Welcome to the SEC!
by GEORGE SOMERVILLE
THE TOUCHDOWN’s SEC CORRESPONDENT
1st July 2024
SEC Football is back with a bang!
On 1 July the Southeastern Conference expands to 16 schools by welcoming Texas and Oklahoma Universities into the league.
The move away from the BIGXII has been known about since 2022, when the news broke somewhat dramatically during SEC Media days. At the time, the news, which was really the catalyst for the widespread conference realignment that was still to come, shocked college athletics. Quite frankly, the thought that the strongest conference in football, the SEC, adding a further two heavyweights to its stable, was scary news for the rest of college football.
Subsequently, the BIG10 moved to entice several West Coast schools from the PAC12, which all but signalled the demise of the PAC12. The aftershocks continue to this day with continued unrest in the ACC, which is likely only to be resolved through the legal system.
The change to the Southeastern Conference is its first since Texas A&M and Missouri joined the SEC in 2012 and only second since 1991 with the additions of Arkansas and South Carolina.
What do Texas and Oklahoma bring to the SEC?
The move further expands the SEC footprint into Oklahoma. While Texas is already represented by Texas A&M, it solidifies the Conference’s number one place in the Lone Star state, which is one of the biggest and most football-obsessed states.
The move brings more rivalries to a Conference that boasts some of College football’s most fanatical matchups. It revives the bitter Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry, which we have not seen much of in recent years. The last time we saw this game was in 2011. We only have to wait until the 24th of November to see the Longhorns play the Aggies in College Station.
It also introduces the SEC to one of the most colourful and spectacular rivalries – the Red River Rivalry- but more on that later.
Perhaps most importantly, in this world of big sports finance, it brings millions more eyeballs, which is vitally important for the lucrative TV contracts necessary for college athletics in this day and age to survive.
How will the new conference work?
The two sub-conference structures of SEC East and West are no longer in place. While discussions about whether an 8 or 9 conference game schedule rumble on, schedules have been settled on for 2024, with each existing SEC member playing either Oklahoma or Texas this year.
With no East or West divisions, the SEC Championship game will be decided by the teams ranked #1 and #2 at the end of regular season play. The standings will be determined by winning percentage, and this will be the first time that there will be no East/West matchup since 1991.
Red River
Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte recently boldly remarked that the Red River Rivalry game annually held between Texas and Oklahoma is the biggest game in college football. The game, which is played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during the Texas State Fair, always lands smack bang in the middle of one of the busiest times of the year in Texas. And it is a spectacle. The Cotton Bowl is split in half—Burnt Orange and Crimson & Cream.
The game has been played since 1900, with 2024’s match-up being the 120th face-off between the two. Currently, Texas leads the series 63-51-5. The game is played each year before a sellout crowd, with the Cotton Bowl hosting a capacity of just over 92,000. Some long-standing fans have been critical in recent years of ticket prices, which have risen dramatically along with out-of-state demand for the game.
The question here is whether Del Conte’s claim stands up. The Red River will now be compared to the Iron and Egg Bowls, a Saturday night in Death Valley, and the World’s largest outdoor cocktail party. There is no question that the Red River is eagerly anticipated by the SEC and will be another exciting date in the calendar to look forward to. Whether it is the biggest and best is about to be tested.
How will both teams fare in year one?
LOnghorns
Texas has been building and is geared up for immediate success. The Longhorns will be looking to advance further than last season’s CFB Playoff semi-final appearance, where they were defeated by Washington.
The Longhorns are showing signs that Head Coach Steve Sarkisian is building a National Championship-worthy program. Texas has arguably the best quarterback room in college football, and the Longhorns are expected to do well. However, the SEC is an entirely different beast from the BIGXII.
It is difficult to find recent examples of match-ups between some SEC teams and Texas. For example, Texas hasn’t faced Florida since 1940, Tennessee since 1969 or Kentucky since 1951. But it does have recent match-ups versus Alabama, Ole Miss and Arkansas, which have not gone so well for the Longhorns, indicating year one in the SEC will be an interesting one. However I would be remiss not to make mention of the Longhorns win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2023.
Sooners
Oklahoma has recently extended the contract of Head coach Brent Venables for a further six years until 2029. Venables moved across to Norman in 2021 following previous Sooner’s Head Coach Lincoln Riley’s move to USC. While Venables debut season with the Sooners was a real baptism of fire, last year – his second season – he returned a 10-3 winning record, giving Oklahoma staff and fans alike hope that he, too, is building a Championship challenging team in Norman. Oklahoma’s 2024 recruiting class ranks nationally in the top 10, which has given Sooners leadership confidence that Venables is worthy of a long-term contract.
Interestingly, the Sooners have never played Mississippi State or South Carolina. While Oklahoma has an overall winning record against the SEC over the course of its 129-year history, this is a little skewed towards a dominance over previous BIGXII rivals, Texas A&M, Missouri and Arkansas. However, in the games with Championship importance, the Sooners have not fared so well. Oklahoma has advanced to the CFB Playoff semi-final four times but never further. In three of those defeats, the Sooners lost to an SEC team.
buckle up!
All of this makes for a fascinating watch in the coming months. The prospect of two “new” teams fighting for an SEC title is tantalizing. Factor in the latest expansion of the CFB Playoff, and this season is a high-stakes game for many teams. In a conference where anything can happen, this feels like a “fasten your seatbelts” season.
Buckle up, folks, we are in for a wild ride!
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
GEORGE IS A LONG STANDING FANATIC OF LIFE AND FOOTBALL IN THE DEEP SOUTH AND WRITES HIS WEEKLY COLUMN CALLED “IT’S ONLY SEC” FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. HE IS ALSO CO-HOST AND ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST, THE UK’S FIRST PODCAST DEDICATED TO THE COLLEGE GAME.