For quite some time, the SEC has had an edge over other conferences in terms of records, rankings, and strength of schedule. This boils down to the number of conference games they’ve played; the SEC has played only eight, while the Pac-12 and Big Ten have played nine. That extra game means that SEC schools could set themselves up for a few “easier” wins before diving into their conference matchups.
A great illustration of this is the 2025 Missouri Tigers. Their non-conference schedule included teams like Central Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, and Massachusetts, where they were heavy favorites. This effectively gave them four wins before even entering conference play.
Missouri ended up winning just four games in the SEC, defeating South Carolina, Auburn in double overtime, Mississippi State, and Arkansas. Yet, predominantly due to their four non-conference victories, they managed to stay in the AP Poll for a substantial portion of the season, allowing them to look like a “ranked” team for foes like Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and Oklahoma. They didn’t notch a win against any team with a winning record, wrapping up the season at 8-4.
It’s striking that despite this record, the Tigers were ranked in 12 out of 16 regular-season polls. I mean, 8-4 doesn’t look too shabby at first glance. In a competitive conference like this, it could be considered a solid season—unless you’re paying really close attention. If, however, even just one of those easy wins were to vanish, reaching that 8-4 mark would appear much more daunting. It’s precisely the argument that other conferences have put forth regarding the SEC’s constant lamentations about strength of schedule.
In a twist for 2026, the SEC has finally decided to shift to a nine-game conference schedule, essentially stripping away the extra wins that some programs had been leveraging. Even with just a handful of conference games played so far, new LSU coach Lane Kiffin has started to voice complaints.
Before facing Texas A&M recently, Kiffin sarcastically criticized what he saw as scheduling issues impacting the Tigers. He commented on an opponent from last week, saying, “Obviously we just played the best one in the country last week thinking he can hurt you even when you have the right call.” He noted that it was historically unusual for LSU and Ole Miss to play back-to-back, which, as it turns out, wasn’t entirely accurate. Kiffin’s critique extended further as LSU navigated a string of injuries early in the season.
According to ESPN’s Marty Smith, Kiffin argued that the team’s injuries were a direct consequence of the SEC’s decision to adopt a nine-game conference schedule. This seems a bit strange, considering LSU has only played two conference games up to that point.
Kiffin also remarked that the current situation showcases the disparities between the SEC and other conferences, indicating that others don’t have similar demands on their players. He warned the SEC to “be careful what you wish for.”
It’s classic Lane Kiffin, always equipped with a ready excuse, regardless of the situation. Other teams don’t deal with injuries? No other conferences require using starters like the SEC does? With eight conference games previously, it wasn’t a problem, but with nine, suddenly there’s a significant disadvantage—even after just two games, one of which was an overwhelmingly one-sided victory against a struggling Texas A&M squad.
And looking ahead, LSU has a matchup with McNeese State next weekend, which shouldn’t be much of a challenge either.
Interestingly, Kiffin hasn’t commented on travel, rest, and recovery issues for other conferences. Take USC, for example, which played a road game in New Jersey and then a home game in LA just a week later—that’s about a 6,000-mile round trip for them. LSU’s longest trip this season is only to Lexington, Kentucky, and overall, their travel miles don’t compare to just one of USC’s road games. Those logistics do matter, something Kiffin might mention if it were affecting his own team.
In fact, UCLA’s travel schedule includes over 8,000 miles for some road games, while USC’s tops nearly 9,500 miles. Kiffin’s “poor me” narrative might resonate with SEC supporters in favorable media circles, but it simply doesn’t hold up when scrutinized against real-life scenarios. It’s quite likely that he will continue this narrative, aiming to get the SEC back to an eight-game conference schedule, followed by some other point of contention.
