The SEC is considering a "temporary eight-game conference schedule" in the 2024 football season when Texas and Oklahoma join the conference that would "at least for one year, preserve both primary and secondary rivalries," according to Ross Dellenger of SI.com.

But if ESPN is willing to pay additional money in its contract with the SEC for a ninth game on the schedule, it's likely the conference would move in that direction.

"That's probably what will happen," a high-ranking SEC administrator told Dellenger. "I don't see the desire to go to a ninth game and not have any increase from a revenue standpoint. That's what I think comes out this week [at the annual spring meetings], unless something dramatic happens."