SEC Unfiltered: Breaking down the five toughest nonconference matchups
Welcome to SEC Unfiltered, the USA TODAY NETWORK's newsletter on SEC sports. Look for this newsletter in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Today, Knoxville News reporter John Adams takes over:
SEC teams traditionally play a demanding football schedule. And there’s only so much they can do about it.
Eight games in the nation’s premier conference assures them of a reasonably difficult schedule. That also gives them an excuse for watering down their nonconference schedule to ridiculously low levels.
Nonetheless, the league’s nonconference schedules aren’t devoid of challenges. Here are the SEC’s five toughest nonconference matchups.
South Carolina-Clemson: A huge upgrade at quarterback – from QBs by committee last season to Oklahoma transfer Spencer Rattler – will give the Gamecocks a rare advantage at that position.
Although South Carolina should be improved, defeating consensus top-10 pick Clemson on its home field could be too much to ask.
The Tigers “dropped off” to 10-3 last season but still beat the Gamecocks 30-0. Clemson has won the past seven games in the series, and only one of them was close.
Florida-Utah: The Gators will have the home-field advantage, which could be considerable if the temperature in The Swamp reaches the 90s. But almost everything else will favor the Utes, a popular top-10 pick that likely will slug it out with Southern California for the Pac-12 championship and maybe contend for a College Football Playoff berth.
Utah has become accustomed to winning, and this could be coach Kyle Whittingham’s best team. First-year Florida coach Billy Napier’s team will be outmanned – no matter what the temperature is.
Georgia-Oregon: Never mind how much the Bulldogs lost from their national championship team. Coach Kirby Smart has another SEC East favorite and national championship contender.
Playing in Atlanta will be almost as favorable for Georgia as playing in Athens. But that won’t make for an easy opener.
First-year Oregon coach Dan Lanning coordinated the Bulldogs' national championship defense last season, so he will know Georgia’s personnel better than any other opposing coach. Auburn transfer quarterback Bo Nix also will have a working knowledge of the Bulldogs and will be playing behind an experienced Oregon offensive line.
Arkansas-BYU: The Razorbacks would have a much lighter schedule if they had followed Tennessee’s lead and canceled a game with BYU. The Vols will be better off playing Virginia in Nashville than BYU in Provo, Utah, in 2023.
Arkansas is sticking with its original schedule. The Razorbacks will play BYU, a top-25 preseason pick, Oct. 15 after back-to-back SEC West games against Alabama and Mississippi State.
Texas A&M-Miami: The Aggies will face two lesser nonconference opponents before taking on the Hurricanes, a top-20 pick under new coach Mario Cristobal. By then, their quarterback competition should be settled.
Based on what he did at LSU, Max Johnson is apt to beat out Haynes King, who started two games before suffering a broken leg last season. There's no quarterback competition at Miami with Tyler Van Dyke returning. He passed for 25 touchdowns and threw only six interceptions last season.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: SEC Unfiltered: Breaking down the five toughest nonconference matchups
