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SEC country is packed with FBS football programs. Whereas out West, often there are not five other programs within 500 miles (see: Wyoming), schools in the South and Midwest nearly can heave a football and hit several other teams.
Still, there’s a big disparity between SEC programs.
There are five FBS schools within 125 miles of College Station, Texas, while there are barely five FBS schools within 300 miles of Florida.
Some in-state rivals aren’t as close as other SEC teams. For example, Alabama and Mississippi State are closer than Alabama-Auburn or Mississippi State-Ole Miss.
Calculated via Google Maps, based on the driving distances between college cities, here are the five closest FBS football programs to every SEC school.
ALABAMA
Mississippi State: 85 miles
Troy: 151 miles
Auburn: 159 miles
Ole Miss: 166 miles
Southern Miss: 180 miles
ARKANSAS
Tulsa: 113 miles
Oklahoma State: 183 miles
Oklahoma: 243 miles
Kansas: 264 miles
Arkansas State: 288 miles
AUBURN
Troy: 85 miles
Georgia Tech: 108 miles
Georgia State: 108 miles
Alabama: 159 miles
Georgia: 180 miles
GEORGIA
Georgia Tech: 72 miles
Georgia State: 72 miles
Clemson: 73 miles
Georgia Southern: 162 miles
South Carolina: 163 miles
FLORIDA
UCF: 112 miles
USF: 130 miles
Florida State: 150 miles
Georgia Southern: 243 miles
Florida Atlantic: 294 miles
KENTUCKY
Louisville: 78 miles
Cincinnati: 83 miles
Miami (Ohio): 115 miles
Marshall: 126 miles
Western Kentucky: 155 miles
LSU
Louisiana-Lafayette: 60 miles
Tulane: 80 miles
Southern Miss: 167 miles
Louisiana-Monroe: 187 miles
South Alabama: 199 miles
MISSISSIPPI STATE
Alabama: 85 miles
Ole Miss: 95 miles
Southern Miss: 181 miles
Memphis: 182 miles
South Alabama: 226 miles
MISSOURI
Kansas: 165 miles
Iowa: 245 miles
Kansas State: 245 miles
Illinois: 269 miles
Iowa State: 275 miles
OLE MISS
Memphis: 85 miles
Mississippi State: 95 miles
Arkansas State: 154 miles
Alabama: 167 miles
Southern Miss: 249 miles
SOUTH CAROLINA
Clemson: 132 miles
Georgia Southern: 154
Georgia: 163 miles
Wake Forest: 170 miles
Appalachian State: 186 miles
TENNESSEE
Appalachian State: 160 miles
Kentucky: 170 miles
Vanderbilt: 180 miles
Middle Tennessee State: 181 miles
Clemson: 194 miles
TEXAS A&M
Baylor: 92 miles
Houston: 96 miles
Rice: 96 miles
Texas: 107 miles
Texas State: 121 miles
VANDERBILT
Middle Tennessee State: 39 miles
Western Kentucky: 66 miles
Louisville: 175 miles
Tennessee: 180 miles
Memphis: 212 miles
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
