bottom, is the hardest conference to play, in the hardest stadiums.”
“But we did.” Kiffin continued. “I understand there’s always things that go into decisions besides the way I think, I’m sure there were financial reasons for it, but I don’t think anybody now, now that they’ve kinda seen how selections have gone, thinks there’s value in that… 10-2’s in, 9-3’s out, you got some more losses in your conference and beat yourself up more.”
Find Kiffin’s full answer here:
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
