Which opponent a team draws as its cross-divisional SEC opponent can be vital to its chances for an SEC championship. While every team has its permanent opponent — something that some athletic directors have an issue with — the other cross-division opponent on the schedule rotates each year.

This year, a handful of the cross-divisional games are going to be vital to the outcomes in both divisions. The SEC East’s three main contenders — Georgia, Tennessee and Missouri — have varying difficulty in their slates, with Georgia having to deal with both teams from the state of Alabama.

Today, we’ll look at all 14 games and rank them based on a combination of how good we expect the game to be and its importance.

1. Georgia at Auburn, Week 11 — The two early divisional favorites meet late in the season in the most vital cross-divisional game of the year. Along with the next game on this list, this could be the most important game on the SEC schedule, bar none.

2. Alabama at Georgia, Week 5 — Both teams will be vying for a playoff spot all season, but this early season tilt could put a damper on either case. The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide will both still be breaking in new quarterbacks, which will be a factor against two tough defenses.

3. Tennessee at Alabama, Week 8 — This is a “put up or shut up” game for Butch Jones and the Vols. Last year’s game against Alabama marked the emergence of Joshua Dobbs, and this year’s game could announce the Volunteers’ legitimate return to the SEC elite.

4. Missouri at Arkansas, Week 13 — By the last weekend of the regular season, we could all be scratching our heads wondering how Mizzou is still in the hunt for another divisional title. This will be a low-scoring, hard-hitting game, also known as “old school SEC football.”

5. Mississippi State at Missouri, Week 10 (Thursday) — Weeknight games have a tendency to get weird, and that’s what we’re hoping for here. Dak Prescott will have a chance to bolster his Heisman campaign with a big game on the road against an East contender, while Missouri could well come into this one with a 7-1 record.

6. Arkansas at Tennessee, Week 5 — The Razorbacks have the potential to play SEC spoiler this year, and they could put a premature end to Tennessee’s division title hopes. Arkansas certainly has what it takes in the front seven to shred UT’s offensive line.

7. Florida at LSU, Week 7 — These traditional rivals played a thriller last year despite down years for both programs, and we could be in for more of the same this year. Neither team has a quarterback yet, but night games in Death Valley always make for a good time.

8. LSU at South Carolina, Week 6 — Both the Gamecocks and Tigers have a fairly wide range of outcomes for their season, and this game could swing them in one direction or another. The last few times they’ve met have produced great games, and with two of the wiliest coaches in the game stalking the sidelines there is always the chance of something out of the ordinary.

9. Kentucky at Mississippi State, Week 8 — The Bulldogs blitzed UK in Lexington last year, but this year’s game should be somewhat closer. This has shootout potential, just like last year’s game, especially with MSU’s depleted defense.

10. Ole Miss at Florida, Week 5 — With what could be the weakest offensive line in the SEC, the Gators could end up as shark bait early in the season. Ole Miss will enter the Swamp with one of the best defenses in the country, bad news for an inexperienced Florida offense.

11. Auburn at Kentucky, Week 7 (Thursday) — The Wildcats, projected by most to be one of the worst teams in the SEC, are going to be overmatched against Auburn’s running game, especially after losing their two best defensive linemen from a year ago. Still, Thursday night games tend to be interesting and favor the home team, so don’t write off Kentucky.

12. South Carolina at Texas A&M, Week 9 — The Gamecocks defense should be improved from a year ago, when Texas A&M wiped the floor with them in the opener. The bad news is that the Aggies defense should be better too, while South Carolina’s offense has taken a step back. This has blowout potential written all over it.

13. Texas A&M at Vanderbilt, Week 12 — The Aggies will represent one of the toughest tests Vanderbilt faces in the SEC, bringing one of the highest-powered offenses in the country to Nashville. Depending on how much Derek Mason has improved his defense, this could be a major mismatch.

14. Vanderbilt at Ole Miss, Week 4 — Last year’s game was a 41-3 whitewashing in which Vanderbilt didn’t score until the fourth quarter (after a drive that netted negative yards, no less). Even if Vanderbilt is improved, this year’s contest won’t be any kinder to the Commodores in Oxford, Miss.