SEC Schedules through 2019 at a Glance

ESPN's Chris Low published this list of future SEC non-conference opponents last week, but I missed it. It's visually a little misleading because you glance based on the length of the lists. That said, here are some initial thoughts:

• Florida has done virtually nothing with the 12th game. Since 1992, Georgia and Florida used the scheduling complexities surrounding the Cocktail Party + In State Non-conference Rivalries (GT and FSU) as an excuse to avoid additional non-conference games of note. When the 12 game schedule was implemented in an experimental and later permanent fashion, Georgia embraced it with current and future games against Clemson (2 series), Colorado, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Louisville and Oregon. Florida fans are getting one series with Miami and the games split between 2008 and 2013. Weak sauce.

• South Carolina's got a storng start on the 12 game schedule utilization by booking a series with both UNC and NC State. However, their announced OCC games other than Clemson look pretty weak starting in 2010.

• Kentucky's non-conference schedule is embarrassing. Aside from playing an imploding Louisville program, they have booked no one of note for the next decade. Their long standing series with Indiana isn't even on the books. I'm not suggesting that UK should start scheduling Ohio State, but what's wrong with booking Cincy when their campuses are only separated by 90 or so minutes? Heck, Memphis and Southern Miss would be an upgrade over Sun Belt teams and multiple Div I-AA squads like last year.

• Congrats to Ole Miss. After booking a series with both Missouri and Wake, they have games against Clemson, Texas and others on the books. Rumors out of Atlanta say that Ole Miss wants to cancel ttheir series with Tech. South of Oxford (both geographically and socioeconomically), you have Mississippi State who looks to be applying for conditional Conference USA membership with their slate of craptacular games.
  

• And as always no one has more sizzle in their non-conference schedule than Tennessee. They don't have the baggage of a yearly non-conference rivalry like UF, UGA, and SC so they have more flexibility. They leverage that flexibility nicely to book Oklahoma, Ohio State, Nebraska, etc type games on a regular basis.
  

Anything on the list jump off the page at you positively or negatively?

PWD


(Image: AJ Green. By Jim Hipple)