Finally, it’s all out there.

The 2024 SEC schedule has been released, and don’t ya know it? Many people have many thoughts. It’s still strange to see Oklahoma or Texas on every single SEC schedule, and there are things like Ole Miss-Alabama or Auburn-LSU that have become staples of the SEC. But we’ll all adjust because hey, that’s what we always do.

And if we’re being totally honest, these schedules are more loaded and balanced than ever. Cheers to that.

Here are my winners and losers from the 2024 SEC schedule reveal:

Winners

Ole Miss

I would’ve loved to have been a fly on the wall to see Lane Kiffin’s reaction to not having to face Nick Saban for a year. While I’m sure the competitor in him is bummed, I’m sure the realist in him will sleep a little easier knowing that he doesn’t have to hear about that 0-4 record against the G.O.A.T.

While I think it’s a bummer that Ole Miss will go 4 weeks between home games — it’s more common this year than ever because of the added bye with the “Week 0” slate beefed up — let’s stick with the positives. Ole Miss gets the benefit of hosting unique, headliner home matchups against Oklahoma and Georgia while having a road schedule that has 4 teams who missed out on bowl games and another team (LSU) that Ole Miss beat … and that was with the Heisman Trophy winner.

The only way Ole Miss can be an even bigger winner is if it can get that currently scheduled Egg Bowl moved off of Saturday of Rivalry Week and into its rightful standalone spot on Thanksgiving.

Texas

Fire up the conspiracy theories. The SEC was kind to the newcomer. Texas’ lone true SEC road game before mid-November is at Vanderbilt. So basically, Texas doesn’t have a true road game in conference play — it does have that trip up north to Michigan in game No. 2 — until mid-November.

On top of that, it’ll get a marquee home matchup against Georgia. The well-documented scheduling conflict with the Formula 1 race that weekend could prevent the 2017 Notre Dame allotment of UGA fans from making the trip, so advantage Longhorns there. It’s also convenient that of Texas’ 8 conference opponents, UGA and Oklahoma are the lone teams who won at least 8 regular season games. Five of those 8 foes either missed a bowl and/or fired their coach.

Steve Sarkisian’s squad won’t have consecutive road games, either. That’s a huge win for recruiting purposes during the home stretch of the cycle.

Not a bad draw at all.

Mizzou

Everything is coming up Mizzou these days. I know that the trip to Alabama is daunting, but look at the rest of the schedule.

Mizzou’s 3 other SEC road games are against teams that either missed a bowl or have a first-year head coach. Oklahoma comes to Columbia — that and the Alabama game are the lone matchups vs. teams who won at least 8 regular season games — as does Auburn and Arkansas. Mizzou should be a considerable favorite in each of those first 4 home games to kick off the season, which could mean a Top 25 start creeps into a top-15 spot before that showdown in College Station in the first weekend of October.

That’s manageable, as long as Mizzou doesn’t revert to mediocrity.

Losers

Florida

Duh. It’s brutal. Like, as brutal as it gets. Let’s not even look at the first half of the schedule yet. Just peek at these final 5 games to close the slate:

  • vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville)
  • at Texas
  • vs. LSU
  • vs. Ole Miss
  • at Florida State

All 5 of those teams are currently in the top 15. Four of them are playing in a New Year’s 6 bowl and the one that isn’t (LSU) is currently in the midst of its longest winning streak ever against the Gators. That’s as challenging of a 5-game stretch close to the season as there is in perhaps the history of the sport.

Mind you, that’s not even including the road trip to Tennessee or the home game against a Kentucky team that won 3 consecutive matchups. Of course, don’t sleep on the rest of the tour of Florida with both Miami and UCF coming to Gainesville.

Florida’s lone matchups against teams that missed bowl games will be against FCS Samford — the team who put up 52 in The Swamp 2 years ago — and a road trip to the ever-tricky Starkville to take on Mississippi State in the Dan Mullen Bowl. Eleven Power 5 teams will have a chance to continue the Gators’ misery.

If there’s ever a schedule you don’t want as a coach on the hot seat, Billy Napier has it.

Auburn

The positive? No September road games. Hugh Freeze sounded like an 8-year-old being taken on a “nature hike” when he had to travel all the way to Berkley in Week 2 of his first season.

The negative? No October home games. That matters in this recruiting calendar. Arkansas coach Sam Pittman voiced his frustration after enduring something similar this past season (not that Arkansas home games were something he should’ve wanted human eyeballs to see). I’d expect the same from Freeze, who will face Oklahoma at home on Sept. 28 and then not return to Jordan-Hare until Nov. 2 against Vandy. Really, the only intriguing post-September home game for Auburn is against Texas A&M.

Auburn might only have 4 road games, but 3 of them will come against teams competing in a New Year’s 6 Bowl. Anyone who has to travel to both Alabama and Georgia is always a schedule “loser,” which Auburn knows all too well.

Georgia

We’ve reached the part of the column where I gasp at hotel prices for Georgia in its road games against Playoff-bound Alabama and Texas:

If you think that’s bad, try to stay in Austin while Formula 1 will be in town. Why is that significant? Last year, 432,000 people attended the event in Austin. My buddy, a Georgia fan, tried to get a room at the Hilton in Austin. He was told that they were sold out BUT because they were gold members, they offered a room for $17,000 a night. Yeah. Wild.

(He ended up paying $852 a night at a non-Hilton hotel in Austin and he’s flying into San Antonio.)

That’s a bummer for Georgia fans who have been chomping at the bit for a more exciting regular season schedule. I suppose this is a nice time to be in the 12-team Playoff era. The Dawgs face 2 Playoff teams, 3 road games vs. New Year’s 6 Bowl teams and 8 total Power 5 teams who earned bowl berths. Plus, the lone home game in September is against FCS Tennessee Tech.

Needless to say, Georgia won’t have the same preseason narrative about its schedule that it had entering 2023.