SEC Out of Conference Schedule is Plenty Tough in 2013
The SEC is the best conference in college football. No rational person can make an argument that it isn’t. With that comes some jealousy from the other leagues. One of the barbs that fans from other conferences like to hurl at the SEC is that nobody from the SEC will schedule a tough out-of-conference game, especially not a road one. To those fans, the schools from the SEC would like to say to you, “oh, really?” We already know that claim is bogus any year what with the Florida State Seminoles appearing annually on the Florida Gators schedule, the Clemson Tigers appearing every year on the South Carolina Gamecocks schedule, the Louisville Cardinals facing the Kentucky Wildcats and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are always on the Georgia Bulldogs schedule. Every other year, those games are road games.
But let’s use 2013 for an example at some of the other tough opponents the SEC teams will face and where, shall we?
On the first night of the new season, on August 29th, the North Carolina Tar Heels will be at South Carolina. That qualifies as a tough out of conference opponent. Then on Saturday, the 31st, the Mississippi State Bulldogs will go on the road to play the Oklahoma State Cowboys. That certainly qualifies as a tough out-of-conference road game doesn’t it? The Alabama Crimson Tide will face the Virginia Tech Hokies at a neutral site at the Georgia Dome. That is a tough opponent.
Three other SEC teams will take on teams that went to bowl games last season when the Toledo Rockets visit Florida, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (coached by former SEC great Bobby Petrino) visit the Wildcats and the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns visit the Arkansas Razorbacks. Ask Florida whether or not the Cajuns are tough. Then there are perhaps the two toughest of the week when the Georgia Bulldogs go on the road to face the Clemson Tigers and the LSU Tigers go to Cowboys Stadium to face the TCU Horned Frogs. That’s is two very tough away games for the SEC. That’s just the first week.
In week two, the Gators will visit the Miami Hurricanes (another tough road game), Western Kentucky will play the Tennessee Volunteers and the Arkansas State Red Wolves, winners of a bowl a year ago, visit the Auburn Tigers. Those sound like some tough opponents.
In week three, the Volunteers will travel to face the Oregon Ducks. It gets no tougher than that, especially on the road. Also that week, the Ole Miss Rebels will visit the Texas Longhorns.
Some of you will scoff and say that many of these games are mismatches. Well, that just further makes the point that the SEC is the best conference in college football. It is not the SEC’s fault when Alabama wallops the Michigan Wolverines like they did last year. It’s not the SEC’s fault that Tennessee pounded the N. C. State Wolfpack or that the Bulldogs beat Georgia Tech, Florida whipped FSU and Carolina thumped Clemson all at the same time. And it’s not like the SEC wins them all. Remember Louisiana Monroe over Arkansas?
At the end of the day, don’t make excuses. The SEC whips your favorite schools from your favorite conference, so just tip your hat to them. If you can’t take it anymore, then step up and beat them. But don’t whine that these guys won’t play anybody. That just isn’t true.
