The Josh Innes Show - The End Of SEC Rivalries

Episode Date: September 24, 2025

The SEC has announced it's schedules for the next few years and we are losing some great games. No LSU/Bama or LSU/Florida on a yearly basis? C'mon. I know it's a different world...but this sucks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well-groom lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana? That's a no. But a banana, that's a yes. A nice tan, sorry, nope. But a box fan, happily yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol and select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app for details. the SEC announced the upcoming football schedules through, I think, 2027, 2028, 2029. I think it's like the next four years of schedule.

So I guess 2029. And there's a lot of rivalries that aren't going to be there anymore, right? And now, some people don't really give a shit about rivalries. Like, I know my buddy Matt doesn't give a shit about rivalries because most of those are regional things. But that's the thing. And we talk about this a lot. Part of what made college football great and makes it less great now is the lack of regionality. I don't want to live in a world where Rutgers is in the same league as

USC. Honestly, I don't want to live in a world where Rutgers is relevant or in a big league anyway, but I certainly don't want to live in a league where Rutgers is in the same conference as USC, UCLA. I don't want to live that life. I don't want to be part of that life. I hate that life. That life is disgusting to me. I enjoy talking about the old school stuff like we talked about earlier with the Mike Gundy's in 2007 and how the world was different in 2007 and in college football was different. I didn't even bring up the fact that there was still that regionality and

there was still that belief by SEC Yocles that the rest of the world disregarded them and they blew Peak Carroll and USC and the West Coast and there was a bias and you'd have SEC chance breaking out everywhere. The world was better then and you will not convince me that the world

was not better. It was a wonderful place to be. The world was lovely back in 2007 because there was regionality in college athletics. Again, we talked about this is before there was a Missouri in the SEC or Texas in the SEC. Those teams belong in the Big 12. Oklahoma belongs in the Big 12.

Texas belongs in the Big 12. It was great when you had viable conferences everywhere. You can tell me that the Big 12 is still viable. The Big 12 ain't shit. No offense to the Houston Cougars. But now that we're in a world where the Houston Cougars are in the Big 12, I don't view the Big 12 is anything real. Basically the Big 12, like Houston finally got into the Big 12 when the Big 12 became Conference USA. You know, it's like it's a different world now.

It sucks. I don't like it. I don't like the idea of like two mega conferences with 30 teams. I hate it. I despise it. And there's a part of me that's a big believer in the rivalries and all that stuff. And let me play a couple commercials and we'll get into this. When your investors, customers, and workers demand more from your business, make it happen

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100%. I am on your side on that. It's always been dirty. It's always been corrupt. There's always been an issue. The student athletes have never really been student athletes. The coaches have always had movement where they could leave and the players couldn't. and I get it. You're not wrong.

But there was something glorious about certain rivalries. Now, I guess rivalries don't matter as much because the players don't stay around long. Like, there's no way you sit around and watch like a Tennessee, Georgia and think, boy, the players are really locked into Tennessee, Georgia. Because half the roster on both teams every year is going to be different. There'll be some kid that played at Ole Miss, played at, like, UAB, and played at Middle Tennessee State. So these guys cannot. It would be impossible for them to appreciate it.

appreciate the rivalry. Back in the day, and this is what made it better, is there were a lot of guys that did stay. Like, there were more guys that stayed for two, three, four years at a university. And you felt that rivalry. Like last year, you lost. The year before that, you lost. LSU lost to Bama this year. Like, imagine you were a four-year guy, and you finally beat Alabama when you're at LSU.

Or, like, a couple of years ago in Tennessee finally broke their drought against Alabama. If you were someone that had been there, two, three, four years, you felt. that euphoria. If you're some guy that's a hired gun that's there because they gave you the most money in a car, like, you don't feel that. And the players, the fans want the players to feel that. They know they won't, but they want them to feel

that. And part of what's being sucked out of college athletics right now is that regionality and that passion that you want the players to have for the university. So now they've got these new schedules out. And like, I'm an LSU guy. Alabama is not on the yearly schedule for

LSU for the next four years. They are not a lot. an opponent. LSU has to face A&M, Arkansas, which is the absolute worst, and Ole Miss. There is nothing worse than the manufactured bullshit of the golden boot. And yes, Arkansas has had some meaningful wins over LSU. Big wins that in 2007, their wins should have knocked LSU out of the national championship. They have won some last second games against LSU. I get that. But I went to Arkansas last year to watch LSU play Arkansas. And when LSU comes to town, it is Arkansas Super Bowl. Like they hate LSU, they want to murder LSU.

LSU leaves the golden boot whenever they win it. They don't care, the fans don't care, and no one gives a shit about the goddamn golden boot. But we have to play Arkansas every year. And not Alabama. Now, we are not the natural rival of Alabama. That is Auburn. LSU arguably does not have a natural rival.

There's not a Texas and A&M type of thing with LSU. because LSU is the only meaningful university in the state when it comes to football, although Tulane's cute now, but it's not a rivalry and it will never be a rivalry, fine. They tried to force it into being a rivalry in the mid-2000s, around 2007. They tried to force it into being this little rivalry 10 years, and some of the games are at Tiger Stadium, some are at the dome, and it lasted a couple years, and they're like, all right, we need to get the fuck out of this. Well, Tulane is obviously a more viable program, thanks to guys like Willie Fritz, a more viable

program than it was, but no one wants to play Tulane every year because it's not a real rivalry and who gives a shit and what's in it for LSU. The worst that could happen is they'd lose to Tulane. There's no benefit. Beating Tulane gives them nothing. If you lose to Tulane, it's awful. So obviously you don't do that. But LSU's rivalries, like when I started watching college football in the late 90s, early 2000s,

I'd argue Auburn was a bigger rival than Alabama was. But you start to look at regionality and you start to look at all this stuff. and like your LSU and you're facing Arkansas, you've got manufactured rivalry there. There is a real rivalry with Ole Miss, even though, like, again, in my era, Ole Miss LSU didn't matter all that much because Ole Miss wasn't very good. Like, if you're someone from the 60s and, you know, you were into that, then you look at Ole Miss as a real rival. Like, to me, they are, but it's not like, it's not iron bullshit.

It's not Texas A&M versus Texas. It's not Oregon State, Oregon. It's not Michigan, Ohio State. LSU does not have that. And the closest thing they have to that is Alabama. And it's become that way, not just not because they're real rivals, but because, you know, LSU has always been chasing Alabama for the last 20-something years. Alabama is a six-time national champion since Nick Saban's come back.

And it's a big ratings juggernaut primetime game. And this year is the last year you are guaranteed to get an LSU Alabama game. And to me, that's bullshit. And it's the last year you're guaranteed to get an LSU Florida game. Those are arguably two of the biggest games LSU plays every year. and some years they have been primetime behemoths. 2007 again, when Jacob Hester picked up the five fourth downs and unless you converted five times on fourth down to beat to Florida.

That was a prime time juggernaut game. And now those games are going to go away. And some of the other ones in the SECR as well. Like, you know, Georgia and Tennessee is not going to be in every year or current. That's a fun game. Now, some of these I don't think matter. like Arkansas A&M like who gives a shit that's a forced rivalry where they played at Jerry World and like who cares those are teams that played against each other in the Southwest Conference who really gives a shit there that game doesn't exist let's see Florida and LSU like that sucks like people get hype for the LSU Florida game at LSU people get hype for LSU Florida at Florida that one sucks

Florida and Tennessee is not going to be in every year occurrence that sucks LSU, Alabama is not going to be an every year occurrence. That sucks. Again, part of the former charm of college football and college athletics in general, but football more so, is you had regional stuff and you had rivalries. But I guess, and again, maybe I'm looking at this in too much of a Pollyanna kind of way, mostly because when you've got half your rosters full of guys that may only be on your team for one year, they don't look. live it like the fans do and they don't live it like players of a bygone era did where those players of a bygone era were there from the time they were freshmen to the time they were seniors and they remember every game they played against those teams they know if they've lost three in a row

they know if the school has lost 10 in a row against these teams they know it these guys now don't give a shit and that's like that's why you kind of withdraw from being a like a psychotic fan about it because you're like why should I be this hyped about this when the players don't even give a shit that much. They're hired guns. If LSU or Arlburn or Arkansas wouldn't have given blank, blank and blank player the most money, they wouldn't be there. They're not there because they give a shit about Arkansas, Alabama, LSU, Florida. They're there because Arkansas, LSU, Alabama gave them the most money or the best chance to play right away, which makes it pro football, which already you lose a lot of what makes college football fun.

Because you want to feel like those guys who play for your team are dudes that are there because they love the university as much as you do. They aren't. And you know that, but you'd kind of like to be lied to a little bit. Like, hey, humor me a little bit. Make me feel like you're here because you love LSU, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Penn State. Like, make me feel like you feel that way.

But you don't. And I know you don't. It's all about the money and all that. But I don't know. Like, I'm in the middle on it. I'm in the middle because guys like my buddy Matt don't give a shit about rivalries. And part that he's right about is,

Unless you're in that rivalry, you don't care about it. Like, I really don't give a shit about Ohio State versus Michigan. But you know who gives a shit about Ohio State, Michigan? Ohio State and Michigan. It is a huge fucking deal to them. And if that game didn't exist, it would be devastating. Michigan, Michigan State. Those two schools care about it.

But if you're in Southern California, do you really care about the big game? Do you care about Michigan, Ohio State? No, but you might care about Cal Stanford. You know, who else cares about Cal Stanford? nobody outside of Cal, nobody outside of Stanford. So people like my buddy Matt who shit on the idea of rivalries and say, why do you care, are right. Like, you're not wrong about that. I would agree with you.

But big picture, it's like a Missouri, Kansas. There's not a human on the planet outside of Missouri and Kansas that cares about Missouri playing Kansas every year. Right? Like, no one gives a shit. But to those people, it's a big deal. And then you take those things away from those people. that's bullshit. You know, like, I think when that happens, like, I'm not going to sit around and watch, you know, Missouri play Kansas every year. They played a couple weeks ago. I didn't watch a second of it. Who cares? But then you see the way former players and everybody react to it and fuck KU and fuck Missouri. It matters to them. And we're taking that away from those people. And I think that's the part that sucks. All right, I'll stop being on my Pollyanna soapbox now.