It’s that time of year. We’re getting restless waiting for football to finally return to our lives. As we head into summer’s dog days, it’s time to take a look at the schedule. We’ve already investigated which games each team should win in both the East and West. Now, we take a look at the most important game on each team’s schedule.

  • Alabama — at Georgia, Week 5: An early season game against the East favorite should provide a good idea of which direction the Crimson Tide is heading this fall. Georgia’s running strength will test the best part of Alabama’s defense.
  • Arkansas — Auburn, Week 8: If the Razorbacks are going to play SEC spoiler this season, knocking off the presumptive West favorite would be a nice notch on the belt.
  • Auburn — Alabama, Week 13: Auburn is hunting it’s third SEC title in six years, and it would only be fitting if it came down to the Tigers’ rivalry week tilt with their bitter rivals.
  • Florida — at South Carolina, Week 11: The Gators are not going to be very good in Jim McElwain’s first year, but earning bowl eligibility is a reasonable goal. Going on the road to beat South Carolina would put them on track for that.
  • Georgia — at Auburn, Week 11: In a year where there’s no excuse for Georgia to not win the East, the Bulldogs drew one of the toughest cross-divisional slates imaginable. The game in Athens against Alabama is going to be a battle, and going on the road to take on Auburn will be even more difficult. This could end up being the most important game on the entire SEC schedule.
  • Kentucky — Florida, Week 3: Is this the year that Kentucky finally breaks through against Florida? Bowl eligibility and Mark Stoops’ job security could be riding on this early season game.
  • LSU — at Ole Miss, Week 12: The Rebels will be out for revenge for last year’s upset, while LSU could be in the hunt for the divisional title. Hitting the road to take on another divisional contender so late in teh season makes this game critical.
  • Mississippi State — Alabama, Week 11: Even in their best season in decades, Mississippi State fell short of beating Alabama. They get a chance for revenge at home this year and could theoretically crush Alabama’s season in the process.
  • Missouri — at Georgia, Week 7: Mizzou lost at home to Georgia last year and still won the division, but they could be hard-pressed to pull that feat off again this year.
  • Ole Miss — at Alabama, Week 3: The Rebels have as much top-end talent as anyone in the SEC this year, and they can start the season off right by beating Alabama once again.
  • South Carolina — at Tennessee, Week 10: The Gamecocks should have revenge on their mind after two heartbreaking losses to the Vols in the last two seasons. This one will be critical in making sure Carolina earns bowl eligibility.
  • Tennessee — at Missouri, Week 13: If the Vols are really contenders in the East, we’ll certainly know by the next-to-last week of the regular season. Taking on the back-to-back defending champs could be the defining game on UT’s schedule.
  • Texas A&M — Alabama, Week 7: The Aggies are hanging around as a shadow contender in the West, with the high-octane offense now complemented by a John Chavis-led defense. A grudge match against Alabama, which gave the Aggies a 59-0 beatdown last year,
  • Vanderbilt — at Tennessee, Week 13: Vandy is in for another down year, thanks to a talent deficiency that puts them far behind the rest of the SEC. They could spoil UT’s resurgence with a win in the rivalry game, and it could be the win to keep Derek Mason’s job.