The SEC is entering an exciting new chapter for the 2024 college football season.
Texas and Oklahoma are in the 16-team conference. The East and West divisions are gone. That means the degree of difficulty in those eight-game conference schedules is going to factor into which teams make the SEC championship game in Atlanta on Dec. 7 and where teams end up in the new 12-team College Football Playoff.
How do you sort out those schedules to find out who has the easiest and toughest schedules? Sporting News looked at those schedules based on three factors:
- Ranked opponents. This is the easiest metric. How many opponents in Sporting News' Preseason Top 25 does each team face? Then we gave points for each opponent in AP Poll style (25 for No. 1, 24 for No. 2, etc.). So, Texas plays No. 8 Michigan. That's 18 points for the Longhorns.
- Home or road games? We added four points to a school's total for each road game against a ranked opponent. We subtracted four points from that total for a home game against a ranked opponent. Neutral-site games are zero points.
- Totals from hardest to easiest. We totaled those two columns and ranked the 16 SEC teams. Teams with the highest point total have the toughest schedules. Teams with the lowest point total have the easiest schedules.
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SEC's toughest schedules in 2024
Florida
This might be the toughest schedule we have ever seen. The Gators play five top-10 teams in Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss, Florida State and LSU. In addition, Florida maintains its rivalry game with Tennessee, and it will face an improved Texas A&M team. The point total does not include the opener with Miami — another team who easily could be ranked in the AP Top 25. UCF also is on the non-conference schedule. The Gators are 11-14 the last two seasons with Billy Napier. Will Florida get to six wins against this slate?
Oklahoma
Welcome to the SEC. The Sooners face six teams that are ranked No. 13 or higher in SN's preseason rankings. That includes road games at Ole Miss, LSU and Missouri. Home games against Alabama and Tennessee will be fun, and there is the neutral-site matchup against Texas. Those six teams combined for a .812 winning percentage last season – and Tennessee was the only team that did not hit 10 wins.
Mississippi State
First-year coach Jeff Lebby won't have it easy in Year 1. The Bulldogs face Georgia, Texas and Ole Miss on the road. All three of those teams are in the top six in SN's preseason rankings. Mississippi State also faces Tennessee on the road with home games against Missouri and Texas A&M. The non-conference schedule includes a trip to Arizona State.
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SEC's easiest schedules in 2024
Missouri
The Tigers are one of two teams that face just three ranked opponents. The road date at Alabama and a reunion game with former Big 12 rival Oklahoma are the highlights with a trip to Texas A&M mixed in. Missouri can settle in with a soft September non-conference schedule that includes Murray State, Buffalo and Boston College – and all of those games are at Faurot Field.
Ole Miss
Expectations are high for Lane Kiffin, and the Rebels do not have to play Alabama. The toughest game is a home matchup against Georgia. Oklahoma also visits Oxford, and a road date at LSU is never easy. Ole Miss has a light non-conference schedule that includes Furman, Middle Tennessee and Wake Forest. If there was a year for Ole Miss to crack the 12-team College Football Playoff, this is it.
LSU
LSU is 13-1 at home the last two seasons, and Ole Miss, Alabama and Oklahoma have to come to Tiger Stadium. The only road SEC game against a ranked opponent is Texas A&M. The neutral-site opener against USC is mixed in there. It's still not easy knowing LSU is 3-5 against top-25 teams under Brian Kelly, but that home-field advantage should help.
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SEC 2024 football schedule rankings
Using that formula, here are the SEC schedule rankings for the 2024 season, which includes a look at those games against ranked opponents. We ranked those scheduled from the hardest to easiest:
| RANK | SCHOOL | RANKED OPPONENTS | TOTAL |
| 1 | Florida | vs. No. 1 Georgia, at No. 3 Texas, vs. No. 6 Ole Miss, at No. 7 Florida State, vs. No. 10 LSU, at No. 13 Tennessee, vs. No. 25 Texas A&M | 117 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | vs. No. 3 Texas, at No. 6 Ole Miss, vs. No. 9 Alabama, at No. 10 LSU, at No. 11 Missouri, vs. No. 13 Tennessee | 104 |
| 3 | Mississippi State | at No. 1 Georgia, at No. 3 Texas, at No. 6 Ole Miss, vs. No. 11 Missouri, at No. 13 Tennessee, vs. No. 25 Texas A&M | 97 |
| 4 | Arkansas | vs. No. 3 Texas, vs. No. 6 Ole Miss, vs. No. 10 LSU, at No. 11 Missouri, vs. No. 13 Tennessee, vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State, at No. 25 Texas A&M | 96 |
| 5 | South Carolina | vs. No. 6 Ole Miss, at No. 9 Alabama, vs. No. 10 LSU, vs. No. 11 Missouri, at No. 14 Clemson, at No. 18 Oklahoma | 89 |
| 6 | Kentucky | vs. No. 1 Georgia, at No. 3 Texas, at No. 6 Ole Miss, at No. 23 Tennessee, vs. No. 20 Louisville | 87 |
| 7 | Georgia | at No. 3 Texas, at No. 6 Ole Miss, at No. 9 Alabama, vs. No. 13 Tennessee, vs. No. 14 Clemson | 85 |
| 8 | Vanderbilt | vs. No. 3 Texas, vs. No. 9 Alabama, at No. 10 LSU, at No. 11 Missouri, vs. No. 13 Tennessee | 84 |
| 9 | Alabama | vs. No. 1 Georgia, at No. 10 LSU, vs. No. 11 Missouri, at No. 13 Tennessee, at No. 18 Oklahoma | 77 |
| 10 | Texas A&M | vs. 3 Texas, vs No. 5 Notre Dame, vs. No. 10 LSU, vs. No. 11 Missouri | 75 |
| 11 | Auburn | at No. 1 Georgia, at No. 9 Alabama, at No. 11 Missouri, vs. No. 18 Oklahoma, vs. No. 25 Texas A&M | 65 |
| 12(t) | Tennessee | at No. 1 Georgia, vs. No. 9 Alabama, at No. 18 Oklahoma, vs. No. 24 NC State | 52 |
| 12(t) | Texas | vs. No. 1 Georgia, at No. 8 Michigan, vs. No. 18 Oklahoma, at No. 25 Texas A&M | 52 |
| 14 | LSU | vs. No. 6 Ole Miss, vs. 9 Alabama, vs. No. 18 Oklahoma, vs. No. 21 USC, at No. 25 Texas A&M | 51 |
| 15 | Ole Miss | vs. No. 1 Georgia, at No. 10 LSU, vs. No. 18 Oklahoma | 49 |
| 16 | Missouri | at No. 9 Alabama, vs. No. 18 Oklahoma, at No. 25 Texas A&M | 26 |
Three more SEC schedule takeaways
– Georgia, Texas and Alabama will be the popular picks to win the SEC. The Bulldogs have the toughest schedule among the three contenders with road trips to Austin and Tuscaloosa and a neutral-site opener against Clemson. The Longhorns have the toughest non-conference game at Michigan in Week 2. Alabama – which won the SEC in Nick Saban's final season – has road games at LSU, Tennessee and Oklahoma. That is a tough start for first-year coach Kalen DeBoer.
- The Aggies have a few schedule breaks under first-year coach Mike Elko. Texas A&M and Arkansas are the only two SEC teams that do not have to play Georgia or Alabama. Texas A&M has four games against ranked opponents, but all of them are at Kyle Field. It’s still a tough schedule with Notre Dame, LSU, Missouri and Texas – a much-anticipated rivalry game that has not been played since 2011.
– In contrast, Auburn and Tennessee are the only SEC teams that have both Georgia and Alabama on the schedule. It will be interesting to see if protected rivalry games become part of the conversation in the future. The Tigers face the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide on the road in 2024, and the Vols have a neutral-site matchup with NC State.