Have you not seen the future schedules of home & home the SEC has? One away game out of conference is the same thing, some SEC teams play neutral site games out of conference. Some of the FCS teams are pretty tough, just ask the P5 teams from all conferences that have lost to them this year & in years past. Not sure what people are screaming SEC bias.

Laugh all you want too, there are plenty of tough FCS teams out there that can take P5 schools down to the wire or even win. The SEC is great, just cause you don’t like them & luv to bash them really means nothing. Technically neutral sites are road games, they may not be true road games but they are road games. FCS teams do get a nice little paycheck, everyone has a different opinion on that. Still don’t see SEC bias. At the end of the year it comes down to 4 teams in the playoffs, you can find easy teams to beat in any conference on any schedule. When or if the SEC feels it needs to go to 9 conference game, it will. Just cause you play 9 conferences games does not mean that much besides you are beating out your conference even more. When BIG goes to 9 games that just means OSU now adds on a Purdue, really? Bama would add on a Vandy, great! Can’t wait to see those games, what you don’t understand is that all conferences are changes their games & schedules for the future. It will all balance out in the end.

Hey Common,
It is an interesting read but ESPN has no control over wins & loses, my point last year you had four teams from four different conferences in playoffs, there was a lot of talk about two SEC teams getting in, did not happen. It all balances out in the end. If I was part owner of ESPN I too would’ve gone after the SEC, why. There is a passion among southern fans for college football like nowhere else, I’m not bashing any other conference. I enjoy watching all conferences play, PAC-12, BIG, Big-12, ACC but in the SEC the head & assist coaches make more, recruiting is better, NFL players drafted is better, I would say the games are better (for me) but if you’re from another conference then you will think your conference has better games, to each its own. I’m not worried about what a journalist or a blogger, columnist is doing when they use words to make the win or lose more insightful, I’m sure the PAC-12 Network praises the teams in the PAC-12 & calls them the best, same with BIG Network, ACC Network, Longhorn Network praises TEXAS. I heard a lot of bias when the Longhorn Network came out, did not bother me at all, good for Texas. I can see why ESPN chose SEC, they made almost five billions last year for the network, I don’t think ESPN could of done that with any other conference. ESPN is a business, if they think they can make money with the PAC-12 Network then they will go after them as well, I think they are struggling a little bit but I could be wrong. I guess I just don’t listen or look at the SEC bias like everybody else does, it just seems to me that people luv to bash what they don’t have or they find something to complain about. Bias is everywhere, I don’t let it get to me, if ESPN annalist wants to praise SEC, what does it matter? ESPN has praised USC, OSU, FSU, Oklahoma, Texas in the past, I have heard it & read articles. We are still going to get four teams from four different conferences in the playoffs.

DAY, why don’t you want your teams to play the best schedules possible? Is it fun beating up on a really week team that only has 65 2-star scholarship players? It’s hurting football for everyone. We all want to see SEC vs. Pac 12. Big 12 vs. ACC, Big 10 vs. SEC. Pac 12 vs. Big 12, etc…. It is GREAT for Saturdays.

Day,
I love that you are passionate about defending the SEC. I’m not trying to convince you personally, as it doesn’t bother you personally. However, it bothers everyone that screams SEC bias… Just look at the schedules right now and records. The team with the best individual resume going into this college football is not anyone you would expect. No, it’s not Ohio State, MSU, LSU, Baylor, TCU, Ok State, Stanford, ND, Alabama, Florida, Houston, Memphis or Temple… It’s actually from the Big 10 West Division. IOWA with 3 quality wins. They have defeated Pitt (6-2, only other loss to UNC), Northwestern (6-2, only other lost to Michigan; also, beat Stanford and Duke), and Wisconsin (6-2, only other loss @ Alabama).

I could give less of a cahoot of any team in the Big 10, as it’s not my conference. However, as of right now, the Big 10 is the best conference in football, and as Pac 12 fan, it hurts for me to admit it, as I don’t think they have the best athletes from top to bottom as teams in the SEC and Pac 12. However, a team is far greater than a group of individuals. There’s a coach too, and since SEC domination, the other teams caught up and started paying coaches. Of the 5 best coaches in college football, three are in the Big 10 (Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh, and Mark Dantonio), the other 2 (Nick Saban and Jimbo Fischer). Times have changed.

The Pac 12 plays 9 conference games and encourages their teams to play at least 1 Power 5 out of conference. Some play 2 or even 3 for some years. Yes, a few play FCS teams, but when you’re playing at least 10 Power 5 games compared to 8 for other conferences (SEC and ACC), I let it slide. They also play a conference title game.

The Big 10 stopped scheduling FCS teams, increased conference games to 9 games, and they are requiring teams to play at least 1 Power 5 OOC… Also, this is a side note, but the AAC, MW and MAC are way better conferences than C-USA and the Sunbelt. Only the consensus of the SEC schedules FCS, Sunbelt, and C-USA games. They also play a title game.

Big 12 plays 9 conference games. The conference as a whole averages 10 Power 5 games per team, unlike the SEC. Some FCS games. Most are not. They also travel for out of conference games to opposing teams’ stadiums. I know you like to mention a neutral game is similar to an away game, but that’s just ridiculous and untrue. They don’t play a title game due to NCAA rules. Even so, it’s still a harder individual conference than the SEC with 8 games and only 2 teams plays in title game.

ACC plays 8 conference games. Almost every plays at least 1 Power 5 OOC. Most play 2. They also play a conference game.

SEC plays 8 conference games (for polarity of Home and Away, which does make sense). However, if you love neutral site games, then maybe 1 of those games each year can be played at neutral site. What do you think of that compromise?!?! Most SEC teams play at least 1 Power 5 game. Hardly any play 2. If they do play 2, it’s coming from the SEC East, thanks to state game tie-ins. The SEC plays a title game.

Honestly, I want to see the SEC East call out the SEC West for weak scheduling. They have a much tougher slate of OOC conference games each year, thanks to their state game tie-ins.