The most important 2023 conference game for every SEC program this fall

Every Saturday is important, right? Every college football coach utters the same weekly cliche about how their team is taking each week game-by-game, and no one 60 minutes is bigger than the next. 

Folly. 

That’s a fine sentiment for coaches and players, but for fans and media, some games are more significant than others — particularly in final season of the four-team playoff.

The rest of this week, I’m going to look at the most paramount conference games for each Power 5 program, starting with the SEC. 

For some, it’ll be a rivalry. For others, trap games on the schedule or potential upset spots loom larger. Just because one team’s most important game may be against your alma mater though, doesn’t mean it’s the most significant conference matchup for your favorite school. 

So, the most important 2023 SEC conference games:

Alabama — Nov. 4 vs. LSU

It has been a dozen years since Alabama didn’t win the SEC West in consecutive seasons, and in the final year of divisions this fall, the Tide’s home game against LSU — always one of the best games on the SEC schedule each fall — will likely determine who will represent the West in Atlanta come December. 

Alabama is looking for revenge after losing to the Tigers in 2022. Both teams will be coming off an idle date, and both programs are considered among the Top 5 preseason contenders for the national title this fall. 

Arkansas — Sept. 23 vs. Texas A&M

In 2021, Arkansas beat Texas A&M for the first time in 10 years, and it went on to have a surprising 9-4 season. Last fall, the Razorbacks lost a heartbreaker to the Aggies in Arlington, and the close defeat became a harbinger for things to come — going on to finish a disappointing 7-6, with four losses by nine total points. 

The Hogs catch the Aggies in a brutal stretch of their 2023 schedule — at LSU, Texas A&M, at Ole Miss and at Alabama — and with all four games away from Fayetteville, beating their rival in Jerry World looks to be the most winnable of the bunch.

Auburn — Oct. 21 vs. Ole Miss

Hugh Freeze vs. Lane Kiffin, Round 1. 

A late October matchup between Auburn and Ole Miss will feature two head coaches who went head-to-head for the Tigers’ opening this offseason, with Kiffin leveraging the Rebels for a big raise and Freeze returning to the SEC. 

Both programs have hit the transfer portal aggressively to rebuild their rosters, but with Auburn likely big underdogs against LSU, Georgia and Alabama, this stands to be Freeze’s best opportunity for a statement win in Year 1.

Florida — Sept. 16 vs. Tenessee 

The Gators have one of the hardest schedules in the country this fall, opening the year on the road at Utah and four other games against preseason Top 10 teams — Tennessee, Georgia, LSU and Florida State. 

The first of those marquee matchups is the biggest for Billy Napier & Co., though. Florida isn’t expected to make much noise in 2023, but a Week 3 home date against Tennessee could potentially change the outlook of the entire fall with an upset win. The Gators haven’t lost to the Vols in the Swamp in two decades. 

Georgia — Nov. 18 at Tennessee 

The Bulldogs have a 2023 schedule that would make some bakers blush, but a late-season showdown in Knoxville against the Vols will be no cupcake. Tennessee is the lone team on UGA’s regular-season slate with a win total north of seven games, so this stands to be the Dawgs’ toughest test and one roadblock to a third-straight SEC title game appearance.

Kentucky — Sept. 30 vs. Florida 

The Wildcats are looking for a bounce-back season, and their quest to climb back up the SEC standings could hinge on beating the Gators for the fourth time in six years. 

Recently, when UK has toppled Florida, it spells good fortune for the ‘Cats (at least nine wins per season). Kentucky gets Florida at home to end a very manageable September, and a win likely positions the Wildcats to start 5-0 and to face the top-ranked Dawgs will all sorts of confidence and momentum.

LSU — Nov. 4 at Alabama

The Tigers have a schedule chalked with land mines as they hope to return to the College Football Playoff this fall. Brian Kelly’s team is projected to be the preseason pick to return to the SEC Championship Game — and that likely means beating Alabama for the second-straight season. 

LSU will have several weeks to prepare for the Tide this fall, too, with a  non-conference home game against Army in late October and then a bye week before its trip to Tuscaloosa. If the Tigers can topple the Tide in consecutive seasons, then it could signal a true changing of the guard at the top of the SEC. 

Mississippi State — Nov. 23 vs. Ole Miss

The Bulldogs beat the Rebels in Oxford last fall to win the Egg Bowl for the third time in five years, and ending 2023 with another victory in the storied rivalry would give Mississippi State another 12 months of offseason bragging rights. 

Mississippi State gets Ole Miss at home this fall, and in what might be a tough Year 1 for new head coach Zach Arnett, a win over Lane Kiffin and the Rebels could be a much-needed antidote. 

Missouri — Sept. 30 at Vanderbilt

The Tigers have a couple of tricky non-conference games in mid-September (home vs. Kansas State, a neutral site game vs. Memphis in St. Louis), so winning their first SEC game to end the month looms large for Eli Drinkwitz. 

Missouri held on for dear life to beat Vandy in 2022 (17-14 win), and with a slate that features LSU, at Kentucky, at Georgia and Tennessee the next six weeks, the Tigers need to start 1-0 in league play if they hope to make a bowl game in 2023.

Ole Miss — Oct. 7 vs. Arkansas

The Rebels’ schedule was completely backloaded in 2022, and Lane Kiffin & Co., cratered against tougher competition by losing five of six to end the season. 

Among the defeats was a blowout loss in Fayetteville, where Arkansas ran Hog-wild on the Rebels for a 42-27 victory. With a 2023 slate that includes early back-to-back games against Alabama and LSU, beating the Razorbacks could go a long way in determining what sort of bowl game the Rebels go to come season’s end. 

South Carolina — Oct. 14 vs. Florida

The Gamecocks will be plenty battle-tested before they host the Gators in mid-October, as their early season schedule includes games against North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. 

With Shane Beamer looking to exceed expectations for the third-straight autumn, a win against Florida would go a long way in positioning the Gamecocks as a true upward mobility team in the SEC. Florida housed USC 38-6 last season before the ‘Cocks had their magical two-week run of upsetting Tennessee and Clemson. 

South Carolina will have two weeks to prepare for Florida, and a win could give the Gamecocks some juice heading into the back half of their schedule with winnable games vs. Missouri, Texas A&M, Jacksonville State, Vandy and Kentucky.

Tennessee — Sept. 30 vs. South Carolina

Sure, Tennessee would love to get revenge on Georgia in a late November showdown in Neyland Stadium, but for that game to carry the stakes of last year’s matchup, the Vols will need to take care of business earlier in the 2023 season. 

That’s why I’m eyeing a different revenge spot for Tennessee. A Week 5 matchup against South Carolina comes at a key time in UT’s schedule this fall. Depending on what happens against Florida on Sept. 16, a win over the Gamecocks — which housed Tennessee 63-38 in 2022 — should make the Vols, at worst, 4-1 heading into a tough three-game stretch of Texas A&M, at Alabama and at Kentucky. 

Texas A&M — Sept. 23 vs. Auburn 

Jimbo Fisher needs Ws, plural — especially in SEC play. The Aggies are just 6-10 in conference play the last two seasons, so they would be well-served to get off to a fast start vs. league opponents in 2023. 

Auburn has a first-year head coach, a brand-new staff and a new-look roster that will still be coalescing the first month of the season, so Fisher & Co., cannot lose — at home no-less — to the Tigers before a three-game stretch of Arkansas (in Arlington), Alabama and at Tennessee. 

Vanderbilt — Sept. 23 vs. Kentucky 

What if I told you there’s an outside, but potential, pathway for Vanderbilt to start the season 6-0 in 2023? It’s highly unlikely, but cue the Jim Carey GIF, I’m telling you there’s a chance. 

But to do so involves beating Kentucky in the Commodores’ first SEC game this fall. Vandy upset the ‘Cats last season to end a 26-game losing streak in conference play, and they get UK at home this season. With winnable non-conference games against Hawaii, Alabama A&M and UNLV, plus a toss-up matchup at Wake Forest, a victory over Kentucky would give Clark Lea a real runway toward making a bowl game for the first time as the head coach of his alma mater.