Depending on who you talk to around the Southeastern Conference, the league is still seriously considering a possible move to a nine-game conference slate.  The 2013 schedule held fast at eight games.  A short four-year rotation (2014 through 2017) that will be presented at the spring meetings in Destin is also built on an eight-game model.  Additionally, the majority of SEC schools seem to want to stand pat at eight, especially those with built-in rivals from other conferences (Kentucky/Louisville, Florida/Florida State, South Carolina/Clemson, Georgia/Georgia Tech).

On the other hand, there are a few who want to see a nine-game schedule come to fruition.  Nick Saban of Alabama is one.  He believes schools in the same league should visit one another more than once every 13 years or so.  Go figure.

Then there are those who understand that the sales team who’ll be peddling the soon-to-be-officially-announced SEC Network will have an easier path to success if the conference has better television inventory.  Having seven extra SEC games to sell each year would certainly beat the SEC/Austin Peay and SEC/Elon matchups we get so many times per season as part of the current model.

Another factor is the new playoff selection process — an issue that will be tackled this week by the powers-that-be in college football.  We know that a playoff has been created in part because the Southeastern Conference has owned the BCS Championship Game for the better part of a decade now.  So with a selection panel consisting of folks from across the nation, it’s not difficult to imagine a day when voters from other regions attempt to spread the wealth to more conferences by refusing to invite a second SEC team — no matter how deserving — into their new four-team playoff.  Especially if all the other major conferences are playing nine-game conference slates and the SEC isn’t.  And if there isn’t going to be one, overriding RPI-type of ranking used by the selection committee… and for now that is the thinking.

Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity told The Macon Telegraph and The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer this week that the SEC’s scheduling plans will indeed be impacted by just what the heck “strength of schedule” will mean in future days:

“We continue to be educated on what the definition of strength of schedule means.  What are other conferences doing in that regard.  So there’s a lot of things to really discuss if we do go to a nine-game model.  But we have not talked about that other than just in theory, to see what some models of that would look like.”

The Big Ten, Big XII and Pac-12 are all either currently playing or planning to play nine league games per season.  The ACC had initially announced plans to go to a nine-game schedule, but reversed field and announced an eight-game plan when Notre Dame agreed to join the league as part-time football participant.

By now, if you read this site at all, you know that we said last year the inclusion of Missouri and Texas into the SEC would eventually drive the league to go to a nine-game conference football schedule.  You also know that with a new playoff that will be selected by a committee — based in part on strength of schedule — that we’ve said time and again that the league was giving aid to its enemies by sticking with an eight-game plan in the near future.

Now it sounds like the SEC will be forced to re-think that eight-game plan for the very reasons we stated.

In a piece posted late Friday by The Jackson Clarion-Ledger (and linked to on Saturday by MrSEC.com), there’s a brief standout comment from former Mississippi State AD Larry Templeton, who is the head of the SEC’s transition team.  Of a nine-game schedule he said:

“I think it’s something that will be looked at because of the new playoff, but right now we’re staying with the eight.  There’s time to explore and do some stuff.”

This time five months ago the league said there was no way it would go to nine-games.  Then some schools like Alabama and Tennessee (and Tide coach Nick Saban) made it clear at the SEC Meetings in Destin that they would be fine with a move to nine games.  Their counterparts at some of the traditionally weaker football programs stood their ground, stating that they needed four cupcake nonconference games for the sake of bowl eligibility.

But while the league did go with an eight-game plan, a nine-game plan got more talk than many expected.  The new playoff — which we knew was coming at the time — seems to be giving a little bit more gas to the nine-game engine.  Good.  The league should have just gone with nine in the first place:

One, it would mean that league teams would see each other more often.  (What person doesn’t want to visit an opposing campus — or have an opponent visit his campus — more often?)

Two, it would mean ticket-buying fans would get more value for the dollar.  (Would you rather see Auburn or Akron in your town?  South Carolina or South Dakota State?)

Three, it would please the SEC’s television partners who want better games to televise.  (Adding two more schools to the SEC already creates more inventory.  The league played 48 conference games a year ago.  With Missouri and Texas A&M, there will now be 56 SEC contests this fall.  Add a ninth game to the schedule and the number of SEC versus SEC games would jump to 63… which would be about a 30% increase over the number of league games played per year in the old 12-team league.)

Four, it would prevent all those folks in regions not called “the South” from pointing out that the SEC is the only major conference that does not require its members to play at least nine foes from other major leagues.  (While that might not matter to you, it could matter in the selection committee meeting room… especially since “spreading the wealth” of football titles was a big part of the drive to the playoff.)

Five, if/when the league starts an SEC Network, it will be easier to get that game picked up by cable systems if there are actually good games on it.  (Fans would be quicker to demand a channel showing Georgia-Ole Miss than Georgia-Georgia Southern.)

There is another way around the nine-game hurdle.  Templeton mentions the possibility to “do some stuff.”  That might mean creating a year-in, year-out series between SEC teams and those of another conference, like the ACC as we mentioned back in May.  Both leagues have 14 teams, a common mega-sponsor in AT&T for branding the games, and there are currently four yearly pairings between the leagues anyway (Florida-Florida State, Georgia-Georgia Tech, South Carolina-Clemson, Vanderbilt-Wake Forest).  The Pac-12 and Big Ten have already entered into just such a scheduling agreement.

The fact, however, is that there were many reasons for the Southeastern Conference to go ahead and move to a nine-game league slate while in Destin.  It’s going to be forced upon Mike Slive’s group eventually by the pressures of television and playoff spots.

At least now the head of the SEC’s transition team seems to see the writing on the wall.  That’s why we’ll stick to our initial prediction — made in late-2011 — that the SEC will be playing nine league games by 2017.  If not, then expect the league to have agreed instead to a yearly series of games with teams from another conference.  Pick your poison, one or the other is coming.

1.  Dan Mullen’s team had a “sloppy day” at practice yesterday.

2.  Mississippi State whipped Belhaven 101-76 in an exhibition game last night, but Renardo Sidney’s debut was dulled by cramps.

3.  If Sidney doesn’t turn out to be great — not good, but great — this writer says “Rick Stansbury and Mississippi State will look like fools” for investing so much time and energy in landing him.

4.  The Ole Miss quarterback situation in 2011 looks be about as unsettled as a quarterback situation can be.

5.  Excited about Will Muschamp, Gator fans?  Good.  ‘Cause the price for your tickets is going up next year… after a 7-5 season.

6.  This writer suggests the Florida-Florida State rivalry start using the Muschamp/Jimbo Fisher jointly-owned beach house as its trophy.

7.  Ron Zook says Muschamp will do fine in Gainesville.

8.  Nose guard Kwame Geathers wants to have a bigger impact for Georgia next year.  (Bigger than eight tackles?  Pshaw.)

9.  Mark Richt knows that the possibility of losing a few of his junior players is “just part of college football today.”

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Kickoff has been set for 3:30 p.m. for the Florida-Florida State game on Saturday. The game will be televised regionally on ABC and on ESPN outside of the region.

The Gators (7-4, 4-4 SEC) have won the past six meetings of the rivals and enter the game coming off a 48-10 win over Appalachian State.

The Seminoles (8-3, 6-2 ACC) won 30-16 at Maryland on Saturday night.

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ESPN/ABC has exercised its six-day option for the Florida-Florida State game on Nov. 27 in Tallahassee.

If the game is at 3:30 p.m., it will air on ABC. If it’s at 7 p.m., it will air on ESPN or ESPN2.

Florida State (7-3, 5-2 ACC) plays Maryland on Saturday, while Florida (6-4, 4-4 SEC) plays host to Appalachian State.