The little guy kept coming up at the big-boy table Tuesday as the Southeastern Conference spring meetings got under way in Destin, Fla.
SEC football scheduling as far as league opponents is known through 2025, but will conference members keep playing teams from the Championship Subdivision? As with other scheduling matters in recent months, league coaches were divided.
“I believe it is best for us to continue doing that,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said in a news conference. “I came up from a smaller school, and I know the value it adds to those programs. I find it hard to believe that one game over the totality of a season would really hinder you if you played well in those other games.”
Ole Miss had a convincing win at traditional power Texas last season and also waxed FCS member Southeast Missouri State. The Rebels have FCS matchups this year against Presbyterian and next year against UT-Martin.
In agreement with Freeze is Georgia’s Mark Richt, who does not have experience coaching at smaller schools but understands the challenge of FCS members. The Bulldogs have played one FCS team each of the last eight seasons and are scheduled to play Charleston Southern this year and Southern next year.