Here at Fly War Eagle, the thought of Texas and Oklahoma joining Auburn football in the SEC has had the imagination running wild on how the rest of the college football world will respond.
Could this result in a super conference formed out of the remains of the Big 12 joining the Pac-12 for an unprecedented merger? Possibly. What about the prospect teams making the jump to the Big 12 to keep the conference afloat? Again, possibly.
We don’t know much about the future. No one saw the Sooners and Longhorns wanting out and basically leaving the conference in a major bind in the first place.
What we do know is that OU/UT are out of the Big 12 (by 2025) and that the Tigers will be affected.
And not all of the effects are going to be positive. Let’s take a look at 5 potential negative side effects of this SEC realignment:
Potential Auburn football negative side effect #1: Tigers move east
With Oklahoma and Texas coming to the SEC, it is almost certain that they will be debuting in the SEC West. It would make little sense for them to be regularly traveling to the east coast when both teams are deep in the South Central region of the United States.
Their SEC additions could potentially force one team to the SEC East, and given their geographical location, Auburn could be the team that makes the move.
Their Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry counterpart Georgia is there, but besides UGA and Florida (and Tennessee depending on the year), the SEC East is short on big money matchups. The SEC West has produced every National Champion from the conference since 2010 and should continue to be the superior half of the conference.
Potential Auburn football negative side effect #2: Strength of schedule
Auburn football already has it pretty damn tough in the SEC West, with Alabama, LSU, and Texas A&M establishing dominance on the recruiting trail. Depending on the year, those three opponents could be daunting, but Ole Miss and Mississippi State have had their breakout years as well.
Assuming they stay in the SEC West to compete directly with in-state blood rival Alabama and their neighbors west in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, the gauntlet is about to become gruesome in an almost unfathomable way.
Oklahoma has remained a steady power, and Texas will always be in on top recruits from the Lone Star State because of branding alone. Those would be two scary additions to the conference.
Potential Auburn football negative side effect #3: Losing headliner status
Oklahoma and Texas are two of the most recognizable brands in the nation when it comes to college athletics. Their move to the SEC could single-handedly change college football forever.
With the two programs in tow, the shine will inevitably be taken from one of the founding members of the conference. While the Iron Bowl will forever remain a sacred college football staple, the other divisional rivalry games will be a tad watered down due to the number of big games there would now be.
Given the Tigers’ recent struggle to finish in the Top 10 at the end of the season, the two new powers could surpass them quickly in SEC relevance.
Potential Auburn football negative side effect #4: Red River Showdown becomes a primary SEC rivalry
Look, we recognize the historical significance of the Red River Showdown. While we won’t go as far as to say it’s the best rivalry in the country considering the near-six hour drive it takes to get from Norman, Oklahoma to Austin, Texas, and vice versa, we won’t be dense and say it doesn’t deserve consideration as a top 5 college football rivalry.
But, there’s zero (0) SEC history. That’s a Big 12/8/7/SWC formerly interconference rivalry. There’s a good chance that despite all of this, the rivalry could be given an extra spotlight due to the two teams being the new kids on the block.
That’d do a disservice to the teams that had a hand in making the SEC what it is and made it the premier conference in the country.
Potential Auburn football negative side effect #5: Who does AU play each year?
With two more SEC teams, that brings us to a grand total of 16 programs between the West and East divisions.
What does that mean for the schedule? We know Georgia is an annual schedule definite, and there are four non-conference games baked into the slate each year. So that means inter-division games would be a thing of the past or you wouldn’t play your entire division each season.
There’s a lot of scheduling headaches resulting from OU and UT joining the SEC.