Cook: Which team has toughest non-conference schedule
The biggest criticism of the Southeastern Conference has always been about how the conference seldom strays north of the Mason-Dixon line or west of the Mississippi River for non-conference games.
It is not totally true, of course, but it is the perception the nation chooses to have about the SEC. Of course that overlooks when the SEC manages big victories in bowl games or–and this is particularly galling to the rest of the nation–the BCS national championship games.
So just what teams in the SEC will do their best to try and shatter that perception this season? Today let’s look at the non-conference schedules of the conference teams.
Alabama will travel to State College, Pennsylvania to meet Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten. The rest of the non-conference slate for the Crimson Tide is not overly impressive. The Tide will play Kent State, North Texas and Georgia Southern. Kent State and North Texas were a combined 8-16 last season, but Georgia Southern was 10-5, although playing on the FCS level. Alabama’s four non-SEC teams were 25-27 last season.
Arkansas will take on Missouri State, New Mexico, Troy and Texas A&M. The Aggies, from the Big 12, were 9-4 last season while New Mexico was one of the worst FBS teams in the country with a 1-11 mark. Missouri State and Troy were a combined 13-11 in 2010, giving Arkansas a respectable non-conference schedule. The four teams were 33-26 in 2010.
Auburn will play Utah State, Clemson, Florida Atlantic and Samford, teams that went 18-30 last season. The headliner on this schedule is Clemson, an ACC team Auburn beat 27-24 in overtime last season.
Florida annually plays Florida State from the ACC, but the rest of its non-conference schedule is not impressive-Florida Atlantic, UAB and Furman. The record for their non-conference opponents last season was 23-26, and 10-4 of that was from FSU.
Georgia has a tough non-conference opener in 12-1 Boise State, but Coastal Carolina, New Mexico State and Georgia Tech were 14-23. That makes Georgia facing a 26-24 record out from its non-conference opponents this season.
Kentucky’s four non-conference foes were 21-28 last year. Western Kentucky, Central Michigan, Louisville and Jacksonville State is not an overly impressive schedule.
LSU has never been afraid to play top teams from other conferences as evidenced by the Tigers’ opening with Oregon, which was 12-1 last year, losing only to Auburn in the BCS National Championship Game. The rest of the Tigers’ non-conference schedule is Northwestern State, West Virginia and Western Kentucky, a combined 16-20. That gives LSU a 28-21 record from its four non-conference foes.
Ole Miss will play BYU, Southern Illinois, Fresno State and Louisiana Tech this fall, four teams that combined to go 25-24 last year.
Mississippi State opens with a very weak Memphis team, which went 1-11 last year. The Bulldogs also play Louisiana Tech, UAB and Tennessee-Martin, three teams that went 15-20. That gives Mississippi State’s opponents a lackluster 16-31 record.
South Carolina faces a slate of East Carolina, Navy, The Citadel and Clemson, four teams that were a combined 24-26 last season.
Tennessee, another team that has developed a reputation for never shrinking from big non-conference opponents, this year has a disappointing schedule. The Vols will play Montana, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Middle Tennessee State, four teams that went 19-29 last season.
Vanderbilt will play Elon, Connecticut, Army and Wake Forest this season. Those four teams were 24-25 last season. Let’s be honest here, Vanderbilt doesn’t have the luxury of playing teams against which it has a clear-cut talent advantage in the SEC or out of it. The Commodores will face nine teams that ended last season in a bowl game.
There are some marquee games on the SEC’s slate this year that the conference needs to win. If Alabama can beat Penn State, Georgia can knock off Boise State, Ole Miss can down BYU, LSU can win its opener against Oregon, Arkansas can beat Texas A&M, Auburn and South Carolina can beat Clemson, and Florida can beat FSU, it would give the conference a clean sweep.
It would be nice to think so, but realistically it will not happen. Those are the games by which the conference will be measured this season. Those and, of course, the BCS National Championship Game.
