Scott Rabalais: It took too long, but SEC made right choice on 9

Common sense often flows like molasses in this world, especially within an entity as large as the now 16-team Southeastern Conference.

Finally, however, the SEC’s membership has come together around the bargaining table and done the right thing when it comes to football scheduling. The smart thing. Starting in 2026, the SEC will shift from eight to nine conference games.

Like a lot of people, I’m not a huge fan of enormous change. But once the SEC stepped foot into the reality of an expanded 16-team conference with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, nine games made the most sense for all sorts of reasons:

• Nine games, with three permanent opponents per school and six rotating opponents (divisional play remains a relic of the past) lay the framework for every SEC school to play every o