Aargh-tober in the SEC

[News Bot]

One reason I have been saying that I believe Florida is an 8-4 team in 2011 is because of the brutal October. I don’t think any team in America has as tough an October as Florida does with games against Alabama, at LSU, at Auburn and Georgia in Jacksonville.
So I looked at the rest of the SEC teams and rated their schedules for October. All of them except Auburn have an open week during the month.
So here they are, ranked by toughness:
1. Florida.
2. Auburn. At South Carolina, at Arkansas, Florida, at LSU, Ole Miss. You could make an argument that it’s just as tough as UF’s.
3. Tennessee. Georgia, LSU, at Alabama, South Carolina. The one good thing is three are at home.
4. Vanderbilt. At Alabama, Georgia, Army, Arkansas. Army only chance to avoid 0-4.
5. Ole Miss. At Fresno State, Alabama, Arkansas, at Auburn. Happy Halloween, Houston.
6. South Carolina. Auburn, Kentucky, at Mississippi State, at Tennessee. Manageable for the Ball Coach.
7. LSU. Kentucky, Florida, at Tennessee, Auburn. A lot depends on how good the Vols are.
8. Georgia. Mississippi State, at Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida in Jacksonville. All winnable games, although Florida hasn’t been all that winnable.
9. Kentucky. At LSU, at South Carolina, Jacksonville State, Mississippi State. Three probable losses?
10. Arkansas. Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt. Back end isn’t tough at all.
11. Alabama. At Florida, Vanderbilt, at Ole Miss, Tennessee. First game should be toughest.
12. Mississippi State. At Georgia, at UAB, South Carolina, at Kentucky. Three games on the road is hardly easy. That’s the SEC where the easiest October is rough.
Coming next: I look at the SEC in September.

Source: GatorSports.com - Dooley's Desk

 

[DRU2012]

I always laugh cynically and derisively whenever outsiders bitch about our SOS, citing the out-of-conference games (as they always do). We ALWAYS play an overall "respectable" schedule at least, when you look at the SEC matchups, week after week through the heart of the season, from 3rd wk of September (ie.Tenn.) on, EVERY year (then close the reg. season against FSU).
This is one of those years where it all falls in such a way that it comprises one of the toughest schedules PERIOD, never mind the qualifications. We'll have to have really pulled it all together, managed to avoid serious injuries, and had a number of experiments and question marks go our way in order to do much better than 8 and 4, as you predict.