How crossover games, permanent partners impact SEC West in 2016
By Chris Wright
Published:
All things being equal, you’d rather play Vanderbilt than Tennessee, or Kentucky as opposed to Georgia or Florida.
Crossover games and permanent partners create unequal schedules in the SEC.
RELATED: How crossover games impact SEC East
Some teams benefit. Others suffer the bad luck. Here’s a look at the impact on the SEC West in 2016.
Alabama
Permanent partner: Tennessee
2016 crossover: vs. Kentucky
Impact on 2016: The Oct. 15 showdown in Knoxville could feature two unbeaten teams and serve as a preview of the SEC Championship Game.
Alabama has lost just two regular season games vs. SEC East teams under Nick Saban. The most recent loss came in 2010, when Stephen Garcia led South Carolina to a 35-21 victory over the top-ranked Tide in Columbia.
Arkansas
Permanent partner: Missouri
2016 crossover: vs. Florida
Impact on 2016: Arkansas won’t see the SEC East until November, plenty of time for its overhauled offense to take shape. Arkansas saved its season in 2015 with a win at Tennessee.
Auburn
Permanent partner: Georgia
2016 crossover: vs. Vanderbilt
Impact on 2016: Auburn would have preferred playing Georgia in early September. Instead, the Nov. 12 date in Athens allows Bulldogs freshman QB Jacob Eason time to grow and Nick Chubb time to heal — or Kirby Smart time to figure out a Plan B.
LSU
Permanent partner: Florida
2016 crossover: vs. Missouri
Impact on 2016: If you have to play the two teams that combined to win the past three SEC East titles, 2016 is the year to do it. Both opponents are in various stages of rebuilding, Florida most notably because it’s replacing its quarterback and running back from a team that won the division last season.
LSU gets both early enough in the season — Missouri in Week 5, Florida the following week — that growing pains might still be visible.
Mississippi State
Permanent partner: Kentucky
2016 crossover: vs. South Carolina
Impact on 2016: Having Kentucky is an annual gift that keeps giving, and the Bulldogs swapped rebuilding Missouri in 2015 for rebuilding South Carolina in 2016. By far the easiest crossover schedule among West teams.
Ole Miss
Permanent partner: Vanderbilt
2016 crossover: vs. Georgia
Impact on 2016: Ole Miss hosts Georgia in Week 4, an obvious advantage because of the Bulldogs’ quarterback/injury situations. The potential danger here is it follows the Alabama game, which promises to be emotional one way or another. But Ole Miss has shown it can handle prosperity.
The Rebels knocked off Alabama each of the past two seasons and won their next game.
Texas A&M
Permanent partner: South Carolina
2016 crossover: vs. Tennessee
Impact on 2016: Bad luck for the Aggies, who get Tennessee and Alabama in consecutive games, separated by a bye week. Want some good news? Texas A&M’s first scheduled game against Georgia (read: Eason) is in 2019, and Eason might be in the NFL by then.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
