2011 SEC College Football Preview: Non-Conference Games

This is part three of a series previewing the 2011 SEC college football season.

SEC Non-Conference Games

One of the only knocks against the SEC, by college football fans outside the SEC and most of the national media members, has been the easy non-conference schedules their teams play. The last few years the SEC has taken the rest of the country head-on and they do so again in 2011.

Kudos to LSU and their staff, regardless of how the season turns out, on paper they have the toughest schedule of any NCAA team. If they make it to any title game SEC, BCS, or the Pee-Wee League Championship Game they will have earned it. They play Oregon on a neutral site and at West Virginia.

Ole Miss didn’t carve out an easy non-conference schedule either. They play BYU at home and Fresno State on the road.Georgia plays Boise State at home and in-state rival Georgia Tech on the road. Even when Georgia has not played well in the SEC, they still take care of business against the Yellow Jackets.

What conference are you in again?

University of Alabama-Birmingham (Conference USA) plays Mississippi State and Florida this year while Clemson (Atlantic Coast Conference) plays South Carolina and Auburn.

SEC Non-Conference Schedule

SEC Team/Opponent/Date/Site (off-campus location)

*Boise State at Georgia, September 3, in Atlanta, Georgia

BYU at Ole Miss, September 3

*Oregonvs. LSU, September 3, in Arlington, Texas

*Alabama at Penn State, September 10

University of Connecticut vs. Vanderbilt, September 10

Auburn at Clemson, September 17

Louisville at Kentucky, September 17

LSU at West Virginia, September 24

Vanderbilt at Wake Forest, September 26

*Arkansas vs. Texas A&M, October 1, in Arlington, Texas

Ole Miss at Fresno State, October 1

*Florida State vs. Florida, November 26

* DVR’em if you can’t watch live

LSU vs. Oregon and Boise State vs. Georgia could set the pace for all end of the season BCS games in week one. LSU and Oregon have legitimate shots at playing for a national title and whoever wins could be in the BCS National Championship driver’s seat for the rest of the season.

If Boise State beats Georgia, they will use the Georgia and TCU game as reasons for a chance to play in the BCS National Championship game. Boise State makes the jump to the Mountain West this season, the good thing about this for college football fans is no more horrible BCS matchups featuring Boise State against TCU; the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (2010). The bad news is only one of the two may get a BCS game from here on out. That should make for an intense conference rivalry from day one for those two schools.

Florida State vs. Florida could have several implications come the end of November. If Muschamp and company can reverse the mediocre play of last years Gators squad they could be an outside shot at the SEC Title game in Atlanta. Winning that game could put them in a BCS Bowl. If Florida were to beat Florida State that could give them an outside shot at a BCS National Championship game; it could happen.

Chances are this game will mean more to UF for recruiting and a higher second tier bowl than a National Championship Game or even a BCS Bowl berth. If Florida State has taken care of business against Oklahoma at home (September 17) this could be the last bump in the road before FSU reclaims their glory days and plays in the BCS Championship Game.

Who Do They Play?

Mississippi State and Tennessee lay eggs with their non-conference schedule. Tennessee plays a Cincinnati team that “hopes” to turn things around in 2011; they were 4-8 in 2010. But if Cincinnati comes up short in 2011, neither Tennessee nor Mississippi State will play a bowl team from last year or a potential bowl team from this year in non-conference play. At least MSU goes on the road twice (got to find a silver lining here).

MississippiState

September 1 – at Memphis

September 24 – LouisianaTech

October 8 – at UAB

November 5 – Tennessee-Martin

Tennessee

September 3 – Montana

September 10 – Cincinnati

October 1 – Buffalo

November 5 – Middle-Tennessee