SEC Football: Locked Rivals Realignment Possibilities

The whole idea behind having two divisions within one's conference was pioneered by the SEC. A simplistic yet brilliant innovation, it has easily changed the way the nation's leagues organize their universities, whether it be a large or a small conference.

In addition to playing every program that resides within your own division, universities in the SEC have also been playing three inter-divisional games on a rotating basis. Now, since the SEC didn't add another conference game, everyone will only be playing two out-of-division matchups due to the recent additions of Texas A&M and Missouri.

Despite what one may conclude on first thought, a university can only play everyone in the opposing division every five years in the new 14-team conference instead of every three. This is due to another SEC idea: the locked cross-divisional rival.

In an attempt to keep some old rivalries alive such as Alabama vs. Tennessee and Georgia vs. Auburn, this innovation made it so that each school played another team from the other division every year. Some have worked out well and established cross-divisional hatred (LSU vs. Florida) while others still have no true meaning (Kentucky vs. Mississippi State).

The whole idea behind a rivalry is either geographic, historical, power vs. power or academic. With new members entering the conference, the SEC should take a serious look into remapping the locked games so that universities can put some meaning into playing that certain "other" team every year.

Some should certainly remain the same, but others definitely need some new life. These are my ideas behind revamping the whole locked rivals concept. If you have any thoughts, feel free to post.

Auburn vs. Georgia

Of the two SEC inter-divisional rivalries that must stay, this one deserves some major credit for keeping itself alive. Any rivalry that began in the 1800s and is still going deserves to be carried on for a very long time. With it's starting date set in 1892, Auburn vs. Georgia fits the bill.

One of the most evenly matched rivalries in the history of college sports, the Tigers lead the Bulldogs by just one game, 54-53-8. Over the course of decades, these two programs have compiled 115 total matchups against one another, almost meeting in every season since the initiation of the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry."

Of the four ways in which a rivalry is first established, this one simply came into being due to geography. With Auburn hovering near the Georgia border and Athens just to the east of Atlanta, these two were destined to become an inter-division matchup no one likes to miss.

Count on this rivalry to stick around for ages as it is arguably not only one of the best in the conference, but in the nation as well. 

Alabama vs. Tennessee

Commonly referred to as the Third Saturday in October, this old-time classic has been around since 1901. Although their annual meeting doesn't usually occur this weekend anymore, these two conference powers are both known for this matchup nationally.

Maintained back in the early 1900s due to both programs' strong football tradition, this is a rivalry formed mostly because both were powerful and competed regularly for the SEC Title. Although the series has recently gone in the favor of the Tide, it is still very close at 48-38-7 in favor of Alabama. 

With the Crimson Tide coming back as the defending national champions and the Volunteers still in a rebuilding mode due to the betrayal of former head coach Lane Kiffin, this classic matchup probably won't change anytime soon.

However, keeping it around as one of the premiere games every season is not only the right thing for the conference to do, but also the most profitable because it is regularly watched on a national scale.

Ole Miss vs. Kentucky

Kentucky hangs onto a "rivalry" with Mississippi State, one that literally means nothing on the gridiron and close to nothing on the hardwood. Ole Miss, on the other hand, holds onto Vanderbilt as their locked opponent from the East. Their similarities include smallest and second-smallest student bodies along with a closely related Greek Life. As far as true rivalries go, that is very weak. 

My first new suggestion is for these two division bottom-dwellers to make a prime academic rivalry for the SEC. With Ole Miss owning the total record against the Wildcats 26-14-1, these programs are solid picks for an inter-divisional rivalry.

Academically, these two universities are both competing for the right to claim themselves as the best medical school in the SEC. Easily the top in each other's respective divisions, Ole Miss and Kentucky are not football giants, but make up for it in the OR.

This change opens up a new line of possibilities for the rest of the conference as well. A consideration the SEC should take a serious look at, the Rebels vs. the Wildcats could become a signature matchup between two of the weakest teams conference-wide.  

LSU vs. South Carolina

Both of these universities hold onto meaningless rivalries. LSU plays Florida while South Carolina takes on Arkansas. The Tigers and the Gators only really have their recent close games to show for theirs while the Gamecocks and the Hogs similarity is that they both joined the conference in the same year.

As for actually having a deeper meaning, they are both void of any at all. Taking on each other, however, would easily fix that problem. Obviously, this wouldn't be geographic nor would it be historical, as USC has only really threatened as of late under Spurrier. Academically, these two aren't that well-known, so that isn't the case either.

That makes this a power quarrel. LSU is quite obviously one of the strongest programs in the West as they claimed the conference title just this past season. South Carolina has really exploded as of late, however, under the leadership of the nationally-known Steve Spurrier. This game has potential to get a lot better than its current 16-2-1 LSU lead, considering both team's standings going into the future.

They both should be playing each other in many conference championship games for years to come. If this rivalry came into fruition, I would look forward to seeing them take on each other in their respective stadiums. Ironically, this would also make it so USC has to play in both Death Valleys quite often due to the fact that their in-state rival's field is also named after the famous Californian landmark.  

Mississippi State vs. Vanderbilt

For the most part, the Vanderbilt-Ole Miss game isn't much of a rivalry. Like I said earlier, it's foundation is in sizes of the student population and similarity of Greek Life which, to me, isn't much to base a rivalry on. As for Mississippi State and Kentucky, there is almost nothing that they claim to be comparable. 

You may now be wondering what kind of rivalry this could produce. Neither is very much of a power on the gridiron nor is there any kind of history between the universities. Geographically, they are somewhat close, but not in the same range to the point where they affect each other's recruiting. 

On the academic side of things, Mississippi State is ranked last in the conference while Vanderbilt is on top by no contest. Their being on complete opposite sides of the spectrum actually creates a rivalry in itself; an interesting matchup to say the least.

With the overall record favoring the Bulldogs 12-7-2 and both teams improving dramatically over the past couple of seasons, this could be a rivalry that has potential to be a classic East vs. West matchup.

Arkansas vs. Missouri

Missouri is a new member of the conference and thus, gets to pair up with their former Big 12 partner Texas A&M.

The Tigers and the Aggies don't really have any kind of real rivalry except the fact that they both stem from the same conference on their way to the SEC.

Arkansas' rival, South Carolina, basically took the spot because they happened to both join in the same year and that's about it.

Since Mizzou is taking up the seventh spot in the East due to the fact that A&M is more westerly, the Tigers suddenly become very close to an SEC West university just a few miles to their south. Arkansas is in the northern part of the state while Missouri resides in the south of their own, making this a prime geographic rivalry.

Just the competition over undecided superstar Dorial Green-Beckham shows how both of these programs fight over the same recruits. The Razorbacks are the perfect match considering location and how close the all-time record is between the two at 3-2 advantage Mizzou.

Both schools own worthless inter-division rivals and a change such as this would make for a matchup every season that actually means something to these programs. 

Texas A&M vs. Florida

The Gators and the Aggies have only met twice so far, evening the series at 1-1. They are both in prime position to create something extremely meaningful as the Aggies' head into their inaugural season with the SEC. Their first conference game actually comes against Florida at College Station. 

A&M's rivalry with Missouri is, as I said, just based on the fact that they are moving partners. That is nothing to base a inter-division rivalry on. Florida, meanwhile, plays LSU every season in a game that also has no true, deeper meaning except that it's just another SEC matchup. Besides the fact that the last couple of times have been entertaining, neither school has any base in the rivalry.

Texas A&M and Florida do have some similarities though. Both are land-grant institutions, reside on the fringes of the deep-south culture and can claim to be two of the four AAU universities in the conference. Furthermore, the Gators' somewhat new coach, Will Muschamp, came from the University of Texas and presents a quasi-clash of the Aggies' oldest rivalry.

On the plus side, both programs are in a type of rebuilding mode as they work towards becoming on top of their respective divisions. This game has more than enough potential to be a signature SEC inter-divisional rivalry that not only means something off the field, but also is a great game to watch on it.