The SEC is often criticized for its scheduling format. Most SEC teams start the season by going all out against tough non-conference teams, but late in the season when the rest of the nation is getting into the meaty part of schedules, the season openers are forgotten.

That’s when the SEC is blasted for scheduling cupcakes in the weeks before the conference championship.

Regardless of the criticism, the SEC enters the postseason the same way it entered the regular season: against tough non-conference opponents.

Despite Alabama’s success in recent years, the Tide is not immune to the haters, and we doubt 2016 will be any different.
Head coach Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide will kick off the 2016 season in AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) against USC.

The Trojans only finished 8-6 (6-3 in conference play) in the 2015 season, but they scored big wins over No. 3 Utah and No. 22 UCLA. For 2016, ESPN ranked USC No. 15 in its Way-Too-Early Top 25, and the Trojans are No. 8 in the Power Rankings.

In other words, in a few short months, Alabama will be facing the expected 2016 Pac-12 champion.

So let’s look back at the Tide’s toughest non-conference opponents in the last five years:

5. No. 3 MICHIGAN STATE, 2015 CFP SEMIFINAL AT THE COTTON BOWL

Result: Won 38-0

The Spartans and the Tide both came into the game with a single loss. Michigan State fell 39-38 to Nebraska in a heartbreaker rife with controversy. Alabama’s 43-37 loss came at the hands of the Rebels for the second year in a row. Alabama dominated the Spartans, making the 38-0 win look effortless, but Michigan State was anything but easy. Perhaps the energetic boost was because the Tide still felt the sting of falling to No. 4 Ohio State in the inaugural season’s College Football Playoff semifinals, and these men were determined not to let it happen again.

4. No. 1 NOTRE DAME, 2012 BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Result: Won 42-14

Notre Dame came in undefeated at 12-0, and Alabama entered the game at 12-1, suffering a loss to the No. 15 Aggies and QB Johnny Manziel. Alabama came in as the underdog in the rankings, but the 9.5-point spread was in its favor. Still, many thought that the Fighting Irish defensive star Manti Te’o would lead his team to a victory. Unfortunately for Notre Dame, Te’o gave his worst performance of the season, sparking a meme culture that also made fun of his falling prey to a catfish scam.

Manti Hugging GF meme

3. No. 11 OKLAHOMA, 2013 SUGAR BOWL

Result: Lost 45-31

Oklahoma got to New Orleans with a 10-2 record after falling to unranked Texas and No. 5 Baylor in the regular season. Alabama’s national title hopes were crushed in a 34-28 loss to No. 4 Auburn in the last regular season game, and the Sugar Bowl was the team’s consolation prize as it watched the Tigers play for the title. The Sooners should have been light competition for the Tide, but then-Oklahoma QB Trevor Knight outplayed Tide veteran QB AJ McCarron, and the boys in crimson ended the season in severe disappointment.

2. No. 4 OHIO STATE, 2014 CFP SEMIFINAL AT THE SUGAR BOWL

Result: Lost 42-35

Alabama’s record was nearly spotless with only the upset to No. 11 Ole Miss darkening its regular season. The Tide’s 42-13 win over Missouri in the SEC Championship Game was a big one, and it sent the team to the first-ever College Football Playoff semifinals. Ohio State also had an almost-perfect regular season except for the 35-21 loss to an unranked Virginia Tech team early in the season. The Urban Meyer-led Buckeyes were somewhat unexpectedly fourth in the inaugural playoff, but the underdogs pulled off a huge upset.

1. No. 1 CLEMSON, 2015 CFP CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Result: Won 45-40

Clemson claimed its spot in the 2015 College Football Playoff as the undefeated and undisputed No. 1 team in the nation. Alabama, on the other hand, fought its way into the playoff after its second consecutive loss to the Rebels. Coming off a huge win over the No. 3 Spartans in the semifinal game, the Tide won the hard-fought thriller of a championship game behind a huge day passing the ball and key special teams plays.