Front Porch FootballMeeting Their Match
By: Ruben Conyers Jr.
A lot of teams are looking to make a statement during their 2019 campaign of good ole’ SEC football. While we all know how much each team wants to make an impact this season, we must be realistic and keep things in the proper perspective as well. With teams like Georgia and Alabama planning on making a strong run for a national championship this year, most teams understand that they’re a recruiting class or two away from making that push for a national title. Nevertheless, every team should go into the season looking at the win-loss record, everybody starts 0-0 (especially in their respective conferences). Every day is an opportunity to get better and each team in the SEC will have their work cut out for them this year because schedules are a bit more challenging than usual.
There are many teams that have the eligibility to compete in a bowl game based mainly on projected win totals during the preseason. For those teams, home games against opponents that are considered comparable to them are must-win games to maintain bowl eligibility. Everybody should know the victories over a top 25 team come rare for a team that is outside the top 25 team in college football.
That being said, here are my picks for the most important games for every SEC team during the 2019 college football season and why:
Alabama Crimson Tide – Auburn
We can all pretty much punch a ticket for the Alabama Crimson Tide for the College Football Playoffs mainly due to their amazing run last year. Alabama is a team that always seems to exceed expectations when competing, and it makes them one of the most exciting teams to watch – especially with how many points they’re capable of putting on the scoreboard on a good day when everyone’s healthy. It would be a huge disappointment for Alabama to not make the final four if they lose more than two games this fall.
Under head coach Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide have not lost three games since the 2010 season. With Auburn being both an in-state rival and SEC rival, this should be fun to watch. Alabama is one of those teams in college football that is favored to win almost any contest by double-digits. But the battle at Jordan-Hare could be quite the treat for college football fans in the state of Alabama.
Arkansas Razorbacks – Kentucky
Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Chad Morris is trying to maneuver his way through a rebuilding situation in Fayetteville, AR. If Arkansas can start out conference play by beating Ole Miss in the second game of the season, they’ll be starting off conference play on the right foot. However, it’s crucial that they take whatever result from that first SEC game and use it to get better. They’re still going to be a team that’s slept on until they can win on a consistent basis. The Razorbacks have a bye week to prepare for a showdown against the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, KY. Let’s put this case scenario in perspective, if the Razorbacks were to go 4-1 in their first 5 games plus a win in Lexington against the Wildcats, they will only need one more victory to become bowl eligible.
Auburn Tigers – Texas A&M
With Auburn having a more difficult season than usual, the predictions now on the Tigers’ season are based off this game against Texas A&M in College Station, TX – which is the SEC Opener for the Auburn Tigers. Auburn’s week one game on the schedule is at home against the Oregon Ducks. Even if Auburn were to get a victory in that game, head coach Gus Malzahn will still feel that chip on his shoulder. If the Tigers fall to the Aggies in the conference opener he will have no other choice but to play from behind in the race for the West the entire way. So, in order to have success, the Tigers MUST come out on top against the Aggies to have an opportunity to become a serious contender in the SEC West.
Florida Gators – Georgia
We all remember when Florida had double-digit wins on the season, but missed out on an appearance in Atlanta, GA for an opportunity at the SEC Championship thanks to a loss to Georgia. Florida fans weren’t very pleased by that and might be even more displeased if there is a repeat of this same situation. No doubt Georgia and Florida are the two best teams in the SEC East this upcoming season based on the strength of each team’s roster. Both teams are expected to be in the top 10 when these two will face off in Jacksonville, FL on November 2nd. Florida’s head coach Dan Mullen has provided plenty of bulletin board fodder for Georgia this offseason. But Georgia’s Kirby Smart isn’t really buying into it. Both teams seem confident in their rosters and this game will probably be one that goes down to the wire and be one for the books.
Georgia Bulldogs – Florida
Now I already know most people would probably say how Auburn is the most important matchup for Georgia this season. Which isn’t a bad choice at all, but it goes deeper than what we usually think. Of course, we look at Georgia’s loss to Auburn two years ago and think of how each team has grown since then. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs still won the SEC East, took the SEC Championship, and still reached the national title game where they fell short to Alabama in overtime. Georgia has beaten Florida back-to-back years during Kirby Smart’s campaign as head coach. Obviously, we’re all aware of Florida winning double-digit games last season and are looking to build on that by appearing in the SEC Championship. This game on November 2nd could easily decide who wins the East.
Kentucky Wildcats – Tennessee
The Wildcats have way more than their fair share of home games this upcoming season with a total of eight. So, this should be a major factor that should contribute to numerous wins this season since they’ll be at home most of the time, and they have their home crowd supporting them every step of the way. I believe that head coach Mark Stoops is looking to take the next step as to being contenders in the SEC after years of being picked to have a winning percentage of .500 or less. Although the Wildcats finished last season tied for second in the SEC East they still aren’t given the proper respect they think they deserve. Throughout history when these two teams met the Tennessee Volunteers have dominated the Wildcats, but Kentucky has been successful two of the last four times these teams have met in Lexington and this may be a game they must win in order to contend for a bowl game.
LSU Tigers – Florida
LSU must play Florida midseason, and a loss to Florida could disqualify them from winning the SEC West. LSU is another one of those teams with an extremely tough schedule, but when you face odds like this you just have to take the cards your dealt with until the dealer gives you a whole new set of cards. Their tough schedule consists of Mississippi State, Auburn, Texas A&M, and Alabama. Now of course anybody else would say that the Crimson Tide is the most crucial matchup for LSU. For example, if LSU loses its home conference opener against Vanderbilt then the game against Alabama will have lost its significance. Because if they lose the conference opener, compared with the other tough teams they face, they might not even have a shot to even compete for the SEC West. LSU and Florida have a history brewing as one of the best cross-division rivalries in the SEC. The last 5 times these two teams met, the outcomes were decided by 8 points or less.
Mississippi State Bulldogs – Tennessee
When it comes to rankings in the SEC West, the margin of error is slim to none if you want to be one of the teams contending for a conference championship. Every team has this goal in the preseason. Mississippi State’s schedule is another tough one because they face several teams where the outcomes could be in anyone’s favor. Let’s make a case scenario that the Bulldogs are 4-1 when they come to Knoxville to face the Tennessee Volunteers, this is an absolute must-win situation to keep a steady pace into the race for the division. Nevertheless, they must be on the lookout for teams such as Alabama and LSU.
Ole Miss Rebels – Memphis
It’s very simple why I have Memphis as the most important team for the Rebels this season. Memphis is the very first game on Ole Miss’s schedule this year and while we all know one game doesn’t always determine the outcome of an entire season, a win against Memphis will do the Ole Miss Rebels some justice being a team that hasn’t made much noise in recent years. Memphis is a solid and well-run team coached by Mike Norvell and should be able to challenge UCF for the AAC title. Ole Miss getting a win against Memphis should serve as a motivating factor and give the Rebels some momentum as the season progresses.
Missouri Tigers – South Carolina
Based on how their schedule looks, most people predict the Missouri Tigers to win at least 9 games during the 2019 college football campaign. The Tigers are leaving Missouri twice during the month of October to face off against division rivals Vanderbilt and Kentucky back-to-back. They probably won’t play a nationally ranked team until they face Georgia on November 9th, which doesn’t happen too often in the SEC. When the South Carolina Gamecocks come to Columbia, MO on September 21st it should be a very eye-opening matchup. With South Carolina winning the last 5 out of 7 meetings these two teams had since Mizzou joined the SEC East. This is a must win for the Tigers if they want to shake up the media somewhat because of South Carolina beating them the last 3 years in a row.
South Carolina Gamecocks – Kentucky
If the Gamecocks lose to Kentucky again this year, it’ll make six years in a row. Which should tell you that the program is probably not heading in the right direction. South Carolina is one of the top recruiting schools in the SEC thanks to head coach Will Muschamp. Fun fact, Will Muschamp currently has more wins than any other head coach during his first three years at South Carolina. The 2020 recruiting class looks good on paper, but for the program to make tremendous strides and be the program I know that they can be, they must beat the teams that they feel like they are better than in the SEC, and Kentucky is one of them. Not to mention that the Wildcats did win 10 games last season.
Tennessee Volunteers – Mississippi State
Not a lot of people will think that this matchup is very important. But matching up against a conference rival from the opposing division could be the difference maker for the Vols this upcoming season. Most people pick Tennessee to win at least seven games this year which sounds about right, not too high and not too low. However, the Vols have a legitimate opportunity to possibly make it eight wins against the Bulldogs. The Vols are expected to start off the season 3-0, then fall to 3-3 when they start facing off against SEC teams. If this just so happens to be the case, then September for the Vols will crush everything that they hope for in the future. The Bulldogs and the Vols seem to match up well, so I look forward to seeing how this one plays out in the end.
Texas A&M Aggies – Auburn
No doubt this is a game that almost everyone expects the Aggies to win, but if the opposite happens that it could throw some forks in the road for what Texas A&M plans on doing this season. Texas A&M is one of only two teams in all of college football who will face up against the top three teams in the nation (Clemson, Alabama, Georgia). Head coach Jimbo Fisher must find a way to make some changes after the Aggies fell short of everyone’s expectations last season. This game against Auburn is sure to be an exciting one to watch.
Vanderbilt Commodores – Ole Miss
Based on how Vandy’s schedule is looking, it is expected that they start out the season 2-2 because they’re facing some SEC teams right out the gate to begin the season. On October 5th, the Commodores will travel to Oxford, MS for their third SEC game and fifth overall of the season. Because of the balance of both teams, this is one that oddsmakers will have a tough time predicting. While neither of these teams are expected to make it to a bowl game, this game is a perfect opportunity for the Commodores and Rebels to showcase their skills and could be a small portion of what’s to come from these two teams in the future.
Ruben Conyers Jr. is a senior at University of South Carolina, and he plans to graduate in December with a BA in Political Science with a minor in Art Studio. He is working on following his passion of talking about sports, and hopes to travel as a sports writer for the NFL or NBA one day.
