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Part of playing in the SEC is making it through the schedule. Every championship-caliber team has key stretches that will make or break their season.
Let’s break down those stretches in the SEC East.
Florida
- Nov. 1 – vs. Georgia
- Nov. 8 – at Vanderbilt
- Nov. 15 – vs. South Carolina
Buzz: Florida has a difficult road to the end of the season. A must-win rivalry game in Jacksonville against the Bulldogs, a trip to Nashville to face the Commodores and finally a date with Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks. Oh, and the Gators go to Tallahassee to face defending champion Florida State. November will be critical to Will Muschamp’s future in Gainesville.
Georgia
- Aug. 30 – vs. Clemson
- Sept. 13 – at South Carolina
- Sept. 20 – vs. Troy
Buzz: Georgia’s season will be shaped in the first four weeks. The ‘Dawgs open with a top-20 matchup against Clemson, whom they lost to last year. After a bye week, a trip to Williams-Brice Stadium looms, in a showdown of SEC East favorites. Should Georgia come out of that 2-0, a tough non-conference opponent in Troy arrives in Athens, looking to spoil Georgia’s hopes.
Kentucky
- Oct. 18 – at LSU
- Oct. 25 – vs. Mississippi State
- Nov. 1 – at Missouri
Buzz: It’s year two under Mark Stoops in Lexington, and with Big Blue Nation hoping for improvement, the schedule might dictate otherwise. A home contest against Mississippi State sandwiched by trips to Baton Rouge and Missouri mark a tough mid-October through early November for the Wildcats.
Missouri
- Sept. 27 – at South Carolina
- Oct. 11 – vs. Georgia
- Oct. 18 – at Florida
Buzz: Three consecutive division games for the Tigers will very easily hurt or help their chances of repeating as Eastern Division champs. The Tigers need to win two of these three games if they hope to make it back to Atlanta.
South Carolina
- Oct. 25 – at Auburn
- Nov. 1 – vs. Tennessee
- Nov. 15 – at Florida
Buzz: A tough late-season stretch for the Gamecocks will be key in their hopes to capture that elusive SEC championship. A trip to Jordan-Hare to take on Auburn, who still feels they have a lot to prove, followed by a revenge game against Tennessee after the Vols beat Carolina on a last-second field goal last season. South Carolina wraps up this stretch with a trip to Gainesville to take on the Gators in a potential upset game for Steve Spurrier’s team.
Tennessee
- Oct. 18 – at Ole Miss
- Oct. 25 – vs. Alabama
- Nov. 1 – at South Carolina
Buzz: This is the toughest stretch in the East, and one in which the Vols will be lucky to steal a game. A win, perhaps even two, during this stretch could shake things up in the East, but also give Tennessee good momentum heading into their final three games of the season against Kentucky, Missouri and Vandy.
Vanderbilt
- Sept. 20 – vs. South Carolina
- Sept. 27 – at Kentucky
- Oct. 4 – at Georgia
Buzz: After this early three-game stretch for the Commodores, we’ll know a lot about Derek Mason’s team. Kentucky should prove to not be an issue, but matchups against South Carolina and Georgia will be pivotal for Vandy’s standing in the East. A couple of upsets could really shake things up in the division early in the season.
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
