SEC Football: Biggest Trap Game for Every SEC Team in 2015
By now, you've probably taken your favorite preseason magazine, looked at the SEC composite schedule and etched out exactly how you think the SEC will play out in 2015. In your mind, it all makes sense, right?
This is college football; these are 18- to 22-year-old young men, and upsets happen every year—sometimes at the most unpredictable times.
Trap games are the worst enemies of national title contenders, and there are plenty of them to go around in 2015. What's the biggest trap game for every SEC team? Our picks based on timing, talent and depth are in this slideshow.
Alabama: At Texas A&M, Oct. 17
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Before you jump to the comment section and write "59-0"—yes, I know Alabama steamrolled Texas A&M by that score in a game that wasn't even as close as that score indicated.
That was a completely different Aggies team that was lost defensively and led by a quarterback in Kenny Hill who had lost all semblance of confidence in himself and his team.
This year will be different for the Aggies, with new defensive coordinator John Chavis, a new found dedication to the power running game and a quarterback in Kyle Allen who got better down the stretch once Hill was sent to the bench.
Alabama will have to travel to Kyle Field and play in front of a hostile crowd the week after the Crimson Tide's slugfest with Arkansas and two weeks after the trip to Georgia. Meanwhile, Texas A&M will have a bye week to cook up something crazy for the Tide.
Arkansas: Vs. Texas Tech, Sept. 19
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Arkansas ran over, around and through Texas Tech last year, racking up 438 yards on the ground and seven—yes, seven—rushing touchdowns.
The world will be expecting a repeat performance in this year's meeting in Fayetteville because, let's be honest, the Red Raiders don't play a lick of defense. But will Arkansas?
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury's crew is fully capable of lighting up the scoreboard, and this game will be the first true test for a Razorbacks defense that will be without tackle Darius Philon, end Trey Flowers and linebacker Martrell Spaight—the three best defenders from last year's squad.
If Tech gets touchdowns instead of field goals, it's fully capable of putting pressure on the Razorbacks offense and forcing the normally conservative Hogs off their game plan.
Auburn: At Kentucky, Oct. 15
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Auburn's schedule sets up well for a national title run, with games at home vs. Ole Miss, Alabama and Georgia—three of the toughest opponents in the SEC. Its bye week falls after Week 5 and is followed by a Thursday night game against Kentucky the following week—essentially giving the Tigers 1.5 bye weeks in a year in which most teams just have one.
That Thursday night game against the Wildcats could get tricky.
Head coach Mark Stoops will also have time to prepare for the Tigers and will be playing in front of a home crowd at Commonwealth Stadium that is desperate for the program to be back on the map, and weird things typically happen on Thursday nights.
Auburn better not overlook Stoops' crew. They're typically good for one surprise win at home per year, and the prime-time, exclusive Thursday night slot is a perfect time for the Wildcats to jump up and bite.
Florida: At Missouri, Oct. 10
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Missouri steamrolled Florida last year in The Swamp 42-13 in a game that got out of hand early. Although, don't blame Florida's defense, because the Gators held Missouri to just 119 yards for the entire game. Special teams and a stagnant offense killed the Gators that night.
The road trip to Missouri this year falls at a tough time for the Gators, following back-to-back big games versus Tennessee and Ole Miss, and prior to the road trip to LSU.
Could the Gators look past Missouri?
If they get off to a hot start in the SEC and keep the winning streak over Tennessee alive, it could happen.
Georgia: Vs. Kentucky, Nov. 7
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I know, I know—Georgia thrashed Kentucky last year in Lexington and is, by leaps and bounds, the more talented team.
In what is essentially the same schedule format as last year, the game versus Kentucky falls the week after Georgia's typically tough World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail party rivalry game with Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, and the week prior to the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry with Auburn.
That's a tough spot, and if Georgia is in the SEC East's catbird seat and in the national title mix, it could conceivably view the Wildcats as a mere speed bump on the road to bigger and better things.
It didn't matter last year, but that doesn't mean the trend will continue.
Kentucky: Vs. UL-Lafayette, Sept. 5
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Kentucky should open the season with a resounding victory over the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns and enter its Week 2 matchup at South Carolina with a little confidence.
Head coach Mark Hudspeth's crew was recently picked to finish second in the Sun Belt by the conference's coaches, and the Ragin' Cajuns have established themselves as one of the conference's most consistent teams over the last half-decade.
Meanwhile, Kentucky will have to find a way to generate pressure from a new-look front seven and doesn't have an ultra-reliable wide receiver yet.
It's not often that a season-opener is a trap game, but Kentucky should be wary of Louisiana-Lafayette. An early trip-up could ruin the Wildcats' chances of making a bowl.
LSU: At Syracuse, Sept. 26
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LSU is a massive question mark, and we'll know plenty about the Tigers by Week 4 after they travel to Mississippi State and host Auburn in Weeks 2 and 3, respectively.
A couple of losses could wipe away their confidence, whereas a couple of big wins over divisional foes could signify that head coach Les Miles' crew is "back."
However it works out, Miles will have a tricky road out-of-conference matchup to deal with in Week 4 at Syracuse—a team that would like nothing more than to make a statement against one of the SEC's traditional powers.
Is Syracuse better than LSU? Probably not. In fact, the two teams aren't even close to each other in terms of overall talent. But it's a long road trip after two enormous games and has "trap game" written all over it.
Mississippi State: At Southern Miss, Sept. 5
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Southern Miss has fallen on hard times lately after establishing itself as one of the more fearsome among the group of five teams that have played under former Golden Eagles head coach and current North Carolina head man Larry Fedora.
How can it get back on the map? A home win over former No. 1 and 2014 Cinderella Mississippi State would do it.
The Bulldogs will travel to Hattiesburg to open the season in a much different role. Sure, they're not picked to do much in the SEC West—in the official SEC media vote, they were picked to finish last in the division. But after spending five weeks at No. 1 last year and playing in the Orange Bowl, they'll still have a massive target on their backs when they head south to play the Golden Eagles.
Can they handle that kind of pressure? Will head coach Dan Mullen successfully fill significant roster holes on both sides of the line of scrimmage? The success or failure of Southern Miss will help answer those questions.
Missouri: At Vanderbilt, Oct. 24
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In a year in which each team only gets one bye week, the timing of that week off is incredibly important. For Missouri, it could spell disaster.
The Tigers play eight straight games to open the season, with the final game of that stretch coming at Vanderbilt the week after a tough road matchup with Georgia.
No, Nashville, Tennessee, isn't the toughest place to play in the SEC—far from it, actually. But it will be the first home game for the 'Dores in nearly a month, and second-year head coach Derek Mason would love nothing more than to prove that he belongs by getting a win over the two-time defending SEC East champs.
Missouri should win this one with relative ease, but its place on the schedule makes it a tricky game to manage going into the bye.
Ole Miss: At Memphis, Oct. 17
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Ole Miss' road game versus Memphis makes a ton of sense for the Rebels. It's a fertile recruiting ground, isn't too far up the road from Oxford and is a good chance to get into a major market in a road game that will surely feature quite a few Rebels fans.
Watch out for the Tigers, though.
Head coach Justin Fuente has done a marvelous job of rebuilding that program with a defensive identity, and as Zach Barnett of FootballScoop notes, Memphis has plenty of offseason momentum.
"Longest winning streaks entering '15: 1 Ohio St - 13 2 Boise - 9 3 TCU - 8 4 Memphis - 7 5 App St - 6 6 W Kentucky - 5 7 Michigan St - 4
— Zach Barnett (@zach_barnett) July 22, 2015"
It'll be the seventh game in seven weeks for the Rebels and immediately prior to massive games versus Texas A&M and at Auburn. If head coach Hugh Freeze's crew is looking ahead, the Tigers can bite them.
South Carolina: Vs. Kentucky, Sept. 12
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South Carolina still has defensive line and secondary questions, added quarterback, running back and offensive line questions in the offseason and has an early-season schedule that doesn't do them any favors.
The Gamecocks play North Carolina, Georgia, Missouri and LSU all before Oct. 15 and have a tough out-of-conference game with UCF mixed into that stretch. The remaining game, versus Kentucky in Week 2, is no slouch, either.
The Wildcats stunned the Gamecocks in Lexington last year, and if head coach Steve Spurrier's crew isn't ready for their Week 2 matchup, history could repeat itself. Regardless of what happens in the opener versus North Carolina, the Kentucky game is a must-win for the Gamecocks. If they lose, it could spell disaster for the 2015 season.
Tennessee: Vs. Bowling Green (in Nashville), Sept. 5
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Tennessee is receiving all kinds of offseason hype, including from yours truly, who picked the Vols to win the SEC East.
They better not be too busy reading their own press clippings or look ahead to the big Week 2 matchup versus Oklahoma, because Bowling Green would love nothing more than to make a statement against the Vols in Week 1 in Nashville.
The Falcons won the MAC East last year and beat South Alabama in the Camellia Bowl, and they aren't much of a pushover. Tennessee should handle them, but if the Vols bring their "C" game, it certainly could lead to an upset.
Texas A&M: Vs. South Carolina, Oct. 31
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Texas A&M shocked the world on opening night last year by steamrolling South Carolina out of their own building. The Gamecocks would love nothing more than to return the favor in 2015 in the matchup in College Station.
South Carolina will have two weeks to prepare for the Aggies, and this game couldn't come at a worse time for head coach Kevin Sumlin's crew. Texas A&M hosts Alabama and visits Ole Miss in the two weeks prior to the matchup with the Gamecocks and hosts Auburn the week after.
On top of that, it's not like either of these two teams are absent of roster holes. Sure, some of them could (and perhaps should) be answered by Halloween. But if they haven't been, this one could get wild.
Vanderbilt: At Middle Tennessee, Oct. 3
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It's not like Vanderbilt has SEC-level depth to rely on, and when the Commodores travel south-east down I-24 to Murfreesboro to play Middle Tennessee, it will be their fifth straight game and the week after traveling to Oxford to play the physical Ole Miss defense.
That's not ideal.
No, the Blue Raiders aren't anything to write home about, and Vandy should take care of them with relative ease.
But we're talking about a Commodores team that lost to Temple at home last year and whose head coach, Derek Mason, looked lost in his first year at the helm.
It's not a tough road test; it's a tricky matchup with big local implications in a tough spot for Mason's crew.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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