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Three teams Mississippi State fans would love to kick out of the SEC

There's simply too many teams in the SEC now. Who would Mississippi State Bulldogs fans kick out of the league?

By Andrew Miller

Oct 1, 2022; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs running back Dillon Johnson (23) is stopped short of the goal line by Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Shemar Turner (5) during the second quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2022; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs running back Dillon Johnson (23) is stopped short of the goal line by Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Shemar Turner (5) during the second quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports / Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
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We're in a world of mass-realignment in college football. With Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC and USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington joining the Big Ten, a pair of "super leagues" now tower over the rest of the sport. The Big 12 and ACC scavenged the remaining viable programs just to stay alive for the near future, and Pac-12 is effectively dead.

Gone are the days of conference affiliation representing regional and historical ties between programs. Now, it's merely about trying to collect as many valuable brands as possible regardless of their fit within the league.

And that's truly a shame, as we've thrown away so much of what college sports, especially football, are supposed to be. If you ask me, I'd prefer we reset the realignment clocks back to about 2009 and leave things as they were then. Unfortunately, I don't see a scenario where that ever happens.

But what if we could make some changes to our current leagues? Specifically, what if we were to kick out some of the less desirables? There are several teams Mississippi State fans would undoubtedly like to see out of the SEC. And I'm not even talking about Ole Miss!

So what schools would Bulldogs like to see get the boot?

Why on earth in Missouri a SEC team?

Out of all the teams added to the SEC since its first major expansion in 1992, Missouri by far makes the least sense. Are they regional fits? No. Cultural fits? No. Did they have any history with the SEC's founding members? No. Are they some massive brand in any of the major sports? Also no.

Literally the only reason the SEC added Mizzou in 2012 was to get the SEC Network on millions of TVs in the Kansas City and St. Louis markets. It was about cable and nothing else.

Well now we're in the streaming era, and the importance of getting your network on cable boxes is minimal. Brands are all that matters, and Mizzou isn't a big enough brand to justify keeping in spite of being a horrible fit for the SEC.

Their basketball program has been mediocre since joining, and they have the worst baseball program in the SEC. But what about their good football seasons? Yeah, winning the SEC East when the division was a dumpster fire and then lucking their way into big season last year while being terrible every other season doesn't hold much weight.

If for some reason the SEC had to stay at 16 teams, I'd gladly trade Mizzou for Oklahoma State so we'd at least get a fun team in the league and keep the Bedlam Series going. Send the Tigers back to the Big 12 where they can return to bickering with Kansas.

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