SEC East: 5 best wins in past decade and possible 2016 big wins

All wins may be good wins, but all wins are not created equal. Over the past decade, even the lower-tier SEC schools have enjoyed some truly memorable wins. We take a quick look back at five big wins for each SEC East school from the past decade, and ponder which 2016 games could be equally memorable wins for the respective schools.

Florida

2006 vs. Ohio State: Thumping the Buckeyes for the BCS title, 41-14, is about as big-time as wins get.

2008 vs. Alabama: The No. 2 Gators beat the top-ranked Tide 31-20 for the SEC title. In retrospect, the BCS might as well have scheduled a rematch for the national title.

2008 vs. Oklahoma: Every time Bob Stoops starts talking about the SEC being overrated, somebody should remind him about Tim Tebow and UF and the Gators’ 24-14 victory over the Sooners for the BCS title.

2012 vs. Florida State: Florida’s 37-26 win set them up in the Sugar Bowl.

2015 v. Ole Miss: The Gators’ surprising 38-10 upset of the No. 3 Rebels helped spring them to the SEC East title in 2015.

2016 possibilities: Jim McElwain’s path to defending his SEC East title runs through Knoxville on Sept. 24. If Florida can hold off the Vols for the 12th time in a row, the World’s Largest Cocktail Party will likely decide the division. Both games are huge, as is the regular season’s last game at Florida State.

Georgia

2007 vs. Florida: It was a big win over No. 9 Florida, but it was even bigger because Mark Richt had the entire Georgia team mob the field and celebrate after the first score of the game. UGA had its swagger rolling that day and picked up a 42-30 victory.

2007 vs. Hawaii: Not that a win over Hawaii was that big, but it was the Sugar Bowl and Georgia played Goliath to Hawaii’s David, except that unlike the Biblical version, the Dawgs slaughtered Hawaii by a 41-10 count.

2012 vs. Florida: The World’s Largest Cocktail Party is always a big deal, particularly when you take down an undefeated, No. 3 team in the country, as UGA did, 17-9.

2012 vs. Nebraska: It was a solid validation of Georgia’s season to thump the Huskers in the Capital One Bowl 45-31.

2013 vs. LSU: To date, it’s the most recent UGA game where two top 10 teams tangled. And Georgia won, 44-41.

2016 possibilities: UGA went 10-3 the past two years. If the Dawgs can beat Tennessee at home on Oct. 1, they could well be the 2016 SEC East champs. Florida is always also pivotal in the battle for the East.

Kentucky

2006 vs. Georgia: The 24-20 upset was UK’s first win over UGA since 1996, and paved the way for UK’s first bowl appearance in seven years.

2006 vs. Clemson: The Cats won the Music City Bowl 28-20 as a 10.5-point underdog, marking the school’s first bowl victory since 1984.

2007 vs. Louisville: Kentucky beat a top ten Louisville team 40-34, ending a four-year losing streak in that rivalry and starting a four-year winning streak in it.

2007 vs. LSU: Beating the No. 1 team (and eventual BCS champion) on national television was as big of a win as any in UK history, and this 43-37 triple overtime thriller is rarely forgotten in the Bluegrass.

2010 vs. South Carolina: A comeback from a 28-10 deficit to a 31-28 win ended Steve Spurrier’s 17-game winning streak over Kentucky, and sprung UK for its fifth consecutive bowl appearance — and its last one to date.

2016 possibilities: Frankly, any victory that gets UK to six wins and back to a bowl would be a huge victory. With home games against Vandy and South Carolina looming, the Oct. 22 home matchup against Mississippi State could be the springboard game. Obviously, a huge bonus would be a win over Florida (29 straight losses in series) or ending a five-game losing streak to Louisville.

Missouri

2007 vs. Kansas: The No. 3 Tigers beat the No. 2 Jayhawks, 36-28, to earn the top spot in the polls, heading into a rematch with Oklahoma for the Big 12 title game.

2010 vs. Oklahoma: Mizzou improved to 7-0 by beating the No. 3 Sooners 36-27.

2013 vs. Georgia: The Tigers were underdogs by a touchdown, but beat UGA 41-26 to begin their run to an SEC East title.

2013 vs. Texas A&M: Missouri bested Johnny Manziel 28-21 to wrap up a division title and deny the Heisman Trophy winner his own division title.

2014 vs. Arkansas: The 21-14 victory wasn’t particularly exciting, but Missouri wrapped up another East title by picking up its fifth SEC win as an underdog on the season. The Rodney Dangerfield Tigers were favored only against UK and Vandy, but they also knocked off South Carolina, Florida, Texas A&M, Tennessee and the Razorbacks.

2016 possibilities: New coach Barry Odom would like to reach bowl eligibility in ’16 after a tumultuous season last year. An early home game against Georgia could be the Tigers’ best chance to jump into the thick of another East title race.

South Carolina

2010 vs. Alabama: Spurrier hadn’t topped eight wins in his first five seasons at USC, but knocking off the top-ranked Tide (35-21) paved the way to a nine-win season and USC’s only appearance in the SEC Championship game.

2012 vs. Michigan: A dramatic 33-28 Outback Bowl win seemed to solidify Spurrier’s eternal reputation as some sort of magical QB whisperer. They’re still talking about Jadeveon Clowney’s helmet-launching hit on Vincent Smith.

2013 vs. Missouri: A double overtime 27-24 victory over the fifth-ranked Tigers was not only a big win for Carolina, but it was Missouri’s only SEC regular-season loss.

2013 vs. Clemson: A 31-17 win over the No. 6 Tigers was South Carolina’s fifth in a row in the series.

2014 vs. Miami: The Gamecocks overcame Miami, 24-21, to win in the Independence Bowl and end a downer of a season. The game is remarkable because it was USC’s fourth consecutive bowl win, and Spurrier’s final bowl game.

2016 possibilities: In the battle to get back to respectability for USC, any win is a big one. At Florida is undoubtedly circled on Will Muschamp’s calendar though. Likewise, for the Clemson game, as Carolina would love to regain control of the state.

Tennessee

2006 vs. Alabama: UT was a 10.5-point favorite and won 16-13. At the time, it wasn’t a shocking victory, but to date, it’s UT’s last victory over ‘Bama.

2007 vs. Kentucky: The Vols were a slight underdog despite a 23-year winning streak, and beat UK 52-50 in four overtimes to wrap up their last SEC East crown to date.

2013 vs. South Carolina: The 23-21 win was UT’s first over a ranked opponent since 2009, and it established Butch Jones’ bona fides as a coach to watch in the SEC.

2014 vs. South Carolina: Trailing 42-28 with 4:52 left, Tennessee rallied to a 45-42 overtime win, and on the basis of that win, reached a bowl game for the first time since 2010.

2015 vs. Georgia: The Volunteers fell behind 24-3, but came back to upset the Dawgs and set the stage for five consecutive wins to end the regular season.

2016 possibilities: UT is a prohibitive favorite to win the East, so games against Florida and at Georgia are big ones, Florida the more so for an 11-year losing streak. Of course, Alabama is always a huge opponent, and a win could spring UT into national title competition.

Vanderbilt

2008 vs. South Carolina: A 24-17 upset of No. 24 Gamecocks helped Vanderbilt jump to a 5-0 start and earn their first bowl bid in 26 years.

2008 vs. Boston College: Vandy’s first bowl win in 53 years was the high-water mark of the Bobby Johnson era, with a 16-14 victory.

2012 vs. Tennessee: Vanderbilt had one win in 30 years but steamrolled UT (41-18) to post a winning conference record.

2013 vs. Georgia: Vandy upset the No. 15 Bulldogs 31-27 in a rivalry that historically had been non-existent, but was white-hot under James Franklin.

2013 vs. Florida: The Commodores hadn’t won at Florida since 1945, but won 34-17 as a 10-point underdog.

2016 possibilities: With only seven wins in Derek Mason’s first two seasons, Vandy’s biggest upset so far was a win at Middle Tennessee in 2015. The home opener against South Carolina is nearly a must-win if the ‘Dores want to improve on their fortunes in 2016. Other SEC home games against Florida, Ole Miss, and Tennessee represent tough wins.

Joe Cox

Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.