It’s no secret Alabama coach Nick Saban wants a nine-game SEC schedule. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has an idea on how he can get there – play Tennessee each year as a non-conference game. Here’s what Spurrier told Matt Hayes of The Sporting News.
“Nick Saban wants nine games, well he can have nine and be happy. Yep, nine games against conference opponents—but one of them won’t count, that’s all.
“Our commissioner seems to think if Alabama-Tennessee is not a conference game, no one will want to watch it. I told him, you think no one wants to watch South Carolina play Clemson? We’ve got North Carolina in the first game of the season; a border rival, our stadium will be full. You think no one will want to watch that?
“If the commissioner doesn’t think that’s a big game, he should come watch it. So there you go, Nick can have his nine (conference) games. I’m all for it.”
Spurrier’s idea could extend beyond Alabama-Tennessee and include other traditional rivalries such as Auburn-Georgia and Ole Miss-Vanderbilt. He told Hayes he suggested the idea at last month’s meetings in Destin but it gained little traction.
Keep the T-dogs hope alive - Wofford and other small in-state schools REALLY DO appreciate the fact that CU and Carolina have clearly made an effort to support the D1A in the state - a 9 game conference schedule would most probably hurt player development at the high-school level.