Why the SEC needs to change and how it would affect UGA

The SEC is in need of a change.

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That’s right. The Southeastern Conference needs change in the form of realignment. Not in the sense of adding teams, but swapping divisions between two certain teams.

The two teams are Auburn and Missouri. Auburn needs to move to the East, and Missouri needs to switch to the West.

First off, it makes sense from a pure geographic standpoint. If you haven’t looked at a map in a while, Auburn, Ala., is located a mere 36 miles from Columbus, Ga. Missouri on the other hand is right above the state of Arkansas. When Texas A&M and Missouri were added to the Southeastern Conference in 2012, this should have been put in place, and this should not even be a discussion.

Former SEC commissioner Mike Slive and co. screwed this up. (Yeah, I said it, and I love Slive) Adding Texas A&M was great for the conference, and people can make an argument for Mizzou’s inclusion, but the divisions should have been shifted then as well.

Unfortunately, the issue is coming up now. The situation needs to be handled now. Missouri needs to move to the West, so they can play teams closer to home. Auburn needs to move to the East because it makes the most sense of any West team bolting, and classic matchups like Auburn vs. Florida, Auburn vs. Tennessee, etc. can happen on a consistent basis.

It wouldn’t be much of a big deal for Auburn to move to the East. They would still get to play Alabama every year as their permanent cross-division rival, and obviously, the rivalry with UGA would be unaffected. It also helps that the East has been down compared to the West which yields an easier path to the SEC title game.

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Missouri is still kind of in new territory, so it would not be that problematic. However, the Tigers would have to start a new cross-division rivalry since their previous series with Arkansas would obviously be within divisional play.

How does this all affect Georgia? Well, with Auburn’s proposed move to the East, Georgia would have to find a new cross-division rival.

It would probably be Missouri. It would make the most sense. Would I rather not see this game every year? Yeah, but it makes the most sense from both sides and is the most convenient for the conference as a whole.

All signs point to this “realignment” happening in the future, but it needs to be put in place sooner rather than later. It would only help make the greatest conference in college football that much better.