College Football 2012: Dates, Times and TV Info for SEC's First Three Weeks
With the college football season rapidly approaching, things are beginning to heat up in preparation. Media days are taking place, true freshmen are preparing to hit the field, fall camps are almost here, watch lists are being released and television schedules are slowly being released to the public.
One of the conferences that has now given us a sneak peak of the 2012 TV schedule is the SEC. There are plenty of juicy matchups that take place in college football's toughest conference, so many of these dates and times should give you enough time to cancel anything on your to-do list.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Since the SEC is under contract in its fourth season with CBS and ESPN, every game in this conference will take place on either CBS Sports, the ESPN networks, CSS or FSN.
Get your calendars and DVR ready, here is all the information you need for the SEC television schedule.
Week 1
| Aug. 30 | South Carolina at Vanderbilt | ESPN | 7 p.m. ET |
Vanderbilt is a team on the rise. Getting to see running back Marcus Lattimore is a plus.
Grade: B+
| Aug. 30 | Texas A&M at Louisiana Tech (Shreveport, La.) | ESPNU | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Louisiana Tech is an underrated team in 2012, and it will be interesting to see how the Aggies fare.
Grade: C
| Aug. 31 | Tennessee vs. N.C. State (Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, Atlanta, Ga.) | ESPNU | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Two young teams that seem to be on the rise heading into 2012.
Grade: A
| Sept. 1 | Buffalo at Georgia | SEC Network | 12:21 p.m. ET |
Georgia will win this game easily.
Grade: F
| Sept. 1 | Bowling Green at Florida | ESPN | 3:30 p.m. ET |
Much like the Georgia game, typical Week 1 matchup. Powerhouse program against a sub-par football team.
Grade: D
| Sept. 1 | Auburn vs. Clemson (Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, Atlanta, Ga.) | ESPN | 7 p.m. ET |
It will be interesting to see how much Auburn has improved in 2012. It is always fun to watch high-scoring offenses such as Clemson.
Grade: A
| Sept. 1 | North Texas at LSU | ESPNU | 7 p.m. ET |
LSU is expected to be even better in 2012, which isn't exactly good news for North Texas.
Grade: D
| Sept. 1 | Jackson State at Mississippi State | FSN | 7 p.m. ET |
Mississippi State lost a lot of players, but it has many talented players on both sides of the ball.
Grade: F
| Sept. 1 | Alabama vs. Michigan (Cowboys Classic, Arlington, Texas) | ABC | 8 p.m. ET |
Is there really a better Week 1 matchup than this? The outcome of this game will shake the rankings up early.
Grade: A+
| Sept. 1 | Central Arkansas at Ole Miss | PPV | 7 p.m. ET |
Yuck. Who would actually pay to see this matchup?
Grade: F
| Sept. 1 | Jacksonville State at Arkansas | PPV | TBA |
Arkansas will win this game by at least 45 points. You heard it here first.
Grade: F
| Sept. 1 | Southeastern Louisiana at Missouri | PPV | 7 p.m. ET |
Missouri has questions on both sides of the ball, but Southeastern Louisiana won't provide much of a test.
Grade: F
| Sept. 2 | Kentucky at Louisville | ESPN | 3:30 p.m. ET |
This should actually be a solid matchup, as Kentucky has a few pieces in place and Louisville will contend for a Big East title this season.
Grade: C+
Week 2
| Sept. 8 | Auburn at Mississippi State | ESPN | 12 p.m. ET |
Two teams that many are sleeping on in the SEC. Should be one of the more underrated matchups of the Week 2 schedule.
Grade: B
| Sept. 8 | East Carolina at South Carolina | SEC Network | 12:21 p.m. ET |
South Carolina will contend for an SEC East title. East Carolina...not so much.
Grade: D
| Sept. 8 | Florida at Texas A&M | ESPN | 3:30 p.m. ET |
In the first SEC game for the Aggies, Florida will bring its feisty defense, which returns 10 starters from a year ago, to Kyle Field
Grade: B+
| Sept. 8 | Western Kentucky at Alabama | SEC Network | 3:39 p.m. ET |
Can you say Alabama in a beatdown?
Grade: F
| Sept. 8 | Washington at LSU | ESPN | 7 p.m. ET |
This is actually worth the watch. If Washington quarterback Keith Price can get going, things could get real interesting for LSU.
Grade: B
| Sept. 8 | UTEP at Ole Miss | FSN | 7 p.m. ET |
Much like the first Ole Miss game. Yuck.
Grade: F
| Sept. 8 | Louisiana-Monroe at Arkansas (Little Rock, Ark.) | ESPNU | 7 p.m. ET |
The Razorbacks get another easy opponent to kick off the 2012 schedule.
Grade: F
| Sept. 8 | Kent State at Kentucky | CSS | 7:30 p.m. ET |
I'm not sure how many people will actually tune into this game.
Grade: D
| Sept. 8 | Georgia at Missouri | ESPN2 | 7:45 p.m. ET |
Missouri opens its first SEC game against the Bulldogs. Georgia will play this game with suspended defensive players, so things could get a little tricky for Mark Richts club.
Grade: B+
| Sept. 8 | Vanderbilt at Northwestern | Big Ten Network | 8 p.m. ET |
Two up-and-coming programs in college football will battle it out. May not be the type of football you are looking for, but these two teams have bright futures ahead of them.
Grade: C
| Sept. 8 | Georgia State at Tennessee | PPV | TBA |
Tennessee rolls easily.
Grade: F
Week 3
| Sept. 15 | Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn | SEC Network | 12:21 p.m. ET |
Auburn does have issues it must address, but a lot less than Louisiana-Monroe does.
Grade: D
| Sept. 15 | Presbyterian at Vanderbilt | CSS | 12:30 p.m. ET |
Can I pay you to watch this game? No? Didn't think so.
Grade: F
| Sept. 15 | Alabama at Arkansas | CBS Sports | 3:30 p.m. ET |
Alabama won easily in last year's meeting. But this time, the game will take place in Arkansas, and the Razorbacks have Knile Davis at running back. Should be a good one, folks.
Grade: A+
| Sept. 15 | Texas A&M at SMU | FSN | 3:30 p.m. ET |
SMU should return to another bowl game for the fourth straight season, although I don't think the Mustangs are good enough to compete with the Aggies.
Grade: C
| Sept. 15 | Florida at Tennessee | ESPN | 6 p.m. ET |
These two teams usually play each other very close. With the Volunteers returning the majority of last year's roster, expect nothing less than a nail-biter.
Grade: B+
| Sept. 15 | Arizona State at Missouri | ESPN2 | 7 p.m. ET |
The Sun Devils should be another decent defensive team, while the Tigers have many skill position players on offense.
Grade: B
| Sept. 15 | Western Kentucky at Kentucky | ESPNU | 7 p.m. ET |
As you can see by the schedule, there are other, more meaningful games to watch then this one.
Grade: D
| Sept. 15 | UAB at South Carolina | FSN | 7 p.m. ET |
Once again, the Gamecocks open the season with another sub-par opponent. South Carolina should start the season with a 3-0 record.
| Sept. 15 | Mississippi State at Troy | ESPN3 | 7 p.m. ET |
Troy went 3-9 in the Sun Belt last season. Do I really have to say any more than that?
Grade: F
| Sept. 15 | Florida Atlantic at Georgia | CSS | 7:30 p.m. ET |
The Owls are simply not a good football team at all, while Georgia is a dark horse for the SEC championship.
Grade: F
| Sept. 15 | Idaho at LSU | PPV | 8 p.m. ET |
LSU will contend for a national championship; Idaho is trying to double last year's win total to four games.
Grade: F
| Sept. 15 | Texas at Ole Miss | ESPN | 9:15 p.m. ET |
These two teams have not met since 1966, with the Longhorns winning five of the six overall meetings. Unless the Rebels make a drastic improvement, the results should be the same in 2012.
Grade: D
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
