Does Auburn football's Hugh Freeze prefer an eight- or nine-game SEC schedule? It depends
MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — It's the question that'll dominate this week's SEC spring meetings at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa: Should teams play an eight- or nine-game conference schedule?
Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze gave his take Tuesday, explaining that his opinion hinges on how the College Football Playoff committee will view SEC teams with two or even three losses. More games within the conference will likely lead to more losses for those teams, as they will have one less nonconference game to schedule an opponent that may not quite be on the level of other SEC programs.
"From a football coach's perspective, the biggest question I would have is: As important as those games are to us, how does the playoff look at it?" Freeze said. "If you're an SEC opponent and you're really quality and you've won a lot of good games, but you dropped two to top teams, or a third one, do you still get in when the playoff expands?
AUBURN FOOTBALL: Here are the two newcomers not yet qualified to join the Tigers
NEWCOMERS: 5 offensive transfers that could make the biggest impacts for Auburn football in 2023
"I think all of those are unknowns. Ultimately, I think we as coaches, we just say, 'Hey, give us our marching orders, tell us what it is and what is best for our conference.' And hopefully, it aligns with what is best for our school."
Freeze doesn't expect the debate between the two scheduling models to be too hotly discussed amongst the coaches. After all, it's the presidents and chancellors that have votes: "I'm not in those discussions. I try not to. I've got enough to worry about with everything that I have on my plate, that when people ask me about eight or nine games, I'm like, 'Talk to (AU president Dr. Chris Roberts) and (athletics director) John Cohen.'
"What is best for Auburn? What is best for the SEC? Are those things the same? I know all those discussions will take place."
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and the conference's members hoped to vote on the topic during last year's spring meetings, but the can was kicked down the road to 2023. With Oklahoma and Texas set to join the conference in 2024, there isn't much time left for a decision to be made.
"Again, what is best for Auburn? I don't know that I'm the authority to say that," Freeze said. "Are you guys going to put us in with three losses in the playoff if we run the table on everybody else? All of those things is what coaches are going to think about. How do we best position ourselves and satisfy our fans? All of that is kind of difficult.
"But I love coaching in big games and our players love playing in big games at Auburn. They should. They have in the past, and I want them to get that back. There's so many unknowns with what's coming in the future. And I haven't even talked about the money stuff. Thank God I'm not in those discussions with the TV money and what that means to each institution. I think our ADs and presidents will make the right decision, along with Commissioner Sankey."
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football's Hugh Freeze weighs in on SEC schedule debate
