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After weeks of speculation, Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger confirmed something we’ve been suspecting: The SEC football season will consist of a 10-game, conference-only schedule.
As fate would have it, this announcement came literally five minutes after I finished designing a full schedule for the entire conference! I’ll list the week-by-week schedule first, with each team’s individual schedules being lower. Before we get into it, some notes.
- For the additional two games, I chose the next two cross-divisional games on each team’s schedules. Dellenger is reporting this might not happen, but I already made the schedule and it’s a hell of a lot work to go back and change it around. At first I just picked random cross-divisional matchups from the past few years, but I needed something uniform.
- Rivalry week is intact, except for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Kentucky, who won’t be playing their in-state ACC foes. I solved that by having these four teams play each other. You’ll see in a bit how fun this will be.
- I did my best to space out home and road games reasonably. It isn’t unheard of for an SEC team to have three straight home or away games, but I did try to avoid it as much as I can. The only team I truly believe got screwed was Tennessee, who finishes with three straight road games. While it seems unfair, remember that these games will likely be in empty stadiums where opposing fans can’t make life as miserable as normal. Also the last road game is Vandy, so how bad can it be?
- I created an 11-week season where every team gets one bye week. SI reports the season will start Sept. 26 and the SEC Championship will be played on Dec. 19. There are 12 weeks between those dates, so that extra week will likely be saved in case of an outbreak and a game or two needs to be rescheduled.
Week 1: Sept. 26
Ole Miss at LSU
Georgia at Alabama
Florida at Tennessee
Arkansas at Texas A&M*
Auburn at Mississippi State
Vanderbilt at Kentucky
Missouri at South Carolina
Takeaways: If we’re starting the season late, then we’ve gotta make it up by starting with some BANGERS. Obviously Georgia at Bama is one of the marquee games of the season, and it was already the first conference game on the schedule for both teams, so this isn’t a massive change. I love the idea of LSU opening its title defense against Lane Kiffin in his first game at Ole Miss. That’s too juicy. The Gators and Vols playing in September is pretty standard, but feels even more exciting in Week 1. Auburn was the only team in the SEC to slow down LSU’s all-time great offense last year, and now they get to be the first ones to take a crack at Mike Leach in the SEC. Overall, these matchups will make people excited for football again.
*A&M AD Ross Bjork has already confirmed that the A&M-ARK matchup will not be at JerrahWorld in Dallas and will be an A&M home game
Week 2: Oct. 3
LSU at Auburn
Alabama at Ole Miss
Texas A&M at Mississippi State
Tennessee at Arkansas
Kentucky at Florida
Georgia at Missouri
South Carolina at Vanderbilt
Takeaways: More heat! The idea of LSU playing on the Plains in late November didn’t sound right to me, so I moved it back here where it rightfully belongs. As if Lane Kiffin opening on the road against the defending champs wasn’t enough, his home opener is against Alabama. God this is fun.
Week 3: Oct. 10
Mississippi State at LSU
Vanderbilt at Alabama
Ole Miss at Tennessee
Texas A&M at Auburn
Arkansas at Georgia
South Carolina at Florida
Kentucky at Missouri
Takeaways: The thing that pains me the most about using 2021 and 2022 cross-divisional games is that Lane Kiffin makes his return to Rocky Top with no fans in the stands. That’s extremely disappointing. Georgia is the only team unlucky enough to have to wait three weeks for a home game, but once they are home they get Arkansas, so that should be a fair trade.
Week 4: Oct. 17
LSU at Florida
Alabama at Arkansas
Auburn at Ole Miss
Vanderbilt at Texas A&M
Missouri at Mississippi State
Georgia at South Carolina
Byes: Kentucky, Tennessee
Takeaways: LSU-Florida is a massive game. That’s definitely the marquee matchup here. Auburn at Ole Miss is also awfully intriguing.
Week 5: Oct. 24
LSU at Kentucky
Alabama at Tennessee
Auburn at South Carolina
Arkansas at Mississippi State
Florida at Vanderbilt
Texas A&M at Missouri
Byes: Ole Miss, Georgia
Takeaways: Before Alabama and Tennessee fans come at me with their pitchforks for making them play on the fourth Saturday in October instead of the third, I’ll point out that this is the exact same date they played on in 2015. So knock it off.
Week 6: Oct. 31
Tennessee at LSU
Mississippi State at Alabama
Kentucky at Auburn
Florida at Ole Miss
Vanderbilt at Georgia
Texas A&M at South Carolina
Byes: Arkansas, Missouri
Takeaways: Yes yes yes YES LSU GETS A HOME GAME ON HALLOWEEN! I know some of y’all think we should be playing Ole Miss, and there’s a chance that’s what the actual SEC will decide, but I think playing anyone will be fun. Florida at Ole Miss also promises to be an incredibly interesting game. That one is already on the schedule so we’ll get to see it at some point.
Week 7: Nov. 7
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt
Auburn at Georgia
South Carolina at Arkansas
Missouri at Florida
Kentucky at Tennessee
Byes: LSU, Alabama, Miss State, TAMU
Takeaways: So the Auburn-Georgia game is still earlier than its traditional mid-November date, but still in a spot that feels more natural than the second or third SEC game.
Week 8: Nov. 14
Alabama at LSU
Ole Miss at Arkansas
Missouri at Tennessee
Mississippi State at Vanderbilt
Georgia at Kentucky
Florida at Texas A&M
Byes: Auburn, South Carolina
Takeaways: Man, an LSU-Alabama game in an empty Tiger Stadium is depressing... ugh, I don’t want to think about it. Next!
Week 9: Nov. 21
LSU at Arkansas
Texas A&M at Alabama
Kentucky at Ole Miss
Georgia at Mississippi State
Missouri at Auburn
Tennessee at South Carolina
Byes: Vanderbilt, Florida
Takeaways: Vandy and Florida get stuck with super late bye weeks, but the Gators will be thankful once they see their last two opponents. Also Texas A&M gets a break by having an extra week between their games against Alabama and LSU, something the pre-COVID schedule didn’t offer.
Week 10: Nov. 28
South Carolina at LSU
Alabama at Florida
Ole Miss at Texas A&M
Arkansas at Auburn
Mississippi State at Kentucky
Tennessee at Georgia
Vanderbilt at Missouri
Takeaways: Something I didn’t consider until now is the Egg Bowl’s newfound Thanksgiving tradition. Do they play it this week instead of Rivalry Week? Or do they suck it up and just play on the last Saturday like everyone else? That will be something to watch when the actual schedule comes out.
Week 11: Dec. 5
LSU at Texas A&M
Auburn at Alabama
Florida at Georgia (Jacksonville)
Mississippi State at Ole Miss
Arkansas at Missouri (in Kansas City)
South Carolina at Kentucky
Tennessee at Vanderbilt
Takeaways: Y’ALL! Can you imagine The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party the Florida-Georgia game being played on the final week of the season, likely a de facto SEC East Championship Game??? That’s awesome! Kentucky and South Carolina get stuck together since they also lost ACC rivalry games, and everything else here is intact. Now let’s look at each individual team’s schedules and look at the trends.
LSU
9/26: Ole Miss
10/3: @Auburn
10/10: Mississippi State
10/17: @Florida
10/24: @Kentucky
10/31: Tennessee
11/7: Bye
11/14: Alabama
11/21: @Arkansas
11/28: South Carolina
12/5: @Texas A&M
Takeaways: The two games added here are a trip to Kentucky and a home date with Tennessee. The last time LSU played those two teams in those stadiums two completely different types of chaos ensued, so this will be interesting.
ALABAMA
9/26: Georgia
10/3: @Ole Miss
10/10: Vanderbilt
10/17: @Arkansas
10/24: @Tennessee
10/31: Mississippi State
11/7 Bye
11/14: @LSU
11/21: Texas A&M
11/28: @Florida
12/5: Auburn
Takeaways: So yeah, if the SEC incorporates the 2021 and 2022 cross-schedules then Bama has to play Georgia and Florida in the same season. You just hate to see it.
OLE MISS:
9/26: @LSU
10/3: Alabama
10/10: @Tennessee
10/17: Auburn
10/24: Bye
10/31: Florida
11/7 @Vanderbilt
11/14 @Arkansas
11/21: Kentucky
11/28 @Texas A&M
12/5: Mississippi State
Takeaways: As stated earlier, the Egg Bowl-Thanksgiving agreement will be interesting to watch. Literally everything about this rivalry is interesting to watch these days.
TEXAS A&M
9/26: Arkansas
10/3: @Mississippi State
10/10 @Auburn
10/17: Vanderbilt
10/24: @Missouri
10/31: @South Carolina
11/7: Bye
11/14: Florida
11/21: @Alabama
11/28: Ole Miss
12/5: LSU
Takeaways: Remember how we all said Aggy was gonna have a good season simply because of a ridiculously easy schedule? The Gators are coming to town now and that makes things more interesting. A trip to CoMo isn’t a walk in the park either. Everything after the bye week would be a hell of a lot of fun.
AUBURN:
9/26: @Mississippi State
10/3: LSU
10/10: Texas A&M
10/17: @Ole Miss
10/24: @South Carolina
10/31: Kentucky
11/7: @Georgia
11/14: Bye
11/21: Missouri
11/28: Arkansas
12/5: @Alabama
Takeaways: Things are shaping up for Gus to save his job again. As funny as it is, Auburn ending the season with LSU and Bama back to back is just a headache for all involved. Their new games are at South Carolina and home against Mizzou, not too daunting. Their three real tough games are all pretty spaced out. I’d be all for this if I was an Auburn fan.
MISSISSIPPI STATE
9/26: Auburn
10/3: Texas A&M
10/10: @LSU
10/17: Missouri
10/24: Arkansas
10/31: @Alabama
11/7: Bye
11/14: @Vanderbilt
11/21: Georgia
11/28: @Kentucky
12/5: @Ole Miss
Takeaways: During the entire four to five hours I work on this schedule I completely forgot Mike Leach is State’s coach now. This year has been too goddamn much.
As for the schedule, it isn’t great. The home games are mostly front-loaded. They’re only at home once over the last six weeks, and it’s against Georgia. It’s a good thing Leach isn’t at risk of being fired this year. Well, he is but that‘s because of his Twitter account.
ARKANSAS:
9/26: @Texas A&M
10/3: Tennessee
10/10: @Georgia
10/17: Alabama
10/24: @Mississippi State
10/31: Bye
11/7: South Carolina
11/14: Ole Miss
11/21: LSU
11/28: @Auburn
12/5: @Missouri (in Kansas City)
Takeaways: Weird schedule, and they WERE gonna go to Notre Dame also! What’s going on here?
GEORGIA:
9/26: @Alabama
10/3: @Missouri
10/10: Arkansas
10/17: @South Carolina
10/24: Bye
10/31: Vanderbilt
11/7: Auburn
11/14: @Kentucky
11/21: @Miss State
11/28: Tennessee
12/5: Florida (in Jacksonville)
Takeaways: Georgia gets a tough break with only one home game in the first five weeks... but it’s the SEC East. How hard can it be? Tennessee and Florida in the last two weeks is the kind of epic finish we deserve to see after years of watching the Dawgs blow out Kentucky and Georgia Tech every November.
FLORIDA:
9/26: @Tennessee
10/3: Kentucky
10/10: South Carolina
10/17: LSU
10/24: @Vanderbilt
10/31: @Ole Miss
11/7: Missouri
11/14: @Texas A&M
11/21: Bye
11/28: Alabama
12/5: @Georgia (in Jacksonville)
Takeaways: They BETTER be thankful for that late bye week! This is one of the most fun schedules we’ve ever seen from a good SEC East team. This would be super fun to watch.
TENNESSEE:
9/26: Florida
10/3: @Arkansas
10/10: Ole Miss
10/17: Bye
10/24: Alabama
10/31: @LSU
11/7: Kentucky
11/14: Missouri
11/21: @South Carolina
11/28: @Georgia
12/5: @Vanderbilt
Takeaways: So yeah, I doubt the SEC would make a team play three straight road games to end the season, but if there are no fans are road games so bad? The Vols better hope there can be fans at the Vandy game because it’ll probably turn into a Tennessee home game.
KENTUCKY:
9/26: Vanderbilt
10/3: @Florida
10/10: @Missouri
10/17: Bye
10/24: LSU
10/31: @Auburn
11/7: @Tennessee
11/14: Georgia
11/21: @Ole Miss
11/28: Mississippi State
12/5: South Carolina
Takeaway: Getting LSU and Auburn from the cross-division is pretty brutal. Man, I’m gonna miss Lynn Bowden Jr.
VANDERBILT:
9/26: @Kentucky
10/3: South Carolina
10/10: @Alabama
10/17: @Texas A&M
10/24: Florida
10/31: @Georgia
11/7: Ole Miss
11/14: Mississippi State
11/21: Bye
11/28: @Missouri
12/5: Tennessee
Takeaways: I was about to mention that Vandy just can’t catch a break with this schedule, but I don’t know what a break would be for Vandy.
SOUTH CAROLINA:
9/26: Missouri
10/3: @Vanderbilt
10/10: @Florida
10/17: Georgia
10/24: Auburn
10/31: Texas A&M
11/7: @Arkansas
11/14: Bye
11/21: Tennessee
11/28: @LSU
12/5: @Kentucky
Takeaways: They got Clemson off the schedule! Now they only have to play... the only team that was better than Clemson last season. *angry Muschamp noises*
MISSOURI:
9/26: @South Carolina
10/3: Georgia
10/10: Kentucky
10/17: @Mississippi State
10/24: Texas A&M
10/31: Bye
11/7 @Florida
11/14: @Tennessee
11/21: @Auburn
11/28: Vanderbilt
12/5: Arkansas (in Kansas City)
Takeaways: Now that Missouri is only playing SEC games it’ll be easier for their coach to remember the conference he’s in.
Elijah Drinkwitz straight up told Mizzou fans his goal is to win the Sun Belt and then apologized.
— RJ Young (@RJ_Young) December 10, 2019
Nah, bruh. You got it.
Mizzou’s goal ought to be to win the Sun Belt.pic.twitter.com/JDn90zrSXN
So there’s the schedule! Making this was fun, but hard as hell. It always looked like I was just about to get it, then I realized Kentucky had four straight road games, or Ole Miss had two games on the same day.
Let me know in the comments what games or dates you would like to see change, or what ideas you really like.
Also as a reminder, LSU has won its most recent matchup with all 13 other SEC teams. Do not forget that, whatever you do.