Alabama Football: Should the SEC consider an SEC-Big 12 Challenge?

Alabama football needs to replace USC on their 2020 schedule.

The Big Ten shocked all of college football when they announced a conference-only schedule for the 2020 season. The ACC and the Pac-12 were quick to follow suit. That leaves Alabama football and plenty of other SEC teams without a big game on their schedule.

South Carolina won’t be playing Clemson, Alabama won’t be playing USC, and plenty of other teams won’t be playing their big non-conference opponent in 2020. That leaves limited options on the table for the SEC, but they might have one great option left. Instead of only playing against other SEC opponents, what if they team up with the Big 12?

The only other conference in the Power 5 that hasn’t gone conference-only is the Big 12. Maybe there’s a chance that there can be a football version of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. This involves some conjecture, but let’s take a look at what it could look like.

Who would Alabama football play?

In college basketball, they try to create the best matchups. If that was the case, Alabama football would likely play against the Oklahoma Sooners. However, OU already has a game scheduled against Tennessee.

There is no guarantee how this would work, but one would assume that previous scheduled games between SEC and Big 12 teams would remain scheduled. This means that Oklahoma would still play Tennessee and Texas would still play LSU.

Because of this, I think the most logical option would be for Alabama football to play against TCU. The Horned Frogs will be available to play in the first week due to the cancelation of their game against Cal. TCU might not be the best team available, but this would make sense in terms of scheduling.

There are plenty of moving parts to consider, but an SEC-Big 12 challenge over the course of the season would bolster the schedules of both conferences and give them an advantage over the Pac-12, Big Ten, and ACC. If each conference trusts the methods being taken by the other to stay safe during this pandemic, then this might be the best option still on the table.

Whether Alabama football plays TCU, Baylor, or Iowa State, this would be great for the Crimson Tide. On a macro scale, it would be great for the SEC as well.