The 10 most intriguing SEC matchups on the 2022 college football schedule
We are just under 13 weeks away from the start of the college football season, but who’s counting?
The SEC is expected to have a dominant season as usual, but this year the conference may be deeper than ever before. Alabama, Georgia, and Texas A&M all appear to be consensus top five team’s with a handful of others cracking the top 25 depending on who you ask in Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.
With all of these teams expected to be competitive, there will be a lot of really great matchups during the regular season. Here are the 10 most important games of the SEC season.
Honorable Mentions
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Florida @ Georgia, Oct. 29 (Jacksonville, FL)
(Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
The right to compete in the SEC Championship game has recently gone to the winner of this game. With Florida and Georgia being the only two schools to represent the east in the SEC Championship the past seven years, it isn’t absurd to think the trend will continue. However, Georgia just lost a record amount of players to the NFL draft and Florida will be competing under first-year head coach Billy Napier and both sides have question marks to answer.
Alabama @ Arkansas, Oct.1
(AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Sam Pittman and his Arkansas Razorbacks have had an outstanding program turn around in the past two years going from 2-10 to 9-4 with an Outback Bowl victory over Penn State. Last year in Tuscaloosa, the Razorbacks gave the Tide all they could handle and Alabama escaped by a touchdown. Could the Razorbacks pull a stunner at home and compete for the west?
Kentucky @ Ole Miss, Oct. 1
(AP Photo/Thomas Graning)
While these two programs are opposing side of the conferences, it will make for one of the most fun games this season as they don’t often see one another. [autotag]Lane Kiffin[/autotag] and his high flying offense will play host to the top running back in the SEC in Chris Rodriguez and projected first round quarterback Will Levis. Both of these programs could play dark horse to win their divisions.
Alabama @ Tennessee, Oct. 15
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The third Saturday in October. Alabama will travel to Knoxville to face their biggest rival and claim the rights to the post-game cigar. While 2006 was the last time the Volunteers beat the Tide, Josh Heupel and company exceeded expectations with a 7-6 finish in 2021 and look to keep the ball rolling. After a 52-24 thrashing in Tuscaloosa last season, Tennessee will surely have this date circled.
Georgia @ Kentucky, Nov. 19
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This has typically been a rather lopsided affair with Georgia leading the all time head-to-head 61-12, with a current win streak of 12. However, this is the best Kentucky team we have seen in some time, and if there is ever a time to knock off the Bulldogs it is now. If the Wildcats can figure out a way to sneak out a victory, they may have a real shot at the east.
Arkansas @ Texas A&M, Sept. 24
Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
This early season showdown between two deep southern rivals will set the precedent for the season, especially to compete in the west. The programs first played one another in 1903, and to put it nicely they do not like one another. An early season win over a top five team could be all the momentum that Sam Pittman and his Hogs need.
Tennessee @ UGA, Nov. 5
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The title to the east still runs through Athens, and this will be the toughest opponent the Bulldogs face all season. Georgia doesn’t rebuild, they reload, however losing 15 players is a lot for any program to recover from. However, with four returning starters on the offensive line Tennessee’s experience may be a big ask for a relatively new front seven of Georgia.
Ole Miss @ Texas A&M, Oct. 29
(AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
If Alabama slips up anywhere, both of these programs will be lurking in the waters for a chance at the west. Lane Kiffin and Jimbo Fisher are two of the most polarizing coaches in the sport and they know the weight this showdown will carry. A win for either side puts them right in the race with the Crimson Tide.
Alabama @ Ole Miss, Nov. 19
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Get your popcorn ready! It’s the apprentice against the master, Lane Kiffin vs [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag]. Kiffin has been one of the most public defendants of Coach Saban, however, he would do just about anything under the sun to get a win against his former boss. Last time the Tide traveled to Oxford, the defense gave up nearly 50 points and Alabama played one of their sloppiest games in recent memory.
Texas A&M at Alabama, Oct. 8
(AP Photo/Butch Dill)
As if two top five teams needed anything more to play for, Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher did quite the job of setting the stage for this one. Not only is Alabama out for blood after an embarrassing loss to the Aggies in 2021, the war of words between Fisher and Saban only heightened the tensions. This is more than a football game, this is a grudge match.
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