SEC football schedule: Alabama vs. LSU, Florida vs. Tennessee big misses in league’s annual opponents model

The SEC unveiled its new nine-game schedule Tuesday night and with that came its selection of three “annual opponents” for all 16 teams. Think of annual opponents as the SEC’s spin on protected college football rivals. 

Instead of these protected rivalries being permanent, though, the league will reevaluate things after four years. So that leaves the door open for further changes in 2030. 

The SEC made an effort to protect some of its most historic rivalries as it embarks on its latest scheduling initiative. With 16 teams to juggle, it was a Herculean effort. 

That also means some major games were left by the wayside. Here’s a look at the annual opponent decisions the SEC missed on with its new approach to scheduling. 

Of all the exclusions on the annual opponents list, this one may be the most baffling. Sure, the Vols and Gators didn’t play on a consistent basis until the SEC initially split into divisions in 1992, but it didn’t take long for them to treat each other like ancient nemeses. The feud between Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer and Florida coach Steve Spurrier was foundational to the SEC as it entered a new era. Those two often did battle atop the conference and on the national stage. 

It did lose a bit of its luster in the later days of Fulmer’s tenure, and following his departure, as Florida won 11 games in a row from 2005-15 — the longest streak in series history — but things are heating up again thanks to Tennessee’s resurgence under new coach Josh Heupel. And, even during that losing streak, the flames of animosity never dimmed on either side. Tennessee has played the likes of Vanderbilt and Kentucky for a longer period of time, but a win against Florida means more than most. 

Not protecting the Alabama-LSU game is another critical error. Sure, it may be a tad unfair to ask the Crimson Tide to play Auburn, Tennessee and LSU all in the same season for four more years in a row when there’s a chance for a refresh. And sure, there’s some history with Mississippi State, though that rivalry is the definition of one-sided. But Alabama is no stranger to a difficult path given its recent occupancy in the SEC West, and there’s few games the Crimson Tide and Tigers care about more than this one. 

Nick Saban coached both teams. During the 31-year existence of the SEC West, Alabama and LSU finished atop the division a combined 22 times. They were also responsible for 16 SEC titles during the divisional era. To call this rivalry prolific would be an understatement. 

Florida vs. LSU 

A world in which LSU plays neither Alabama nor Florida is an odd one to live in. The annual game between the Gators and the Tigers, which became a fixture in 1971, survived the SEC’s divisional split. It survived the initial wave of conference expansion as the league temporarily adjusted its scheduling. In the past two decades, LSU and Florida have combined for 11 SEC titles and five national championships. 

And the last annual meeting between the two — for now, at least — ended in a 20-10 victory for LSU earlier this month. The Tigers won six of the last seven and are 7-2 against the Gators since 2017. There’s some behind-the-scenes buzz that LSU didn’t want Florida as an annual opponent anymore, but the Gators — and Alabama — make a whole lot more sense on that schedule than Texas A&M. 

Here’s a bit of a wildcard. Though Arkansas and Oklahoma are geographically closer to each other than they are to any other school in the SEC, and though they (very briefly, along time ago) shared the Southwest Conference, they have played just 15 times since 1899. The last time they saw each other one the field was in 2001. 

So why are they included here? This was the SEC’s opportunity to create something new with the benefit of conference expansion and the revamped scheduling format. Given the relatively close proximity between the two universities, there’s plenty of crossover between the fans and alumni. Arkansas’ three scheduled opponents are more historic rivals, so it’s hard to pick a game to eliminate in favor of Oklahoma, but the Sooners playing Ole Miss doesn’t make much sense when the Razorbacks were potentially on the table. Maybe it’s something the SEC can take a look at come 2030. The chance to create fresh, organic rivalries does not come often.