I agree it would hurt Auburn far more than it would Alabama.Alabama doesn't need the Iron Bowl at all. Auburn probably needs it more than they realize. Alabama is Alabama without Auburn, however what is Auburn without Alabama?
I agree it would hurt Auburn far more than it would Alabama.Alabama doesn't need the Iron Bowl at all. Auburn probably needs it more than they realize. Alabama is Alabama without Auburn, however what is Auburn without Alabama?
EXTREMELY unlikely.The problem is that you run the risk of a 4 way tie.
So said the Big 12, and look what happened in 2008. SEC is deeper and we have had a lot of what if scenarios entering the last week of the season.EXTREMELY unlikely.
True.EXTREMELY unlikely.
I'm not an expert on ratings, but it was one of the things I'd look into when I was going on about conference expansions. Alabama has made the top ten rated regular season game list with just about every SEC foe they've faced. I'm sure that's not the case for Kentucky and Vanderbilt, but it hasn't just been Florida, Texas A&M, LSU, Georgia, and Auburn. It's been programs like Miss. St. and Missouri as well (during Saban's tenure at Alabama). I don't think there's a guarantee that LSU always garners monster ratings, but remember the Iron Bowl nearly became irrelevant. If not for the kick 6 game, Alabama would have won 6 in a row. Not just that, but four of those have been blowouts. I believe it was 2012 when the stadium wasn't even full to begin the game and started emptying out in the third quarter. So, the key is the possibility of Alabama losing, that's the biggest factor. And, as long as it's a traditional power (LSU is a top ten all time team) they stand a better chance of making that happen.The problem is how much longer is Bama vs LSU going to be a big rivalry. Bama and Auburn is way more consistent than Bama-LSU. Just look at the 80's and 90's.
It's amazing how many people forget that. My goodness, two plays and Alabama has a NINE game winning streak in the IB.....I'm not an expert on ratings, but it was one of the things I'd look into when I was going on about conference expansions. Alabama has made the top ten rated regular season game list with just about every SEC foe they've faced. I'm sure that's not the case for Kentucky and Vanderbilt, but it hasn't just been Florida, Texas A&M, LSU, Georgia, and Auburn. It's been programs like Miss. St. and Missouri as well (during Saban's tenure at Alabama). I don't think there's a guarantee that LSU always garners monster ratings, but remember the Iron Bowl nearly became irrelevant. If not for the kick 6 game, Alabama would have won 6 in a row.
You're 100% spot on here. I attended that game, my first-ever Iron Bowl. I was in the south end zone, which the upper reaches never even came close to capacity. The temp was nice but when the sun went down combined with everyone bailing out at halftime, it got rather cool up there.Not just that, but four of those have been blowouts. I believe it was 2012 when the stadium wasn't even full to begin the game and started emptying out in the
third quarter.
I think we both agree the bottom line is money, but one of the things they TRY to hold onto as much as possible in college football (as opposed to the NFL) is long-term tradition. It doesn't always work but more on this in a moment. Part of what makes cfb what it is to places outside T-Town is the ambience of the game itself.So, the key is the possibility of Alabama losing, that's the biggest factor. And, as long as it's a traditional power (LSU is a top ten all time team) they stand a better chance of making that happen.
I'm not trying to say the game doesn't matter, but I think people might be over-estimating both the importance to CBS and the importance of the game.
So much of the importance lies in when it is played and the quality of the opponent. Those things can be replicated fairly well with other opponent. To give an example, if you take the Kick 6 game, and you put another team in Auburn's shoes and have it play out just like it did, do you think the media hype really would have been any less? I don't think so, because it still would involve Alabama getting beat on a fluke play.
Possibly, I don't know. Does anyone?The other thing is I think it might be easy to over-estimate the power that CBS could have over a move.
No, but the hope was that they'd play each other in the Big 12 title game, which I believe only happened in 2010.To take a step back, look at what happened with the Big 12. They got rid of the Nebraska/Oklahoma game, but did that get blocked?
No, but that analogy doesn't apply here, either, since the Big 12 had no claim on ATM in the SEC.Did the Big 12 lose TV money when they lost the Texas/Texas A&M game? Nope.
There are overlapping agendas, but does anyone seriously think that the SEC wants the Iron Bowl to become "well, we get it every six years or so?"In fact the only time I'm aware of the networks really having any say at all in these matters was when the Big 12 wanted to add two lesser programs, and it basically took the weakest major conferences with the most over-compensated deal to give the networks any real say in the matter. When the SEC expanded, CBS didn't want to pay more, and they had a justifiable excuse since they weren't adding any games. They still did. The simple fact is that CBS isn't powerful enough to stop the SEC from doing a move like this if they want to, and I don't think CBS would be that hard to placate anyway.
True.....This is a long shot almost purely because every SEC team could have their own agenda.
Where are you getting this idea of demands from? I mean, it's not like a team cancelled a game on account of weather and the SEC had to step in and order them to play a road game or anything recently.....Auburn could try to demand keeping the Alabama game, and that alone would be enough to blow the whole thing up. Missouri could make demands, other SEC East teams could make demands, so on so forth.
The problem there, though, is simple: let them move. They will still be number two in the state, even in the years they win the East and Alabama does not win the West.I can see a plausible path for this, but it still seems more like posturing for when something big goes down in the future (like more expansion) than anything else. Frankly, I don't think Auburn has the backbone to stop riding Alabama's coattails.
I'm sure LSU would love that alignment. Bama, AU, UGA, Florida, and UT in the East would be brutal. LSU would compete with teams that often look good at times but often underachieve like TAM, Arky, MSU, and Ole Sis. Yeah, I'm sure LSU would love that.I haven't read the thread, but if there is any re-alignment: Bama and the barn to the East and Vandy, Mizzou to the West.
Just being realistic...:cool2: