Vanderbilt is one school that has scheduled tougher non-conference opponents like Notre DameGETTY IMAGES
Two stories coming out of SEC Media Days are the ramping up of non-conference schedules, as well as budget cuts at Ole Miss and Auburn, and it is "hard to ignore how these two trends are related and significant in looking at the whole of college football," according to Dan Wolken of USA TODAY. For years, the "fervor of SEC fans has been taken for granted -- by television networks, by cable companies, by athletics directors and perhaps even coaches." It was "easy to do it, too, because people kept showing up and paying full price." But now, SEC Network dollars are "flattening and fewer fans are interested in sitting outside for four hours in the September heat to watch mismatches." Some schools are "turning to increased alcohol sales" to grow revenue, but for now, it is "getting harder to find new ways to tap into the money spigot." In the end, the "best way to get people into the stadium is by scheduling better games." Georgia has "done good work on this," scheduling non-conference games with the likes of Oklahoma, UCLA, FSU, Clemson and Texas, while Alabama will play home-and-homes with Texas, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. The fact coaches and ADs are willing to schedule these matchups suggests an "understanding that in a sport where you only play at home on seven Saturdays, the appetite to spend three of them watching Mercer, South Alabama and Eastern Michigan is waning" (USA TODAY, 7/16).
