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Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Breaking down the SEC East schedule
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The SEC football schedule for 2008 is finally complete. For the next two days I’m going to break it down and rank each division 1-6 in terms of difficulty.
Here are a few points on how I rank schedules.
In the SEC I first look at the non-conference schedule and whether or not a team is playing at least one BCS opponent outside the league. A team gets more credit for playing a non-conference BCS team on the road.
Then I look at the SEC road schedule. Who you have to play on the road in this league is huge.
Then I look at the three teams a school is playing (or not playing) in the other division. That is usually the tiebreaker if two schools are close.
Here’s the SEC East. On Thursday we’ll do the SEC West. If you disagree with the rankings, please let me know why.
SEC EAST
1. GEORGIA
Non-conference: Georgia Southern, Central Michigan, at Arizona State, Georgia Tech.
SEC Home: Alabama, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida (Jacksonville).
SEC Road: South Carolina, LSU, Kentucky, Auburn.
SEC West: Alabama, Auburn, LSU.
DNP: Arkansas, Ole Miss, Miss. State.
Comment: Georgia is the only team in the SEC that faces all five coaches in the league who have won national championships. Georgia also faces what should be the three best teams in the SEC West, and plays at LSU (Oct. 25) and Florida in Jacksonville (Nov. 1) on consecutive weeks. Georgia also plays two BCS non-conference games, one on the road (at Arizona State, Sept. 20). This could be the toughest schedule in the country.
2. FLORIDA
Non-conference: Hawaii, Miami, The Citadel, at Florida State.
SEC Home: Ole Miss, LSU, Kentucky, South Carolina.
SEC Road: Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia (Jacksonville), Vanderbilt.
SEC West: Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas.
DNP: Alabama, Auburn, Miss. State.
Comment: Non-conference games with Miami and Florida State (at Tallahassee) are a big plus. The Gators also go on the road to Tennessee and Arkansas. Florida caught a break in the SEC West because it plays neither Alabama nor Auburn.
3. TENNESSEE
Non-conference: at UCLA, UAB, Northern Illinois, Wyoming.
SEC Home: Florida, Miss. State, Alabama, Kentucky.
SEC Road: Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt.
SEC West: Alabama, Auburn, Miss. State.
DNP: Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss.
Comment: Tennessee gets credit for going to UCLA, marking the second straight year the Vols have opened on the West Coast. Tennessee gets Florida and Alabama at home, but must go to Auburn, Georgia, and South Carolina. That road schedule gives Tennessee the edge over South Carolina.
4. SOUTH CAROLINA
Non-conference: N.C. State, Wofford, UAB, at Clemson.
SEC Home: Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas.
SEC Road: Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Florida.
SEC West: Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss.
DNP: Alabama, Auburn, Miss. State.
Comment: The Gamecocks play two non-conference games against BCS teams (N.C. State, Clemson) and have a pretty strong SEC home schedule (Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas). South Carolina plays Georgia at home on Sept. 13 but then does not play another SEC home game until LSU on Oct. 18.
5. KENTUCKY
Non-conference: at Louisville, Norfolk State, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky.
SEC Home: South Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia, Vanderbilt.
SEC Road: Alabama, Florida, Miss. State, Tennessee.
SEC West: Alabama, Arkansas, Miss. State
DNP: Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss.
Comment: In a virtual tie with South Carolina because of a very difficult SEC road schedule. The non-conference schedule is not as strong because Louisville is down.
6. VANDERBILT
Non-conference: at Miami (Ohio), Rice, Duke, at Wake Forest.
SEC Home: South Carolina, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee.
SEC Road: Ole Miss, Miss. State, Georgia, Kentucky.
SEC West: Auburn, Ole Miss, Miss. State.
DNP: Alabama, Arkansas, LSU.
Comment: Very strong home SEC schedule with road trips to Georgia, Kentucky, and Wake Forest.
