re: 9 Game Conference Schedule - Neutral Game Option

First, I think that these "rivalry" games are silly. Getting rid of them would make an eight game schedule much more doable. That having been said, A&M is the new kid in town, and I'm not about to push for getting rid of them if they really mean that much to all of you.

With the rivalry game, you've got to have nine games for the SEC to really be a conference. Any eight game schedule that includes rivalries would mean that you play only one of the six non-rivalry teams in the other division of the conference each season.

That means a kid could play four years of football and, barring meeting them in the conference championship game, never play two of the teams in the SEC. That's not really a conference.