Azubuike24;736683 wrote:Those series' were agreed to and signed to far in advance as well. I know OSU finalized the Tennessee home and home over a decade in advance and the Georgia series is so far off the SEC could look totally different by then. People have to remember teams have room for generally one big OOC game (outside of the 2 or 3 in-state rivals/cupcakes/regional money makers) per season. It's not like they can load up on powerhouses at the snap of a finger.
Also, why if you're a high-profile SEC team with a full conference slate AND a big time OOC rivalry (UGA has GT, UF has FSU, USC has Clemson, etc...), would you seek out to load your schedule every year with another very tough game and risk losing a home revenue game and a possible easy win. In today's system, there just isn't the upside to really do that. If you're in the SEC for example, it's unneeded to bother with if you are looking to maximize potential success at the end of the season (ie...getting to the national title game).
I'd imagine the Big Ten is going to be the same way with the Big 12 getting weaker and the Big Ten adding Nebraska. Given a Big Ten schedule, if a team runs the table and wins the Big Ten Championship game, they will be in the BCS top 2, unlike most years when it's possible they could get left out. Also, I think the Big Ten may have a shot at getting a team with a loss to be right there in the running for the title game.
Quite simply, there is no reason to schedule a gauntlet in any given year because it makes little sense financially and in the overall success rate.
I think this has way more to do with the loss of a home gate every other year than the competitive factor. Other than the few teams that have traditional out of conference rivalries it's rare to see an SEC team play a big name opponent out of conference.
While the SEC is the best conference, it's not like these schools are playing top 10 teams every week. They still have their bottom feeders just like everyone else.
I'm just sick and tired of SEC schools complaining about OSU's scheduling. They've scheduled three Pac-10 schools, three SEC schools, two Big XII schools, an ACC school, and a Big East school. OSU has played or will play OCC games against schools from every BCS conference and we'll play the majority of those games against Pac-10 and SEC schools, so people like cats really should keep their mouth shut about OSU being afraid to schedule SEC schools or using the "they won't come north" excuse. They've scheduled SEC schools.
