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Tennessee RB Jalen Hurd
The SEC is loaded with intriguing out-of-conference matchups in 2015, many of which will determine whether or not the league that once dominated the college football landscape is progressing, regressing or staying in neutral.
It starts in Week 1 with several key matchups, including Alabama vs. Wisconsin at AT&T Stadium in the Cowboys Classic, continuing the next week when Oklahoma visits Tennessee and ends on rivalry weekend, when four traditional ACC vs. SEC matchups close out the regular season.
Which out-of-conference matchups involving SEC teams will dominate headlines in 2015? Our picks based on intensity and national importance are in this slideshow.
Begin Slideshow »
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LSU QBs Anthony Jennings (10) and Brandon Harris (6)
On the surface, does a game between LSU and Syracuse really move the meter?
Not as much as other games, but make no mistake: The late-September matchup between the Tigers and Orange inside the Carrier Dome will be a tough test for head coach Les Miles’ crew based on where it falls on the schedule.
The Tigers start off with McNeese State at home before traveling to Mississippi State and hosting Auburn, leading up to the road trip to New York. Just who will the Tigers be at that point? Will there be a proven option at quarterback?
Considering that, save for Zach Mettenberger’s senior season in 2013, the quarterback position has been a constant struggle in Baton Rouge, is a long road trip really what the starting quarterback needs after facing Manny Diaz’s and Will Muschamp’s defenses in back-to-back weeks?
Probably not.
It’s not a tough game for LSU—it’s a tricky game that could trip the Tigers up if they’re not careful.
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South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier (left) and North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora (right)
South Carolina and North Carolina met to open the 2013 season in Columbia, S.C., but in 2015, they’ll open on more neutral ground: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
It’s a wildly important game for head coach Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks.
Just one year ago, they opened the season as the SEC East favorite before getting dismantled by Texas A&M at home. Spurrier can’t let his team be haunted by a slow start again.
His Gamecocks will enter the game against the Tar Heels with a new quarterback, new feature running back, several new offensive linemen and major questions at defensive line and in the secondary. Lingering defensive problems vs. a high-octane offense like North Carolina, when combined with an offense that is loaded with questions, isn’t a recipe for success for Spurrier. If the defense digs a hole, can the Gamecocks dig out of it?
The last thing South Carolina needs is to get this season off on the wrong foot again.
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Arkansas RB Alex Collins
Arkansas ran all over Texas Tech last year in Lubbock, Texas, when Alex Collins (212 rushing yards) and Jonathan Williams (145 rushing yards) led a Razorbacks ground attack that racked up 438 rushing yards en route to a 49-28 win.
Now the Red Raiders have an even tougher task—stopping an offense that returns both running backs, starting quarterback, four offensive linemen and two leading pass-catchers at their place.
Uh oh, Kliff Kingsbury.
What’s more, unlike the Hogs team that stormed into Lubbock last year, this version got a taste of big-time success late in the 2014 season with emphatic wins over LSU, Ole Miss and Texas.
Arkansas should be a big favorite in Fayetteville, but nobody saw last year’s game coming. Arkansas has to avoid the script being flipped if it wants to continue the building process under third-year head coach Bret Bielema.
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Georgia RB Nick Chubb
Georgia Tech shocked Georgia 30-24 in overtime last year in Athens, marking just the second time in 14 years that the Yellow Jackets have topped the Bulldogs.
You can bet your bottom, top and middle dollars that running back Nick Chubb and the Bulldogs will be looking for revenge this year in Atlanta.
Georgia Tech is coming off a demolition of Mississippi State in the Capital One Orange Bowl, and for the first time in a long time has momentum going in a positive direction under veteran head coach Paul Johnson. Meanwhile, Georgia is looking for answers at quarterback, wide receiver, defensive line, middle linebacker and cornerback, while trying to get back into the national title discussion for the first time since late in the 2012 season.
“Clean, Old Fashioned Hate” has been decidedly one-sided since the turn of the century. Was last season just an anomaly, or the start of a trend? The two rivals from the Peach State will answer that question in late November in Atlanta.
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South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier
Much like the Georgia-Georgia Tech series, it’s been a long time since the ACC member has had the upper-hand in the Palmetto State.
Clemson topped South Carolina 35-17 last year for the first time since Barack Obama won his bid to become President of the United States of America—his first bid.
Clemson returns a potential Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback in Deshaun Watson, as well as its top two receivers from a year ago. Are there defensive questions? Sure, but the Tigers looked poised to not only make noise in the ACC but in the race for the College Football Playoff.
South Carolina, on the other hand, is a complete unknown. There are more numerous and concerning defensive problems in Columbia this offseason than there are at Clemson, on top of a new-look offense that’s replacing starting quarterback Dylan Thompson, running back Mike Davis and a host of reliable offensive linemen.
Their replacements will be more experienced by the time toe meets leather in this rivalry matchup, but will it be enough to get South Carolina back on top of its intra-state rival? Will the outcome of this game change Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier’s career plans?
Buckle up.
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Texas A&M QB Kyle Allen
Do you like points? Well, then Texas A&M vs. Arizona State is for you.
The Aggies and Sun Devils will square off in Houston during Week 1 in a showdown that should tell the world a lot about both programs.
What do we know?
Both programs have dynamic offenses led by brilliant, offensive-minded head coaches and will be led by quarterbacks who, while young, still have enough game experience under their respective belts.
Defensively, though, there’s still plenty to see—specifically with Texas A&M and the new-look Aggies defense under first-year defensive coordinator John Chavis.
If “The Chief” and his Aggies can slow down the Sun Devils offense, it will signal to the rest of the SEC that this A&M team is for real and intends to be a contender in the SEC West. If they look lost—again—it will be a sign that there’s still plenty of work to do in College Station.
John Raoux/Associated Press
Florida QB Treon Harris
Florida took intra-state rival Florida State to the brink last year in Tallahassee in former head coach Will Muschamp’s final game with the Gators, falling 24-19 as Florida State extended its winning streak to, at the time, 28 straight.
Now the two Sunshine State rivals will meet in Gainesville, with new Gators head coach Jim McElwain looking to make his mark on the series with the Orange and Blue.
Will Florida State again be in the mix for the College Football Playoff and in need of a win to stay alive? Will Florida be competitive enough to spring the upset and announce that state power has shifted to Gainesville?
This matchup between two heated rivals is always a can’t-miss event, and the combination of Florida State’s rise to prosperity, combined with Florida’s demise and subsequent rebuilding effort, has this rivalry loaded with intrigue in 2015.
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Auburn QB Jeremy Johnson
Auburn is going to be on the periphery of the College Football Playoff discussion from the moment the season gets underway, but if the Tigers can’t get past Louisville, those hopes might stay in the offseason rather than materializing this fall.
New quarterback Jeremy Johnson and a new stable of running backs will face a tough test in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in the Georgia Dome, when they go up against a Louisville defense that finished 11th in the nation last year in yards per play (4.75) and features several stars, including high-profile transfers in defensive end Devonte Fields (TCU) and safety Josh Harvey-Clemons (Georgia).
The matchup will provide a good barometer for the 2015 Tigers, and if they can get past the Cardinals, it could be the start of another run to the SEC Championship Game a couple of months later in the same building.
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Alabama QB Jake Coker
Alabama will break in nine new starters on offense and will do it on one of the biggest stages in American sports: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, better known as “Jerry World.”
The bad news is that there will be plenty of pressure on the newcomers as they go up against one of the better teams in the Big Ten on the big stage. The good news is that Wisconsin doesn’t really throw that much, so Alabama’s most pressing issue—its secondary—won’t be tested all that much.
Still, though, the offensive questions need to be answered, and second-year offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has this game sitting at the start of the schedule motivating the fresh faces all offseason.
Who will take advantage? It should be fun to watch the “Kiffin 2.0″ offense with so many players who, while new to the starting lineup, have had more than a year to learn the system.
Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press
Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops (left) and Tennessee head coach Butch Jones (right)
Unlike Auburn and Alabama, who play in the third- and second-ranked games in this article, respectively, Tennessee is a wild card in the SEC in 2015.
Many, including yours truly, think that the Vols are set up to return to SEC East glory in 2015 thanks to a loaded defense, veteran quarterback, silly wide receiver depth, two potent running backs and an offensive line that should develop with time.
We’ll know quickly, when the Vols host Big 12 foe Oklahoma for the back end of a home-and-home series that started last year in a 34-10 win for the Sooners.
That score is deceiving, though. Tennessee was driving early in the fourth quarter and on the brink of cutting Oklahoma’s lead to 10 before quarterback Justin Worley threw a 100-yard pick-six and the game got out of reach. In that second half, though, the Vols defense had allowed just 25 yards per drive and kept them within striking distance.
If head coach Butch Jones’ crew can finish off the Sooners this year, it will announce Tennessee’s triumphant return to the national stage and set it up for an interesting SEC East title race. If they fall, perhaps Jones’ young team needs a little more experience before playing with the big boys.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports’ composite rankings. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
SEC Football: Power Ranking Top 2015 out-of-Conference Games - Bleacher Report
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