Most important 2022 conference game for every SEC East program

Most important 2022 conference game for every SEC East program

Earlier this week, I looked at the most interesting (to me!) SEC non-conference games in 2022, but without a doubt, the best games every autumn are the conference matchups. The rivalries. The trap games. Potential upset spots. 

Here’s the SEC West piece, and today, I look at the most important 2022 conference game for every SEC East school.  

Florida — Sept. 10 vs. Kentucky

Billy Napier will make his Florida debut against a Top 15 Utah Utes team in Week 1, but the following Saturday, Mark Stoops’ Wildcats come to Gainesville. It’s a pivotal game for Napier, who needs to avoid a potential 0-2 home start but also reassert UF’s former dominance over Kentucky that was lost during the Dan Mullen era. A win could spearhead Florida to a solid season, possibly exceeding expectations in Year 1. A loss could mean the Gators must claw their way to bowl eligibility.

Georgia — Nov. 5 vs. Tennessee 

The Bulldogs will be heavily favored in all 12 regular-season games this season, but their early November showdown with the Vols could be their trickiest matchup. Tennessee is expected to be a solid squad and Josh Heupel’s gimmicky Air Raid offense can frustrate even the best defenses. Last season, UT moved the football on Georgia’s historic defense (its 387 total yards were the most UGA allowed before the SEC Championship Game) but struggled in the red zone. This should still be a Bulldogs’ victory, only it may not come easy. 

Kentucky — Oct. 29 at Tennessee

While ‘Cats fans are dreaming big about a potential win-and-go-to-Atlanta game against Georgia in late November, to even have a shot at the SEC East title (and any tiebreakers), Kentucky must take care of business earlier in the season: And that starts with beating Tennessee, something that has proven quite difficult for UK even as Stoops has turned around the program. The Wildcats have won in Knoxville just one time (the 2020 COVID season) in the last 37 years. 

Missouri — Oct. 29 at South Carolina 

The Tigers will need to pull off an upset or two to reach a bowl game this fall, and a win in Columbia could go a long way to making that happen. Realistically, Mizzou could be 3-4 or 4-3 before its late October game with the Gamecocks. Win, and there’s an obvious path to the magical number of six, but lose, and the Tigers will need to upset Kentucky, Tennessee or Arkansas just to have a chance to continue their season. 

South Carolina — Oct. 22 vs. Texas A&M

The Gamecocks have a really difficult start to the 2022 season with early games at Arkansas and Georgia, but the schedule softens a bit before a two-game stretch featuring Kentucky (on the road) and Texas A&M. South Carolina is 0-7 against the Aggies since they joined the SEC, and they were walloped 48-3 just last season. Texas A&M will come to Columbia off a bye week after a four-game stretch against Miami, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Alabama. So they could be ripe for an upset. 

Tennessee — Sept. 24 vs. Florida 

The Vols have lost this game 16 of the last 17 years, but 2022 is a prime opportunity for Josh Heupel & Co., to potentially flip the tide in the series. It’s a home game against a Gators team coming off an already very difficult start to the season (vs. Utah and Kentucky — two Top 25 teams) with a first-year head coach. This is a game Tennessee has to get, especially if it wants to ascend back up the SEC hierarchy.  

Vanderbilt — Nov. 5 vs. South Carolina

While the Commodores have lost 21 straight SEC games and are not projected to beat a conference team this fall either, there are a couple of spots on the schedule that could scare a team or two. My best bet is a home date with South Carolina to start November. Vandy nearly (and should’ve) upset the Gamecocks on the road last season. This year, its open date falls on the week before South Carolina comes to Nashville.