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SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Fires Back About SEC Strength of Schedule Debate

Some SEC teams have come under fire for their perceived lack of strength of schedule in the College Football Playoff race, and Greg Sankey is having none of it.

Matt Galatzan

Nov 16, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; New Mexico State Aggies safety Tayden Barnes (3) defends in coverage against the Texas A&M Aggies during the third quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
Nov 16, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; New Mexico State Aggies safety Tayden Barnes (3) defends in coverage against the Texas A&M Aggies during the third quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
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The College Football Playoff field has been under constant debate since the release of the initial rankings three weeks ago.

Discussions have swirled that some programs like the Georgia Bulldogs deserve a higher ranking despite their two losses due to their extremely difficult schedule.

Meanwhile, others like the Texas Longhorns have been bashed due to their perceived lack of quality opponents.

The Texas A&M Aggies have also been affected by these debates as well, sitting idle with the No. 15 ranking while other programs have surged ahead of them in the last three releases of the polls.

And apparently, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has had enough of it, quoting a strength of schedule graphic on social media, and blasting the narrative in the process.

"Interesting to read analysis from others as they examine “strength of schedule” in college football," Sankey said on X. "It does seem there is a trend to be identified."

Per the graphic, the SEC holds the top six spots in average strength of schedule of the top 15 teams in the CFP polls, per the ESPN, Massey and Sagarin rankings.

Georgia (No. 8) holds the top spot at No. 1 in all three polls, while Alabama (No. 7) is second with a 10.0 average, followed by Tennessee (No. 10) at 21.7, Texas A&M (No. 15) at 27.0, Ole Miss (No. 9) at 29.7 and Texas (No. 3) at 33.3.

Meanwhile, BYU who ranks ahead of Texas A&M at No. 14, has a 39.3 average, followed by Penn State (No. 4) at 40.7, Oregon (No.1) at 41.7, Ohio State (No. 2) at 47.7, Miami (No. 11) at 55, SMU (No. 13) at 70, Notre Dame (No. 6) at 72.3, Boise State (No.12) at 79.7 and Indiana (No. 5) at 83.

Obviously, the main difference between most of these teams ahead of the Aggies, is that they only hold one loss - or in the case of Oregon, are undefeated.

That said, the graphic also serves as a stark reminder that, despite the narratives being pushed by national media and other conferences about some of the teams in the SEC who seem to have their proverbial backs against the wall, the SEC is still the most difficult conference to navigate in college football.

It also means that in the case of the Aggies, there is still a path to make it to the post season tournament if they take care of business on their own end.

That task will start this Saturday night against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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