Schedule makers have given us quite a few appetizers in prep for the main course in recent years involving SEC teams.

Next year’s season-opening Ole Miss vs. Florida State showdown at the renovated Citrus Bowl in Orlando is a game I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced, as have both spirited fanbases.

Since 2010, marquee matchups during opening weekend have put the SEC on a pedestal nationally and this year will be no different. Let’s look back at some of the best non-conference games featuring SEC teams that helped kick-off the college football season over the last five years:

1.) Sept. 3, 2011: No. 4 LSU 40, No. 3 Oregon 27 (Arlington, Texas)

LSU’s emphatic statement inside Jerry World was one of the Honey Badger’s greatest games and proved the Tigers would be a force nationally during the 2011 season. LSU forced four turnovers from the defending national runner-ups and limited the nation’s top offense to just 335 total yards. That same September evening in Atlanta, Boise State upset Georgia, 35-21. LSU would go on to win the SEC and beat seven additional ranked teams along the way before falling to Alabama in the BCS Championship Game, 21-0. Two years later, LSU would upend TCU in similar widely-hyped season-opening matchup of nationally-ranked teams.

2.) Aug. 30, 2014: No. 13 LSU 28, No. 14 Wisconsin 24 (Houston, Texas)

It wasn’t pretty at times offensively, but the Tigers made enough big plays down the stretch to down the Badgers during Leonard Fournette’s much-anticipated debut. The five-star freshman only picked up 18 yards on six carries, but his quarterback Anthony Jennings tossed two touchdown passes and directed a spirited comeback midway through the third quarter. Trailing 24-7, the Tigers scored the game’s final 21 points.

3.) Sept. 1, 2012: No. 2 Alabama 41, No. 8 Michigan 14 (Arlington, Texas)

The 2011 BCS champion Crimson Tide had a title to defend inside Cowboys Stadium against Michigan, who attempted to carry the Big Ten’s torch as the nation’s eight-best team but failed miserably. By the four-minute mark of the second quarter, Alabama was putting the finishing touches on a 31-0 lead following All-American C.J. Mosley’s 16-yard pick six. Preseason Heisman candidate Denard Robinson, Michigan’s quarterback, was shut down by Kirby Smart’s top-ranked defense. Clemson beat Auburn, 26-19, the same evening in Atlanta.

4.) Sept. 4, 2010: No. 21 LSU 30, No. 24 North Carolina 24 (Atlanta)

Les Miles’ Tigers jumped out to a 30-10 halftime lead behind an electrifying punt return inside the Georgia Dome from Patrick Peterson before the Tar Heels stormed back. North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates threw for 412 yards and three touchdowns, but an incomplete pass to tight end Zack Pianalto from LSU’s 6-yard line ended the upset bid as time expired.

5.) Aug. 31, 2013: No. 8 Clemson 38, No. 5 Georgia 35 (Clemson, S.C.)

Todd Gurley vs. Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins didn’t disappoint, despite the Tigers holding on late in a back-and-forth affair. Gurley only touched the football 13 times on offense, but managed 155 total yards and two touchdowns. Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray’s negative stigma against ranked teams returned and followed him throughout the season despite wins over South Carolina and LSU.

6.) Sept. 4, 2010: Jacksonville State 49, Ole Miss 48 in 2OT (Oxford, Miss.)

It was a game Ole Miss fans would like to forget, but nonetheless exhilarating. Trailing 31-13 in the fourth quarter, Jacksonville State forced overtime just before sundown at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium with a 19-yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds remaining. After the teams exchanged touchdowns in the first and second overtimes, the Gamecocks pulled a gutsy two-point conversion in lieu of going to a third extra session to upset the Rebels.

7.) Aug. 29, 2013: No. 6 South Carolina 27, North Carolina 10 (Columbia, S.C.)

The Gamecocks have played in several Thursday night openers during Steve Spurrier’s tenure, but this one was perhaps the most memorable coming off an 11-win season with realistic national championship aspirations for a program that’s never won one. A preseason Top 10 led by senior quarterback Connor Shaw and Heisman Trophy candidate Jadeveon Clowney, the Gamecocks fought off extreme heat to beat region rival North Carolina on ESPN.