To everyone’s surprise, Big XII powers Oklahoma and Texas have both decided that they want out of their current league. It has been alleged that they made such a verdict for the sake of joining forces with the Southeastern Conference, seemingly as soon as possible.
Depending on the SEC team in-question, there are two possible responses to such news. Some communities could not have cared less about the likely new guys, while some others (i.e. Texas A&M and their fans) were livid about the notion. Where did Georgia Football fall?
They, for the most part, appeared to have applied to the former. From a competitive standpoint, there is nothing to be threatened by. Georgia will be a top-3 team in the conference either way. And geographically, there is a slim chance that the Dawgs would find themselves in the same division as them two. As a result, they could go all season without playing the Sooners once.
Oddly enough, the eventual inclusion of the midwestern pair just might help UGA in the long run. Both teams have esteemed reputations. However, they are not so good that Georgia would be incapable of topping them. In other words, their presences will merely improve the resume of a Bulldogs squad looking for a playoff spot.
Unfortunately, though, college football is not always that black-and-white. Just because Georgia can beat Oklahoma head-to-head does not mean that they could do so after a tough game against Florida, Alabama, or any other especially formidable foe.
The saving grace for the Dawgs in that case would be a schedule composed of “breaks” placed between big games. Kentucky, OU, and Auburn is a brutal stretch of battles. An easier alternative would be something like Missouri, Florida, and Vanderbilt. Both of these slates have a clear outlier in their centers. But the surrounding games make one blatantly easier than the other.
Takeaway for Georgia Football
The long and short of the matter is that UGA might actually benefit from the Southeastern Conference’s inevitable expansion. For it to harm them, they would have to endure terrible luck throughout the fabrication of their schedule. But as long as either a bye week or a South Carolina are present between all difficult matchups, a force as mighty as the Dawgs should have few hardships.
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