SEC Football 2017 Schedule Released: Dates, Top Matchups and More
The 2016 college football season isn't even a month old, but SEC fans can already start planning ahead for the 2017 campaign.
The SEC released the football schedules for its schools on Tuesday night, per Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports. Bromberg highlighted a couple of things, including the fact the Egg Bowl clash between Ole Miss and Mississippi State will take place on Thanksgiving, and Auburn will head to Missouri for the first time.
While SEC games are always among the most entertaining and important in the college football landscape, there are a number of notable nonconference showdowns that stand out as well (full schedules can be found via Bromberg):
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
| Alabama vs. Florida State (in Atlanta) | Sept. 2 |
| LSU vs. BYU (in Houston) | Sept. 2 |
| Texas A&M at UCLA | Sept. 2 |
| Florida vs. Michigan (in Arlington, Texas) | Sept. 2 |
| Arkansas vs. TCU | Sept. 9 |
| Auburn at Clemson | Sept. 9 |
| Georgia at Notre Dame | Sept. 9 |
| Florida vs. Florida State | Nov. 25 |
| Georgia at Georgia Tech | Nov. 25 |
Alabama has won three of the last five national titles, but Florida State also won a championship during that span for the 2013 season. The Seminoles and Crimson Tide will kick things off on a neutral field on the opening weekend of the 2017 season in one of the games that figures to have College Football Playoff implications throughout the rest of the year.
A head-to-head victory over a high-caliber opponent like that would give head coach Nick Saban's squad a leg up in the early race for one of the four playoff spots.
Elsewhere, Arkansas and TCU will have a rematch of their double-overtime thriller that the Razorbacks won on Saturday. There will also be rematches from 2016 games pitting Auburn against Clemson and Texas A&M against UCLA.
Florida has arguably the most difficult nonconference schedule in the SEC with a season-opening showdown against head coach Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines and the annual battle with Florida State to finish the regular season. The Wolverines and Seminoles are each in the Top Five of the current Associated Press poll, and Michigan destroyed Florida in last season's Citrus Bowl, 41-7.
Georgia's trip to Notre Dame also stands out as an opportunity for a marquee SEC school to earn a win over a national powerhouse.
The nonconference games offer plenty of intrigue, but the conference title (and likely spot in the College Football Playoff that comes with it) will be won in the SEC battles. Here is a look at some of the notable ones:
| Tennessee at Florida | Sept. 16 |
| Auburn at Missouri | Sept. 23 |
| Georgia at Tennessee | Sept. 30 |
| Ole Miss at Alabama | Sept. 30 |
| Florida at LSU | Oct. 7 |
| Florida vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville, Florida) | Oct. 28 |
| LSU at Alabama | Nov. 4 |
| Arkansas at LSU | Nov. 11 |
| Ole Miss at Mississippi State | Nov. 23 |
| Alabama at Auburn | Nov. 25 |
Florida's trip to Missouri may not stand out as much as some of the others, but Jon Solomon of CBS Sports noted the cold weather could play a factor:
"My favorite part of the SEC schedule: What warm-weather school gets to visit Missouri in November? It's finally Florida's turn in 2017.
— Jon Solomon (@JonSolomonCBS) September 14, 2016"
The Crimson Tide also always jump out considering they are the gold standard for the conference and all of college football as the defending national champions. They don't have to play Florida or Georgia in the crossover games against the SEC East.
Alabama will still be challenged with games against Florida State, LSU, Tennessee and Auburn, but the path could have been more difficult for the defending national champions had it played those traditional powers. That's bad news for the rest of the college football world that is looking to conquer Saban's program in the race for a title.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
