Given that the Tigers are a part of college football’s equivalent of the NFL’s AFC North or the MLB’s NL West, Auburn football fans have had to share the spotlight with neighbors of all backgrounds…unfortunately including Tuscaloosa, Alabama as well.
All kidding aside, the SEC is more competitive than any other conference in college football. Since the turn of the century, the conference has remained at the top of the college football world year in and year out with the usual highest percentage of teams in the AP Top 25 by year’s end.
The gap between the Power Five and the Group of Five conferences has waned in recent years, but parity within the Power Five has too. In recent years, the Big 12 and Pac-12 have fallen off.
That was undoubtedly the impetus to Texas and Oklahoma deciding to take their talents to the southeast to form the most talented college football conference of all time. The move will be a boost to the SEC as a whole, but not to each individual member.
In fact, we think the following programs could be negatively affected the most by the Red River Showdown’s transition to the SEC:
SEC program affected by OU/UT arrival #1: Tennessee
Tennessee hasn’t had a ton going for it since the turn of the century, with NY6 bowl game appearances coming to a dead halt since the 2004 season. While they’ve won a title more recently than Georgia, they still have been mostly irrelevant since Phillip Fulmer left the program in 2008 outside of a two-season stretch in 2015-16.
Well, their branding is about to take a hit since another orange and white program with the acronym UT joining the fray in the next three years.
Is it the end of the world? No, but Tennessee has been short on moral victories for a long stretch of time, so this only pushes them further down the SEC totem pole.
SEC program affected by OU/UT arrival #2: Texas A&M
TAMU is not happy about Texas and Oklahoma making their way to the SEC. In particular, Texas coming to the conference takes away the Aggies’ stronghold on the Lone Star State in their conference.
Historically, the Longhorns got the better end of Texas A&M more often than not. That was the reason they wanted a fresh start in the SEC to begin with.
The way this all went down upset the higher-ups in College Station, especially since it blindsided them.
Longhorns wire’s Kevin Borba isn’t necessarily sold on the Aggies not knowing there was any smoke whatsoever:
"What does this reveal? It is a revelation that the rest of the SEC views Texas A&M as the little kid who is not yet mature enough to sit at the adult table during Thanksgiving dinner, and that they do not care what they have to say. It has been reported that these meetings have been happening for the past six months, and Texas A&M found out … checks watch … when Jimbo Fisher took the podium at SEC media days two days ago like the rest of the world."
The drama that Texas’ move to the SEC has already created within the Texas A&M brain trust has already been a bad look for TAMU. They’ll have to embrace the interstate battle for supremacy they will be re-engaged in with the Longhorns to change the narrative.
SEC program affected by OU/UT arrival #3: Auburn football
Make no mistake: as much of a good thing that these Big 12 defections will be for the financial health of the sport moving forward–especially after a major down year due to the COVID-19 pandemic–these moves could end up backfiring against Auburn football.
A move to the SEC East could give the Tigers more pillow programs on the schedule, but unless they take both games against Georgia and Florida in this hypothetical realignment scenario, their schedule might make it difficult to consistently rank near the top of the sport.
What it could also do is make the SEC West a grueling gauntlet that wears down the Tigers year in and year out, especially considering the recruiting difficulties two more in-conference rivals could create.
I know it seems as though I’m looking for the glass to be half empty, but after one thinks past the financial gains the Plains will see, it’s clear to see that Auburn football’s climb could become very steep no matter how realignment shakes up the SEC.
That could be a good thing. But let’s not be too dense to not consider how bleak things could get over the next several years if the competition becomes insurmountable.