It’s hard to imagine any opening weekend will ever top the hype and buzz of 2017 with the Alabama-Florida State game in Atlanta and Florida-Michigan in Dallas, but 2018’s opening month has its share of marquee match-ups. These are the five best SEC games – listed in chronological order – in September.

1. Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game: Auburn vs. Washington (Sept. 1, 3:30 p.m. ET – Atlanta)

A pair of New Year’s Six bowl teams meeting up in Week 1? We’ll be watching. The betting public thinks SEC speed will win out at Mercedes Benz Stadium (Auburn is a three-point favorite at most sportsbooks), but ESPN’s Football Power Index has Washington two spots higher (No. 5) than Auburn (No. 7). The preseason coaches poll also has the Huskies ranked higher (No. 6) than the Tigers (No. 10).

2. Advocare Classic: LSU vs. Miami (Sept. 2, 7:30 p.m. ET – Dallas)

This could have been a national championship game in 2003, but we’ll still enjoy it 15 years later, especially on Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Miami enters this one as the betting favorite, but Mark Richt is well-aware LSU has the “dudes” to hang with the Hurricanes. There will be no shortage of talented athletes on the field. It will be interesting to see if Richt or Ed Orgeron proves better at getting their team ready to face a Power 5 opponent in Week 1.

3. Georgia at South Carolina (Sept. 8, 3:30 p.m. ET)

Last season, the Bulldogs entered the month of November undefeated. They might have a harder time repeating that feat this season. No one doubts that UGA is the more talented team top-to-bottom, but South Carolina returns a veteran quarterback in Jake Bentley and bona fide playmakers in Bryan Edwards and Deebo Samuel. Will Muschamp-coached defenses are known to give opponents problems, especially in Williams-Brice Stadium. Plenty of SEC fans who aren’t Bulldogs or Gamecocks will tune in to see if South Carolina can pull off the upset.

4. LSU at Auburn (Sept. 15, 3:30 p.m. ET)

It’s not hard to see the intrigue here. Auburn was able to knock off both Georgia and Alabama in 2017, but LSU pulled one of the season’s more surprising upsets, scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter to win 27-23. The Jordan-Hare crowd will be rocking with Gus Malzahn’s squad looking for revenge.

5. Florida at Mississippi State (Sept. 29)

Dan Mullen isn’t the only one returning to Starkville. When Mullen accepted the Florida job, he decided to bring six of his assistant coaches with him (plus strength coach Nick Savage and recruiting director Lee Begley). Mullen knows a little something about beating his former school. In his second season (2010) at MSU, he knocked off the Gators in The Swamp. This time, however, MSU enters the season ranked higher on the FPI (No. 15 to No. 21).