The Alabama Crimson Tide has made it look easy with consecutive trips to the College Football Playoff including a national championship a year ago. However, their story is more of an aberration than an expected trend. Alabama reloaded again in the offseason with the intention of challenging for a national title but making it through the loaded SEC will be extremely difficult. The SEC is loaded with legitimate contenders and in addition to dealing with obstacles within the conference there will be a number of difficult challenges dealing with the non-conference slate as well. Here is a look at the toughest non-conference game on the schedule for each SEC team.
Alabama: vs. USC, 9/3
The Crimson Tide has won six straight games at neutral sites since a 2007 loss to Florida State and will look to extend that win streak in a marquee game to open the season versus USC. The Trojans are widely regarded as a favorite to win the Pac-12 and while it is only one game the reality is that the College Football Playoff hopes for one of these teams will take an immediate blow in this game. Nick Saban has yet to settle on a quarterback and there will be plenty of new faces in the lineup for Alabama and that will make this contest that much tougher to open the season.
Arkansas: @ TCU, 9/10
The Razorbacks will look to pick up from where they left off following a strong finish to the 2015 season but it won’t take long for them to face their first true test of the 2016 season. Arkansas will open the year against Louisiana Tech before making the trip to TCU in Week 2 and that will be a very difficult matchup on the road against a Big 12 team with legitimate conference championship expectations.
Auburn: vs. Clemson, 9/3
Auburn is 15-11 since making it to the national championship game in 2013 including a 6-10 mark in SEC play so their main focus heading in to this season is improvement within the conference. However, the Tigers can’t overlook a tough test to open the season against the defending national title runner-up in Clemson. Auburn is still looking for a starting quarterback and its defense is in transition under new coordinator Kevin Steele. There will be a lot of pressure on them to be ready for the start of the season and they will need to play at a very high level if they are going to have any shot at taking down Clemson in their opener.
Florida: @ Florida State 11/26
The Gators have a relatively mediocre non-conference schedule right up until the end of the year when they will clash with Florida State in a rivalry game that could have major implications for both teams. Florida opened last year with a 10-1 mark before losing its final three games of the season including a 27-2 loss to the Seminoles so the focus this year will be on finishing as strong as they start.
Georgia: vs. North Carolina 9/3
The Kirby Smart era began with a ton of optimism as the new head coach inherits a talented roster with a relatively manageable schedule overall. That optimism will either grow or dim significantly based on the Bulldogs opener. Georgia will begin the year with a clash against North Carolina at the Georgia Dome in the first meeting between those teams since 1971. Both teams have considerable talent and something will have to give with one of them set to open the year with a loss.
LSU: vs. Wisconsin, 9/3
LSU rarely plays a non-conference opponent from north of the Mason-Dixon Line but they scheduled Wisconsin for their season opener at NRG Stadium in Houston and that will undoubtedly be the toughest non-SEC opponent they will play. Les Miles enters a make-or-break season understanding his job is likely on the line so setting the tone with an early win against a tough Big Ten opponent will be important.
Mississippi State: @ BYU 10/14
The Bulldogs play a weird schedule this season with only six home games and a fairly weak non-conference slate in which their toughest test appears to be a date with BYU on October 14th. The Cougars will have figured out their quarterback situation by then and the fact that the game follows a key clash with Auburn the week before could create a tough situation for Mississippi State on the road.
Missouri: @ West Virginia 9/3
Missouri joins the long list of SEC teams that will open the year with their toughest non-conference test as they will visit West Virginia on September 3rd. The Tigers are a team in transition and it won’t be easy to deal with the Mountaineers’ Air Raid offense on the road in Week One.
Ole Miss: vs. Florida State 9/5
Ole Miss is coming off a year in which they won 10 games, won the Sugar Bowl and beat the eventual national champion Alabama for the second consecutive season. What was their reward for all of that? A date with Florida State in Orlando with a chance to make a major statement against a tough Seminoles’ team. The Rebels return only eight starters from a year ago but they have some considerable talent on their roster and it will be very interesting to see how they fare in a key clash with the Seminoles in their opener.
South Carolina: @ Clemson 11/26
It wasn’t that long ago when the Gamecocks were the most dominant team within the state’s boarders. Clemson has taken that title from them for the time being but the Gamecocks will get the opportunity to answer back when they clash in the final game of the season.
Tennessee: vs. Virginia Tech 9/10
The Vols are a popular pick to win the SEC East heading in to this season and a part of that is a relatively mediocre schedule that they should be able to handle. Their toughest non-conference opponent is Virginia Tech in their second game of the season and that game will represent an opportunity for Tennessee to make a statement with a ton of eyes on them.
Texas A&M: vs. UCLA 9/3
Texas A&M is in a tough spot coming off another disappointing season and lacking the weapons to be considered a major threat in the SEC right now. It won’t take long to see where the program is at as they open the year against UCLA in the toughest non-conference game on their schedule.
Vanderbilt: @ Georgia Tech 9/17
The Commodores have shown some progress under head coach Derek Mason but will be in tough to take another step forward in 2016 with a tough schedule ahead of them. A date with Georgia Tech on September 17th will be the toughest non-conference matchup they face in the first of back-to-road games preceding a date with Western Kentucky the following week.
