Alabama Football: After bigger B1G next up for SEC expansion

The USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins are headed to the Big Ten. In a tweet by Nichole Auerbach, it was learned the Big Ten vote to accept USC and UCLA “was unanimous.” No doubt, there was a unanimous OMG response from the Pac 12 as well. The official word from the Pac 12 was they were “surprised and disappointed.”

When the news broke on Thursday, immediately Alabama football fans began asking what teams are next for the SEC. Before Texas and Oklahoma play their first games as SEC football teams, it is almost certain the SEC will add more teams.

Exits from the Pac 12 by the Trojans and the Bruins should not be shocking. The geographical distribution of teams inside conferences no longer matters. Added travel costs (for all sports) will be more than offset by larger payouts to teams by the B1G and the SEC.

Before delving into what might happen next, a little cutting humor is justified. The move by USC and UCLA to the B1G proves ‘The Alliance’ was what most thought it was – a joke. A weak overreaction to the growing power of the SEC was nothing more than a bad joke.

Speaking of no one laughing, the resistance to change from the Rose Bowl committee takes a major hit with the realignment. Will the Pac 12 be able to field a competitive match annually? Not if the Pac 12 also loses Oregon and Utah at some point.

Alabama football fans want to know what comes next

Almost everyone who writes about college football expects the SEC and the Big Ten will not stop at 16 teams. A tidy number for each conference would be 20, the result of eight more Power Five teams realigning. There is probably a maximum number for each conference to consider and a guess is the maximum is 24 teams.

Whether it is a combined 36 teams or 40 or even 48 teams, college football will have a Power Two. In reality, it already did, based on ability to garner massive media deals.

Alabama fans will be concerned about what happens to traditional rivalries. Those games are an important issue, but not all will be maintained. Quickly new rivalries will evolve. Scheduling implications will be mind-boggling. An expanded CFB Playoff will be affected, not just in terms of how many teams make the annual field, but over which conferences get the most slots. Two Super Conferences might mean an SEC Playoff and a Big Ten Playoff, with the winners meeting in what would deserve to be the National Championship game.

The other big questions on the minds of Crimson Tide fans are what teams will join the SEC. The Big Ten will focus major attention on Notre Dame. The SEC will likely pursue Clemson, Florida State and Miami. Other possibilities might be Oklahoma State, Baylor, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Virginia Tech.

The size of new TV markets wlll be a factor, but so will marquee appeal of teams. Clemson, SC and Stillwater, OK are not big markets, but the Tigers and the Cowboys would deliver regional and to an extent, national eyeballs.