The expanded SEC is amazing. The conference should be as competitive as ever after the addition of Texas It is Oklahoma.
However, the 16-team SEC is sacrificing some historic rivalries in the new conference schedule. Perhaps most notably, the Georgia Bulldogs will not play the South Carolina Gamecocks this fall, for the first time since 1991. Georgia will also not play the War cocks in 2025.
Georgia and South Carolina have an extensive history. South Carolina was the last team to beat Georgia in Athens. The Gamecocks and Bulldogs have often battled for SEC East supremacy over the years. When South Carolina hired former Florida coach Steve Spurrier, it added even more fuel to the Georgia-South Carolina rivalry.
In truth, Will Backus of CBS Sports ranks Georgia-South Carolina as the top rivalry in the SEC that will not be played in 2024.
“There is a natural distaste for Georgia among the Gamecocks faithful,” Backus said. “The two programs share a recruiting footprint…there’s no love lost here.” Georgia’s hiring of former South Carolina coach Will Muschamp is another point of contention between the two fans.
Georgia-South Carolina is considered the 16th best rivalry in the SEC. Georgia is in a unique situation in the expanded SEC. The Bulldogs have plenty of rivalries to protect.
Georgia’s main rivals in the SEC are the Florida alligatorsbut the Dawgs’ historic rivalry with the Auburn The Tigers are among the fiercest and most competitive rivalries in the conference. Furthermore, Georgia has strong rivalries with Tennessee and South Carolina. The old SEC format allowed Georgia to face all four of these rivals each season, but now Georgia has just one permanent rival in Florida.
It’s obvious that the expanded SEC needs to move to a nine-game conference schedule, which would allow Georgia to have multiple protected rivalries.
