SEC Out of Conference Preview
by Van Plexico

With the addition of the controversial twelfth games to college football schedules the last two years, there are some quite good out-of-conference matchups nearly every week of the season--and September 6 is a cornucopia of fascinating nationwide contests.

Without further ado, here's a look at the best of the OOC games for 2003:

August 30

Auburn vs Southern Cal
A pretty close match, though the advantages lean slightly toward Auburn this year. Last year, the Tigers were getting used to a new system on both sides of the ball, trying to develop a decent passing game with Daniel Cobb and the freshmen receivers, and were playing on the West Coast. This time around, Auburn should be more confident and capable on both sides of the ball (with the noteable exception of the secondary-- thank goodness Carson Palmer is gone), while the Trojans have to journey to the Plains and make do without several standout players from last year. It could be as close as the last one, but this time it will be Auburn going on the late drive to seal the win.

Georgia at Clemson
Last year's contest was surprisingly close, given how both teams' seasons ultimately turned out. Objective observation would dictate that Clemson has an excellent shot at pulling off the upset this year-- it's in Clemson, and UGA loses so much from their excellent 2002 unit, not to mention the distractions surrounding the program lately. Still, I have an odd feeling that this will turn out to be one of those games where it doesn't quite work out the way folks might expect. Just a gut feeling, but I think Georgia will handle Clemson surprisingly easily.

Kentucky vs Louisville
An early chance to see Bobby Petrino's offense at work, against whatever Rich Brooks comes up with in the Commonwealth. I like Louisville.

MSU vs Oregon
I'm sure the Ducks will enjoy their trip to scenic Starkville, in so many ways.

September 6

Alabama vs Oklahoma
This one, on the other hand, will go precisely as people expect. I see the Tide hanging around for maybe one or two quarters, but it will look nothing like last year. Plus I expect the Sooners to take bama a bit more seriously this year than last. Oklahoma in a laugher.

Auburn at Georgia Tech
Two years ago, this game sort of made me nervous, even though it was to be in a "neutral" Georgia Dome with half the fans for Auburn (read MORE than half). Now, with Tech in disarray, even played at Grant Field, I feel pretty good.

Florida at Miami
Ron Zook could go a long way toward regaining the Gator fans' confidence with a win here. And they did manage a surprise early win (over UT) last season. But there's just no chance. Florida doesn't have enough ammunition right now, and Miami is gearing up for another march to the BCS. With Miami playing all these SEC games lately, you almost have to wonder which conference it is they're thinking of joining...

LSU at Arizona
The perfect game for the Bayou Bengals-- a (fairly) big name, with very little this year to back it up. Things should turn out much better for LSU this time than they did during their trip to play Virginia Tech. 

Tennessee vs Marshall
The Thundering Herd could give the Vols a decent game, at least for a while. I wouldn't take this one lightly if I were a UT fan. And after a week off, UT goes into the brutal stretch of Florida, Carolina, Auburn, UGA, and Alabama. We'll know a lot about how that stretch will go after seeing the Vols' performance vs Marshall. Gut feeling-- Tennessee looks like their old selves for a good part of this game. But it won't be easy.

Sept. 13

Arkansas at Texas
It's good that the Hogs finally picked up a decent OOC game, since their in-conference schedule is perennially the weakest in the West. Win this and Arkansas could be undefeated when they host Auburn on October 11 (in what could be a game of undefeateds). Thing is, they won't beat Texas. Fair but honest appraisal: They don't do well enough in the big games.

Sept. 27

Ole Miss vs Texas Tech
The Rebels got defenestrated last year by the Red Raidahs. My grandma's alma mater lost their star QB but should still take it to Ole Miss, exposing some fundamental weaknesses. Closer than last year, but Ole Miss will have to put together a complete game to have a shot.

Vanderbilt vs Georgia Tech
This one's worth mentioning only because we'll get to find out whether Tech's fallen so low by this point that they can't even beat Vandy. If not, Chan Gailey better start packing.

October 11

Alabama vs Southern Mississippi
By this point, we'll have a pretty good idea of what bama's managed to cobble together for an offense. Can it move the ball on a usually stingy bunch of Golden Eagles? A loss here and the Tide could carry a losing record into November. But Southern Miss seems to struggle at moving the ball and scoring points, themselves. They'll keep bama in it and will probably blow it at the end.

Oct. 18

Kentucky vs Ohio
About time UK went out and got a real OOC game-- and the defending national champions, no less! The Buckeyes come into Commonwealth Stadium still riding high from last year's victory over Miami and... huh? What's that? Ohio...period? No "State?" ... ... OOOoooooh. Um. Nevermind.

Oct. 25
Georgia vs UAB
The Blazers are reeling from losing nearly $8 million on their football program last year. Will they still be fielding a team by this point in the season? For their part, Georgia gets to enjoy *two* victories over teams with "The University of Alabama at" in their title. What a nice feeling.

November 1

LSU vs Louisiana Tech
I really like La Tech. They have an offense that's fun to watch, and is usually effective and high-scoring. If they could recruit even close to the same caliber of athletes as LSU, they'd be deadly. Even so, they'll give LSU a run for their money. The Bengals should hang on for the win, but it will be tough. Kudos to LSU for scheduling two in-state smaller programs this year. They might should have made room for Tulane, though, since the Green Wave may not be around to schedule much longer...

Nov. 8

Tennessee at Miami
It will be hard to say much about this game before we know just what sort of team UT will field this year. Much has been written about their problems last year, but UT's schedule is essentially a six-game stretch over eight weeks in the middle of the season. Miami caps that stretch off. Put it this way: They'd better win some of the earlier ones, because they don't need to go to the Orange Bowl looking to become bowl eligible.

Nov. 22

South Carolina vs Clemson
Two programs that carried such hope a couple of years ago, both now seemingly spiraling around in mediocrity. Who will win? Both need it pretty badly. Expect a war. In large part it will depend on whether the Gamecocks have found any offense to speak of.

Nov. 29

Alabama at Hawaii
Last year, bama came back from the islands to find they'd lost their coach somewhere along the way (I hope at least their luggage all made it back). I don't feel comfortable trying to predict anything for bama this year, because who really knows, you know? They could go the "Fran" route and gut their way to ten wins, or they could go the DuBose route and blow even the Northern Illinois contest. Maybe Shula just took the job for the free trip to Hawaii...

Florida vs Florida State
One of the preseason magazines said it best: The battle to see which has deteriorated farther, faster. We all know that situation won't last forever, or even for more than another year or two. So we have to enjoy it while it lasts. Both enjoy tremendous respect on the field, but it's about time they scooted over, just for a year or two, to give everyone else a shot. FSU pulls this one out, by the way.

Georgia at Georgia Tech
If Tech doesn't look considerably better-- or at least like they're actually trying-- than last year at this time, Gailey not only needs to pack, he needs to hire some of Fran's former security guards. Expect to see a whole lot of red in the spanking new expanded stadium at Grant Field.

And there you have it-- a remarkable OOC schedule for the SEC. With so many mystery teams in the SEC this year-- Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, and Kentucky all have upside potential but offer little to go by in actually predicting wins-- and so many good OOC teams coming in, every week should offer something surprising and unexpected. Bring it on!

--Van