ESPN names the biggest winners, losers with 2024 SEC schedule release
The SEC released football schedules for 2024 — when Texas and Oklahoma are in the league — a few weeks ago. And now that the dust has settled, ESPN took a gander at the greater picture for the SEC in two seasons and broke down who won big and who lost out with the new scheduling.
Some of the winners and losers are not necessarily teams themselves — rivalries, for instance, were deemed a winner as the SEC did good work to maintain as many as possible. Conversely, fans bank accounts were considered a loser, as travel costs for fans of certain league members could balloon quickly.
“If you are a Texas fan, can you miss a road trip to an old rival against Arkansas? Another one to Texas A&M? You can’t miss Oklahoma. Then there are home games against Georgia and Florida. Oklahoma fans get a road trip to LSU, and home games against Alabama and/or Tennessee. It’s all great for fans, but rough on the ol’ pocketbook,” ESPN’s Dave Wilson wrote.
Overall, despite the chance for an expensive year of road trips, ESPN deemed the fans are some of the biggest winners here.
“Each school will play one of the two conference newcomers in Oklahoma and Texas. And there are no repeat trips from the 2023 season. The only thing that would be better for the fans is if the SEC came out on Wednesday and said they will be playing a nine-game schedule in 2025 and beyond. Because a long-term eight-game conference schedule won’t satisfy this many people. So enjoy it while you can,” Alex Scarborough wrote.
Winners from the 2024 SEC football schedule
Arkansas: For the Razorbacks, it’s pretty simple: They keep a bunch of important games while adding Texas back and it even lines up nicely for a strong showing in 2024. They get Texas, LSU, Tennessee and Ole Miss at home and the toughest road game will likely be at Auburn, as the game against Texas A&M is on a neutral field.
“They kept LSU, they kept Ole Miss (one of the most underrated games on the college football slate), they kept Missouri (for whatever that’s worth), they kept A&M and they added Texas. That’s almost perfect for the Hogs,” Bill Connelly wrote.
Texas A&M: The Aggies play Texas in 2024, restoring an iconic rivalry. And most importantly for Texas A&M, they’ll be hosting the Longhorns in their first matchup in more than a decade. Aggies athletic director Ross Bjork got his wish to host Texas and then some, as Texas A&M will also host LSU while dodging Alabama and Georgia. The road trips — Auburn, Mississippi State, Florida and South Carolina — within the league aren’t terribly daunting.
“In this lineup, that’s a very friendly schedule,” Wilson said.
Losers from the 2024 SEC football schedule
Alabama: The Crimson Tide drew a murderers row in 2024, facing Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma and Tennessee, along with rival Auburn and Missouri, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. And Alabama will be on the road against LSU, Oklahoma and Tennessee (and Vanderbilt). Add in a non-conference trip to Wisconsin in Week 2 and Alabama has its work cut out in 2024.
Georgia: Kirby Smart’s Georgia teams haven’t had particularly onerous paths to the SEC title game and College Football Playoff the past two seasons, mostly romping through far inferior SEC East competition. Those days will be done after 2023. The four conference road games for Georgia in 2024: Alabama, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Texas. They’ll get visits from Tennessee, Mississippi State and Auburn and be the home team for a neutral site game against Florida.
“Bye-bye Vanderbilt. So long Missouri. There will be no more running roughshod over a down SEC East for Georgia,” Scarborough wrote.
Oklahoma: The Sooners will only play three conference opponents in Norman in their first season in the league, as they’ve pulled the home designation for the neutral site Red River Rivalry game against Texas. They also will face Alabama and Tennessee in 2024, but both of those games are in Norman. Road trips to Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss, among others, are also no easy task.