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Tennessee football’s five best-case scenarios if SEC adds Texas, OU

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: A general view of Neyland Stadium during the South Carolina Gamecocks game against the Tennessee Volunteers on October 29, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: A general view of Neyland Stadium during the South Carolina Gamecocks game against the Tennessee Volunteers on October 29, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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KNOXVILLE, TN – OCTOBER 11: Detailed view of the checkered endzone at Neyland Stadium during a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Chattanooga Mocs on October 11, 2014 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 45-10. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN – OCTOBER 11: Detailed view of the checkered endzone at Neyland Stadium during a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Chattanooga Mocs on October 11, 2014 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 45-10. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

3. SEC moves to a “pod” system

  • Four teams to a pod
  • Vols in a pod with Vanderbilt, Kentucky
  • South Carolina or Missouri is fourth team in Vols’ pod

A pod system is probably the most effective way for the SEC to handle being a super conference if it still plans to have an SEC Championship game at the end of the year. The way it works is that four teams would belong to a “pod” and play each other annually. They would then play the other six on a rotating basis, so a four-year player faced every team at home and on the road.

If that happened, the two teams with the best records in the league would play each other for the SEC Championship. Tennessee football’s best-case scenario if this were to happen would be to play in a pod with the Vanderbilt Commodores and Kentucky Wildcats.

This could definitely happen. If the SEC values location and history, the Vols are closest to Vandy and Kentucky, and UT against each of them is the third and fourth most played game in SEC history. Since the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers have to play each other every year and Auburn and the Georgia Bulldogs is the most played rivalry, UT would avoid all three of them.

At that point, the South Carolina Gamecocks or Missouri Tigers would be the fourth team in the Vols’ pod, and they wouldn’t have to play Alabama, Georgia or the Florida Gators every year anymore. Traditionalists would hate that, but it would make the schedule so much easier for Rocky Top that the wins would be much more common.

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