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College Football

5 toughest 2019 schedules in the SEC

Michael Wayne Bratton

By Michael Wayne Bratton

Published:

No schedule is easy in the Southeastern Conference but that doesn’t mean some schools don’t have a more difficult path than others.

Here is a roundup of the five toughest schedules on paper following Tuesday’s release of the 2019 SEC schedules.

Auburn

Gus Malzahn just can’t catch a break when it comes to schedules. The Tigers are playing arguably the nation’s toughest schedule in 2018 and may have to do so yet again in 2019. Opening against Oregon in Arlington is just the appetizer before hitting the road for Texas A&M, Florida, Arkansas, LSU and welcoming Mississippi State, Georgia and Alabama to Jordan-Hare. It’s possible Auburn faces as many as seven teams ranked in the preseason.

Texas A&M

Good thing Jimbo Fisher is on board in College Station because the Aggie schedule isn’t getting much easier next season. Texas A&M will have to make the return trip to Clemson next season before welcoming Auburn and Alabama to College Station within the span of five games. Oh, and to top it all off, A&M will hit the road for Georgia and LSU to finish the regular season. If Fisher hopes to deliver a West title in his second season in College Station, those final two games will likely make or break that goal for the Aggies.

Mississippi State

The Bulldogs may face the toughest four-game stretch in the league from Sept. 28 to Oct. 26 when the team travels to Auburn, to Tennessee, returns home for LSU then back out to face Texas A&M. The easiest game on that schedule appears to be the Volunteers but Jeremy Pruitt’s roster projects to look much better in a year’s time with a top 10 class incoming and the youth movement already beginning in Knoxville.

Ole Miss

Playing the West would be tough for any school, something Ole Miss fans know all about but the thing that stands out on this schedule is the fact the Rebels have to travel to Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi State next season. Playing Memphis on the road has also been proven to be a tough game for the Rebels, so Ole Miss can be no means look beyond the opener against the Tigers.

Vanderbilt

If there’s one SEC team that could use a break in the schedule, it’s Vanderbilt. Unfortunately for the Commodores, that’s not how the slate breaks down for 2019 as Derek Mason’s team may have the toughest schedule in the East next season.

Vanderbilt starts the season at home against Georgia before traveling to Purdue then returning home for LSU. If the team is somehow in contention for the East by November, all they have to do to earn the right to play in Atlanta is to win at South Carolina, at Florida, against Kentucky in Nashville and at Tennessee during the final month of the regular season. Good luck with that.

Michael Wayne Bratton

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com

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