The last time every SEC school hosted the No. 1 team
When you play in the SEC, chances are you’re going to meet up with the No. 1 team in the country every now and then.
The SEC has plenty of powerful squads, so having the No. 1 team come to campus isn’t all that rare (unless you’re a Georgia fan).
RELATED: SEC teams vs. No. 1-ranked team
Here, we take a look at the last time each SEC school hosted the nation’s No. 1 team and how they fared in that matchup.
Alabama
Date: Nov. 15, 2014
Opponent: Mississippi State
Score: Alabama 25, Mississippi State 20
Led by QB Dak Prescott, the Mississippi State Bulldogs climbed to No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time in history. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they ran into Alabama, losing 25-20 in a game that sparked a free fall.
The Bulldogs lost three of their final four games while Alabama advanced to the first College Football Playoff before losing to Ohio State in the semifinals.
Arkansas
Date: Sept. 15, 2012
Opponent: Alabama
Score: Alabama 52, Arkansas 0
Let’s just say this game didn’t go too well for the Razorbacks.
The 2012 season was rough in general. The Razorbacks finished 4-8, but this loss was the first time they were shut out at home since 1966.
Auburn
Date: Nov. 30, 2013
Opponent: Alabama
Score: Auburn 34, Alabama 28
We all remember this game by two words — Kick Six. Yes, this was the game where Alabama tried to break a 28-28 tie in the final seconds by attempting a 57-yard field goal.
The field goal was short. Auburn CB Chris Davis caught it at the back edge of the end zone and returned it 109 yards to win the game and send Auburn to the SEC Championship Game.
Florida
Date: Sept. 7, 2002
Opponent: Miami
Score: Miami 41, Florida 16
The Gators play the No. 1 team a lot. The problem? It’s never at home. The last time Florida hosted the No. 1 team was 14 years ago, when in-state rival Miami came to Gainesville. Miami rolled, and kept rolling, all the way to the BCS championship game, where it lost in overtime on a controversial call to Ohio State.
Georgia
Date: Never
The Dawgs played No. 1 LSU in the 2011 SEC Championship Game, but that doesn’t count. In fact, the only five times the Bulldogs have played the No. 1 team, it was at a neutral site.
Georgia has never hosted the No. 1 team at Sanford Stadium.
Kentucky
Date: Oct. 25, 2014
Opponent: Mississippi State
Score: Mississippi State 45, Kentucky 31
QB Dak Prescott and the Bulldogs were the No. 1 team for the first time when they traveled to Lexington. The Wildcats didn’t pull off the upset, but they still remember shocking No. 1 LSU 43-37 in triple overtime in 2007.
LSU
Date: Nov. 3, 2012
Opponent: Alabama
Score: Alabama 21, LSU 17
Alabama managed to do what no other team did that year — defeat the Tigers at home.
Of course, that’s the same Alabama team that lost only one game all season and routed Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship Game.
Mississippi State
Date: Nov. 16, 2013
Opponent: Alabama
Score: Alabama 20, Mississippi State 7
Sensing a trend in this article yet? Yeah, Alabama spends a lot of time at No. 1 in the AP poll.
Not surprisingly, the Tide claimed another victory when they visited Starkville in 2013.
Missouri
Date: Oct. 13, 2012
Opponent: Alabama
Score: Alabama 42, Missouri 10
Welcome to the SEC! Missouri’s first three SEC games were against No. 7 Georgia, No. 7 South Carolina and No. 1 Alabama. The Tigers lost all three, but advanced to the SEC Championship Game the following year.
Ole Miss
Date: Nov. 19, 2011
Opponent: LSU
Score: LSU 52, Ole Miss 3
Though LSU eventually lost the 2011 championship game to Alabama, the Tigers were still in top form when they visited Ole Miss in mid-November. AP noted that LSU went into its victory formation with 5 minutes left.
“Victory was assured,” LSU coach Les Miles told reporters. “There was no reason to take snaps at that point.”
South Carolina
Date: Nov. 28, 2015
Opponent: Clemson
Score: Clemson 37, South Carolina 32
The Gamecocks were 3-8. Clemson was on its way to the national championship game.
South Carolina closed within 3 points in the fourth quarter. It gave No. 1 Clemson all it could handle, putting the eventual national runner-up on upset alert for most of the afternoon before losing 37-32.
Tennessee
Date: Oct. 20, 2012
Opponent: Alabama
Score: Alabama 44, Tennessee 13
Tennessee was just another casualty on the road to another Alabama national championship. QB AJ McCarron and company didn’t have to sweat too much en route to a blowout victory.
Texas A&M
Date: Sept. 14, 2013
Opponent: Alabama
Score: Alabama 49, Texas A&M 42
Aggie QB Johnny Manziel nearly powered Texas A&M to a second consecutive upset victory, but the Tide couldn’t be stopped.
Tide QB AJ McCarron threw four TD passes as the Tide erased a 14-0 first-quarter deficit. Vinnie Sunseri also intercepted Manziel and returned it 73 yards for a touchdown before A&M fought back.
Vanderbilt
Date: Nov. 28, 1998
Opponent: Tennessee
Score: Tennessee 41, Vanderbilt 0
The year after losing Peyton Manning, the Volunteers weren’t supposed to win a national championship, but that’s exactly what they did.
Tennessee and QB Tee Martin crushed the Commodores in their final tune-up before the SEC Championship and BCS championship games.