re: I wonder what higher ups decided this

To me, it has jack shite to do with Bama. I could care less about their cupcake schedule every year, it just makes us look better when we earn championships on the field.

But I'd rather we be able to play the other East teams more than once every 8-12 years. I'd like to make a road game to every SEC school but that's rather difficult under the current format...you miss once and might not have the chance again for a long time.