The SEC West is not taking early-season scheduling lightly this year and it shows with six of the seven schools playing a Power 5 non-conference opponent in the first two weeks. The only exception is Mississippi State, which has arguably the weakest non-conference slate in the league this year.
ALABAMA
A Sept. 3 opener against USC is a dream match that is happening a few years too late. The Trojans have a ton of talent returning but will have to break in a new quarterback. It’s the sort of game that could either expose some weaknesses on the Crimson Tide or give the new starters the confidence that there won’t be much of a drop from last year’s championship team.
The home opener against Western Kentucky might be fun for a half and Nick Saban will host his alma mater, Kent State, on Sept. 24. In between those two games is a road conference opener against Ole Miss.
We will learn a lot about the Tide in September.
ARKANSAS
Head coach Bret Bielema said he wasn’t happy about playing at TCU early in the season and can you blame him? The Horned Frogs have eight returning starters on defense, including All-Big 12 defensive end Josh Carraway (9.0 sacks in 2015).
TCU has just one full-time offensive starter returning so we could be looking at an offensive struggle Sept. 10.
Keep an eye on the season opener against Louisiana Tech. Even though Jeff Driskel (remember him?) is gone, La. Tech should have a strong offense. Arkansas plays Texas State on Sept. 17 and then starts conference play against Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium.
AUBURN
The Tigers have the very difficult task of slowing down 2016 Heisman favorite Deshaun Watson and the Clemson Tigers in a primetime showdown at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Sept. 3.
Auburn will follow this game with a potential trap against Arkansas State and conference games against Texas A&M and LSU. The good news is all four games are at home. The bad news is there will be nowhere for Gus Malzahn to escape if Auburn can’t at least go 2-2 or 3-1.
LSU
The Tigers will go to Lambeau Field to open the season against Wisconsin. On paper this looks like a game LSU should comfortably win, but we still don’t know what kind of offense they will bring.
If the Tigers decide to play a grind-it-out game instead of using their superior outside speed, they will be playing into Wisconsin’s strengths.
The Badgers return 14 starters, including four offensive linemen and six players on the defensive front seven.
The home opener on Sept. 10 is Jacksonville State, which took Auburn to overtime last season. LSU opens conference play with Mississippi State and at Auburn.
MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Bulldogs open with South Alabama and end the month with a game against UMass at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Conference games against South Carolina and at LSU are in the middle of the month. Mississippi State should be looking at a 3-1 start before a bye week to prepare for Auburn.
OLE MISS
The Rebels open against Dalvin Cook and Florida State at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on a Monday Night primetime game. This could be the start of a Heisman campaign for Chad Kelly or the beginning of the end for Ole Miss in 2016.
Games against Alabama (Sept. 17) and Georgia (Sept. 24) close out the month. Those are three incredibly physical opponents to face in the first month. Win or lose, it will be interesting to see if the Rebels break down as the season progresses based on those games. Wofford on Sept. 10 should be a good opportunity for five-star quarterback Shea Patterson to get extended reps.
TEXAS A&M
The Aggies usually have a tough opener and this year is no different with UCLA coming to Kyle Field on Sept. 3. The Bruins return 10 starters from their defense (Myles Jack is the only departing starter) and five on offense including quarterback Josh Rosen. All he did was throw for 3,670 yards and 23 touchdowns as a freshman last season.
Prairie View A&M on Sept. 10 should be a walk over before conference games at Auburn and a neutral-site game against Arkansas at AT&T Stadium.
Corey Long is a freelance writer for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow Corey on Twitter @CoreyLong.
