Some recent comments from Alabama head coach Nick Saban seem to suggest that the Third Saturday in October -- the annual meeting between the Tennessee Vols and the Crimson Tide -- won't be an annual event for much longer.
Saban hinted during "Hey Coach with Nick Saban" that the SEC will be going with the 7-and-1 scheduling model longterm instead of the 6-and-3 model that has also been discussed.
“The way we’re gonna do our seven-team rotation, one-team fixed, I think you’re gonna play everybody every four years," said Saban. "So almost every guy at your school is going to play every team in the conference. Which I think is great as well.”
The 7-and-1 model would mean each SEC team would have one permanent opponent. The 6-and-3 model, on other hand, would leave each SEC team with three permanent opponents.
Alabama's permanent opponent would obviously be Auburn (the Iron Bowl isn't going anywhere). Tennessee's permanent opponent would likely be Vanderbilt.
The Vols and the Crimson Tide would still play every other season, which means a player that spends four years at Tennessee will play Alabama once at home and once on the road.
Nothing is official yet. But if Saban is operating as though the 7-and-1 model will be the choice, then I'd say there's a pretty good chance that it's what we'll see announced by the SEC at some point in the not-so-distant future.
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