Alabama stood alone at the top of the SEC and the top of the college football pyramid once again in 2016 as both conference and national champions. The Crimson Tide have reloaded with a roster that has the potential to be among the best in the entire country once again but they will face an extremely difficult schedule again next season with plenty of obstacles in their way as they look to repeat. Here is a look at the four SEC teams with the toughest schedules for the 2016 season.
Ole Miss Rebels
Opponents Combined 2015 Record: 97-46
The good news for Alabama is that the majority of the SEC will have to overcome very difficult slates in 2016 including Ole Miss, which is set to face the toughest slate based on the combined record of their scheduled opponents last season. The Rebels will open with a virtual road game in Orlando against Florida State and it doesn’t get much easier after that with 10 different opponents that went to bowl games last season. The schedule includes back-to-back home games against Alabama and Georgia in September and back-to-back road games against Arkansas and LSU in October and there really isn’t much relief the rest of the way. Ole Miss will wrap up their regular season with games against Auburn, at Texas A&M and then versus Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl over the final five weeks. The Rebels have the talent but the deck is stacked against them heading in to 2016 with the most difficult schedule in the SEC.
Auburn Tigers
Opponents Combined 2015 Record: 97-48
Auburn will have to play Georgia and Alabama on the road this season, but that is only the beginning of one of the toughest schedules in the SEC. The Tigers will open the year against the defending national title runner-up in Clemson and while they get Texas A&M and LSU at home in September, they will have their road games against Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama. All six of those games will be tough for Auburn – especially since this is a team that is rebuilding. They finished the year 3-4 in their last seven games, losing each of their last three home SEC games. Given the schedule in 2016, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they stumbled again in 2016.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Opponents Combined 2015 Record: 88-54
The Crimson Tide will begin the year against projected Top 25 teams in USC, Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU with each of those four games on the road. The fact three of those games come within the first two months of the season doesn’t help as there will be plenty of fresh faces at starting positions for Alabama and that could mean some stumbles early on. The second half of the schedule isn’t as bad with home games against Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Auburn so if the Crimson Tide can survive the first half of the season then they should be in good position to successfully defend their SEC championship.
LSU Tigers
Opponents Combined 2015 Record: 95-50
LSU returns a significant amount of talent and while their schedule is different, there are some bright spots among an absolutely loaded slate. The Tigers will have to face Alabama and Ole Miss again, but they get both teams at home this season. That’s important as LSU is considered the inferior team in comparison to both of those schools, so having those games in the Bayou will be key.
Their toughest non-conference opponent is Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in the opening week of the regular season, but Wisconsin is only so-so right now. Otherwise, they have a strong balance of home and road games. LSU will have to play Auburn, Florida and Texas A&M on the road, but they won’t be huge dogs in any of those spots. Then they get Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Alabama at home and should be able to capitalize on home games against Southern Miss and South Alabama mixed in to their regular season schedule in October and November.
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