It’s become part of my daily summer morning routine the past few weeks.
I check my email and my news feed on my work computer, and lately it’s been inundated with college football news.
Even outside the office I’ve observed where grocery and bookstore racks are becoming full of fall football preview magazines. Television and sports talk radio shows are also beginning to ramp up their reports on the 2024 season. But the fun really begins at the Southeastern Conference’s annual media days, scheduled for July 15-18 in Dallas.
Everyone seems to be getting college football fever. No doubt, the anticipation is building, probably more so in the SEC than it has been for a little while.
For the first time since 2012, two new teams enter the league in Texas and Oklahoma, bringing the total number of schools in the SEC to 16. The East and West Divisions are no more. Nick Saban is no longer the head coach at Alabama. Texas A&M and Mississippi State also have new head coaches.
And don’t get me started on who went where in the transfer portal.
There’s been a seismic shift since January when the Michigan Wolverines won the college football playoff, which also expands from four to 12 teams this year.
In preliminary discussions for our annual End Zone Show, I recently asked my co-hosts Trent Dickeson and Reginald T. Bigfoot for their initial thoughts on the upcoming SEC football season.
I was lucky to get in touch with the sasquatch. He’s been surfing in the South Pacific, but he did take time in between cresting waves to offer up another round of “Bigfoot’s Best.”
On our final show before Thanksgiving, we’ll revisit what’s discussed here. We’ll see how close or how far away we were to the observations and predictions we make now.
One thing’s for sure. It’s gonna be a challenge for yours truly to keep that college pick’em turkey trophy for another year.
Which games do you feel will determine the path to the SEC conference championship game?
Trent: I’m going to stay away from Alabama and Georgia (Sept. 28) because that’s such an obvious one. My first one is Georgia at Texas (Oct. 19). I was originally going to pick Texas’s first SEC game, but that’s against Mississippi State, who is rebuilding. Then they play Oklahoma, which will make this Georgia game Texas’s third game in the SEC but easily their biggest. It’s in Austin and will feature two potential playoff teams. If Texas is going to win it all, they need to prove they can beat a Georgia team at home.
If Texas wins, they have one of the easier SEC schedules. They also draw Vandy, Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas A&M. There’s a path for Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns, but they’re facing arguably the best team in football in Georgia.
Bigfoot: Georgia at Alabama is a no-brainer. They’ve combined to win nine of the last 10 SEC championships. Will Bama be in the national title conversation in its first year without Saban? We’ll have a pretty good idea after this game.
Georgia at Texas could be a mid-season 1-versus-2 matchup. Georgia is not used to having road game tests like Bama and Texas before Halloween, but they certainly have them in ‘24. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers may be the beneficiary of all this early-season exposure. He beat Bama last year, and if he makes good showings against Michigan and Georgia, he’ll be in the Heisman conversation for sure.
Shannon: No doubt Georgia at Texas is a huge contest, but you also have Alabama at Tennessee that weekend. Alabama lost the last time it went to Knoxville and then missed out on a chance to make the playoffs. Not only is this a huge game for Alabama, but I also think it’s a big game for head coach Kalen Deboer. It will be his first true exposure coaching in a tough SEC road environment.
Trent: I’m blocking out my day on Oct. 19. That should be a fun day. Kalen Deboer’s first SEC game is Georgia, but his biggest impression will come on the road on the third Saturday in October. Following Saban was always going to be difficult, and I think Deboer has done a good job of winning over the fan base to this point. You solidify yourself as the Alabama head coach with a win over Tennessee and most likely give yourself a run at the SEC crown and the national title.
Tennessee needs to prove that win two years ago wasn’t a one-off for Josh Heupel. If they’re going to take that next step as a program, they need to do it this year.
Trent’s other SEC games to watch: Oklahoma at Missouri (Nov. 9), Georgia at Ole Miss (Nov. 9), Texas at Texas A&M (Nov. 30), Tennessee at Georgia (Nov. 16).
Bigfoot’s other SEC games to watch: Texas at Michigan (Sept. 7), Alabama at Oklahoma (Nov. 23), Texas at Texas A&M (Nov. 30).
Shannon’s other SEC games to watch: Tennessee at Oklahoma (Sept. 21), Auburn at Georgia (Oct. 5), Oklahoma vs. Texas (Oct. 12), Alabama at LSU (Nov. 9), Georgia at Ole Miss (Nov. 9), Auburn at Alabama (Nov. 30).
Which SEC team has the easiest schedule?
Bigfoot: Missouri. Non-conference cupcakes are Murray State, Buffalo, Boston College, and UMass. Then the Tigers play what could be the worst six teams in the conference in Vandy, Texas A&M, Auburn, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Arkansas. Their only top-notch SEC games come at Alabama in late October and Oklahoma in early November.
Trent: Missouri. It’s hard to say a schedule is “easy” in the SEC, but this is a favorable one. The road game at Alabama (Oct. 26) is a big one, but there are three games against teams that might fire their head coach after 2024 and two more games against first-year head coaches. Missouri needs to take advantage to prove last year was no fluke.
Shannon: Ole Miss. The Rebels don’t play Alabama or Texas in the regular season this year. They could be 6-0 heading to LSU on Oct. 12, with a bye week to follow before hosting Oklahoma (Oct. 26). Then they travel to Arkansas (Nov. 2) and host Georgia (Nov. 9). After another bye on Nov. 16, the Rebels close out the season at Florida on Nov. 23, and then against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Nov. 30.
Which SEC team has the hardest schedule?
Bigfoot: Florida. Ending the year with Georgia (Nov. 2), at Texas (Nov. 9), LSU (Nov. 16), Ole Miss (Nov. 23), and at Florida State (Nov. 30), the Gators will likely lose all five, not to mention an opener against Miami (Aug. 31) and an October trip to Knoxville (Oct. 12).
Trent: Florida. There’s a world where Florida wins only three games.
Shannon: Georgia. The Bulldogs were criticized for having a “weak” schedule in 2023, but that won’t be the case in 2024. After opening the season against Clemson in Atlanta on Aug. 31, the Bulldogs travel to Lexington to face Kentucky on Sept. 14, then travel to Alabama and host Auburn on homecoming in back-to-back weeks (Sept. 28 and Oct. 5), then host Mississippi State (Oct. 12) and travel to Austin to face Texas (Oct. 19) before what should be a much-needed bye week. The Bulldogs close out their SEC schedule against Florida in Jacksonville on Nov. 2, at Ole Miss on Nov. 9, and at home against Tennessee on Nov. 16.
Who is your dark horse team(s)?
Bigfoot: Ole Miss. No Bama on the schedule and easy non-conference games.
Trent: Texas A&M and Auburn. If Mike Elko can breathe life into this program, the talent and resources are there for the Aggies to be a sneaky good team. Also, Auburn could be a surprise team. The Tigers recruited really well and should be able to score. If they pull off a shocker or two, then watch out.
Shannon: Auburn and Missouri. Both Tigers won’t play their first road games until Oct. 5: Auburn at Georgia and Missouri at Texas A&M, respectively. Auburn opens the season by welcoming Alabama A&M, California, New Mexico, Arkansas and Oklahoma before battling the Bulldogs. Missouri hosts Murray State, Buffalo, Boston College and Vanderbilt before having to deal with the 12th man.
For more of the crew’s thoughts on the upcoming 2024 college football season, as well as the area’s high school football teams, tune in every Thursday night at 6 p.m. beginning in late August to 100.5 FM or 990 AM for another year of the WEIS End Zone Show.