The Saturday before Thanksgiving is not shaping up to be a memorable one on the college football calendar. Part of the reason for that is that several SEC teams are scheduling weak non-conference opponents in what amounts to a week of rest before intense rivalry games to end the season. And Brady Quinn is not impressed.
The SEC’s “Cupcake Saturday” tradition is nothing new. And it makes total sense from a perspective of self-preservation. Give some of your best teams a light week before the biggest Saturday of the season and ensure that they don’t get tripped up by a late-season loss that could negatively impact playoff hopes.
Some of the thrilling games on Saturday’s calendar include #3 Texas A&M hosting Samford, Charlotte visiting #4 Georgia, and Eastern Illinois at #10 Alabama. The SEC on ABC lineup that has dominated the viewership totals for the season consists of Missouri-Oklahoma, Arkansas-Texas, and Florida-Tennessee, which might be the overall weakest slate we’ve seen all year.
Of course, college football is more tribal than ever. So it wasn’t a surprise to see the broadcasters of the Big Ten, Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, take a shot at the SEC schedule makers with Brady Quinn doing the honors.
“These teams are on a bye week at this point, Mark,” Quinn said. “It’s this late in the season, and SEC teams just decide to take a nap? They get a week off, they’re playing a directional school. I guess that’s how it works in the SEC.”
In fairness to the SEC, the Big Ten scheduled Rutgers to play Ohio State the week before the Michigan game as one of the spotlight games of the week on Big Noon Kickoff. So maybe it’s not just the SEC that is guilty here.
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