Around the SEC: 2018 Football Schedules, Revenge and Rivalries Renewed

On the first day of summer, it seems apt for college football fans to look towards the fall. New grass is still growing and the end zones have yet to be painted, but the schedules are set and the games will be played.

SEC vs. P5

WEEK 1:

• Ole Miss vs Texas Tech (Houston, TX) - Kliff Kingsbury is on the hot seat. Pick ‘em.
• Tennessee vs West Virginia (Charlotte, NC) - Surprisingly, these two teams have never met. Mountaineers are favored by 9!
• Washington vs Auburn (Atlanta, GA) - The Huskies are -3 underdogs but don’t go to sleep on them. Also a first meeting.
• LSU vs Miami (Arlington, TX) - The Canes want to prove last year was not a fluke. Ed Orgeron continues his ruse. The ‘U’ by -2½.
• Louisville vs Alabama (Orlando, FL) - Bama by eleventybillion. Actually, only -25½.

WEEK 2:

• Mississippi State at Kansas State - What is the voodoo that Bill Snyder keeps working on SEC teams? First he convinces Auburn to visit Manhattan, KS and now the Bullies.
• Clemson at Texas A&M - The orange and purple aren’t done with Jimbo just yet.

WEEK 3:

• Missouri at Purdue - Two teams that were glad to get to 7-6 last season.
• Vanderbilt at Notre Dame - This won’t be pretty.

WEEK 13:

• Florida at Florida State - Will the Noles rebound? Can the Gators get their @#$% together?
• Georgia Tech at Georgia - Ya never know in this game.
• Kentucky at Louisville - UK has lost 6 of last 7 to the Cards.
• South Carolina at Clemson - Potential spoiler game.

MOST IMPORTANT EARLY SEASON SEC GAME

• Georgia at South Carolina - The first SEC game and only conference game in Week 2 will lay the groundwork for the path to Atlanta out of the East.

SEC OPPONENTS WITH BYES THE WEEK BEFORE

Evidently, the SEC decided to stop picking on Alabama in this category. That honor has been passed over to LSU.

Alabama 1
Arkansas 0
Auburn 1
LSU 3
Mississippi State 1
Ole Miss 0
Texas A&M 1

Florida 1
Georgia 1
Kentucky 0
Missouri 1
South Carolina 2
Tennessee 1
Vanderbilt 1

TOUGHEST FOUR WEEK STRETCH:

ARKANSAS, Sept 22-Oct 13: at Auburn, at Texas A&M (Arlington), Alabama, Ole Miss

TOUGHEST FOUR WEEK STRETCH NOT INVOLVING ALABAMA:

LSU, Sept 29-Oct 20: Ole Miss, at Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State

BEST POTENTIAL FOR A 5-GAME LOSING STREAK

TENNESSEE, Sept 22-Oct 13: Florida, at Georgia, bye, at Auburn, Alabama, at South Carolina.

WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?

Texas A&M and Kentucky have faced each other a grand total of two times, way back in 1952 and 1953 when they split a home-and-home. Bear Bryant would take over the head coaching job in College Station in 1954.

HOWDY, STRANGER

South Carolina faces Ole Miss for the first time since 2009.

“WALK INTO MY PARLOR” SAID THE SPIDER TO THE FLY

Mizzou will visit Tuscaloosa for the first time ever. Bama and the Tigers have met twice in Columbia (1978, 2012), once in Atlanta (2014 SECCG), once in Birmingham (1975), and once at the 1968 Gator Bowl.

NEED MORE OF THIS

Despite being conference mates since the SEC formed in 1932, LSU and Georgia have met only 27 times in the regular season but have three meetings in the SECCG.

DEEP SOUTH’S OLDEST RIVALRY

What team has Auburn played the most? If you guessed Alabama you would be dead wrong. The Crimson Tide is actually fifth on the Tigers’ tally of games played:

1. Georgia 122
2. Georgia Tech 92
3. Mississippi State 91
4. Florida 83
5. Alabama 82

SABAN’S REVENGE TOUR ROLLS ON

Nick Saban continues righting wrongs in the all-time records against certain teams.

OVER .500

• 2015 win over Louisiana Monroe got the Tide to 2-1 vs the Warhawks.
• 2012 and 2014 victories over Mizzou took the Tide to 3-2 against the Tigers. That record should move to 4-2 this fall.

AT .500

• Bama stomped Michigan 41-14 in 2012 to even that series 2-2. It would be nice to see Big Blue in the playoffs to fix that number.
• The Tide is 1-1 against Wisconsin thanks to a 35-17 romp in 2015. The loss was in 1928. Another potential playoff foe.

WANTED

• Oklahoma has got to be the Most Wanted. Alabama has lost three in a row to the Sooners: 2002, 2003, and the BCS Sugar Bowl of the 2013-14 season. OU leads 3-1-1.
• TCU is 3-2 against the Tide. They have not met up since 1974-75 when Alabama swept a two game series. The Frogs could be a playoff contender this season.
• UCLA is 2-1 against Alabama thanks to a pair of listless efforts in 2000 an 2001. I can’t see these two playing each other any time soon.
• Alabama is 2-5 against Notre Dame. The BCS Championship Game inched the Tide closer to .500. Tide Nation may have to wait until 2028 to continue the revenge tour. Saban should still be there.
• Texas holds an unbelievable 7-1-1 edge against the Tide. The 2009-10 BCS Championship helped get rid of the bagel. If Texas does not make the playoffs any time soon, Alabama will have to wait until the 2022 regular season to improve that percentage.

OTHERS NEEDING A SPANKING

• Boston College 1-3: That damn Flutie. I don’t want to play the “If Only Colt McCoy...” card but... Kerry Goode, y’all.
• Rice 0-3: three losses 1954-56. Bear Bryant would arrive the next year.
• Utah 0-1: 2008-09 Sugar Bowl that the Tide did not want to be at. Auburn fans, ya feel me?
• UCF 0-1: A humiliating home loss in 2000. Bama would finish 3-8 and Mike DuBose would get the ol’ “Uncle Phil”.
• Minnesota 0-1: Oh lawd, the 2004 Music City Bowl. Don’t get me started.
• Northern Illinois 0-1: Mike Shula’s first season in 2003 finished 4-9 including this 19-16 loss to NIU who went 10-2. Meanwhile, Saban was lifting a crystal football in Baton Rouge.
• Oklahoma State 0-1: 2006 Independence Bowl. You young-uns just don’t know the heartbreak we went through before Saban arrived.