The SEC released its 2020 football schedule Monday night, which is good news in and of itself.
However, not all 14 of the SEC schemes are equal. Some teams got a relatively easy road, while some got honest on the track.
As a remake, here’s the full scheme in fancy helmet logo form (via Nicholas Carr of SB Nation):
With the caveat that all SEC schemes are inherently difficult, here are the 2020 versions, ranging from most-to-least-difficult:
14. Arkansas: From the moment we found out the SEC went to a 10-game, conference-only schedule, we had a feeling the Razorbacks could go 0-10. And then we saw the scheme. Arkansas opens with Georgia and closes with Alabama (though both at home). The Hogs also have Florida and LSU back-to-back in November. Least of all they do not play Vandy.
13. Missouri: The Tigers have a first five weeks about as rough as you can imagine, though at least they get Vanderbilt in week 4. Problems are that that game is packed between road games with LSU and Florida. And Mizzou also opens with Alabama and then travels to Tennessee. At least Georgia and Kentucky visit Columbia and the final two-game draw between Arkansas and Mississippi State is winable.
12. South Carolina: The opening vs. Tennessee is so close to a toss-up and we’ll see in what looks like a wasteful Week 1, but if the Gamecocks lose that one, they will almost certainly die at 1-4. Week 3 vs. Vandy looks like a win, but you can not say the same about road games in Florida (week 2), Auburn (week 4) and LSU (week 5). Things brighten up a bit towards the end, but it may be too late then.
11. Vanderbilt: Like in Arkansas, we thought the Commodores would be hard pressed to win a game even before we saw the full schedule. Vandy opens at Texas A&M and then hosts LSU, which is an almost guaranteed 0-2. However, the next two games are their best shots at wins, South Carolina at Nashville and at Missouri. However, the closing stretch of Florida, Tennessee and near Georgia is the capital of BR-utal.
10. Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin’s Rebels will likely play three of the top five teams in the SEC in the first five weeks of the season, hosting Florida in Week 1 and Alabama in Week 3 and traveling to Auburn in Week 5. The season ends at LSU will not be a picnic either. At least the Egg Bowl is in Oxford.
9. Texas A&M: After playing Vanderbilt on Schedule 1 in Week 1, the Aggies turn around and travel to Alabama, Florida and Mississippi State for the next three weeks. The middle of the schedule is relatively soft, but ending up with LSU and Auburn will not be easy. Will A&M fans be able to score a 6-4 or 7-3 mark this year?
8. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs try to install a new offense without having spring practice, which is difficult enough. And they open with defending national champion LSU in Baton Rouge, followed by two more road games at Arkansas and Kentucky. State also plays for Alabama and Georgia, as does arch-rival Ole Miss.
7. Tennessee: The Volunteers have a very good shot at being 2-0 with South Carolina and Missouri out of the gate, but then things get tricky, with Georgia and Alabama in two of the next three weeks. In November, they play Texas A&M and Auburn from the West and end the season at home against Florida. At least they get Arkansas and Vanderbilt as well.
6. Kentucky: The Wildcats will be a major underdog at Auburn in Week 1, but should be on a fairly even footing with four of their next five opponents – Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Missouri (Kentucky hosts Georgia in between the last two). Back-to-back at Alabama and Florida in November, however, is rough.
5. LSU: The defending national champions have two of the most expensive road trips in the SEC this year, playing at Florida and Auburn. Alabama, however, is home. And the Tigers open with three straight games (Mississippi State, in Vanderbilt, Missouri) in which they will be double-digit favorites, for the trip to Gainesville.
4. Georgia: The Bulldogs get a real lineup in Week 1 in Arkansas, but things get serious with Auburn coming to Athens in Week 2. Then comes Tennessee and Alabama, so you can certainly not say that Georgia will have many emotional letdowns the rest of the way. Once they pass the neutral side (but not really game) vs. Florida in Jacksonville on Nov. 7, the Bulldogs can coast the rest of the way with Missouri, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt to end the year. The Jacksonville game also means that by 2020 Georgia will have only four real home games.
3. Auburn: The bad news is that Auburn is one of the few teams in the SEC that has not played back-to-back home games at any point. The good news is that the Tigers’ most expensive games – at Georgia in Week 2, vs. LSU in Week 6 and at Alabama in Week 10 – pretty well distributed. The danger is that Tennessee will end up in week 9 and / or Texas A&M in week 11 as “trap” games.
2. Alabama: Get your conspiracy theories ready – the Crimson Tide is one of only two SEC teams not playing back-to-back games this season. Alabama also gets a byke week for LSU (as LSU also does for Alabama). The hardest stretch is probably Georgia and Tennessee back-to-back in October. And it’s worth noting that Alabama’s scheme is by definition easier than some, simply because it does not have “Alabama”.
1. Florida: The Gators have a Charmin-soft schedule, with five true home games plus a neutral (but not really neutral) side game with Georgia. Florida does not play Alabama or Auburn, with its most expensive road trip after all to Texas A&M. After the Georgia game, the Gators end up with Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Tennessee. The latter two would be competitive, but the Gators completely avoid the SEC West heavy hitters, or get them out of the way early.
