THE 2013 ROAD TRIP - SEC

August 3, 2013

The season is still four weeks away, but now is the perfect time to plan your 2013 college football road trip. For the second year in a row, I will lay out the ultimate road trip for the SEC, Big 10, ACC, Big 12, Pac 12, AAC and the Independents.  

The inspiration comes from one of my favorite books, “Dixieland Delight - A Football Season on the Road in the Southeastern Conference” by Clay Travis. In the book, Travis spends one football season attending one game at every SEC stadium. (I dream of doing that one year in the Big Ten.)

The goal was to hit the biggest games all year while finding competitive games for the less talented teams. Some sacrifices and tough decisions had to be made obviously, but I am 100% satisfied with the games I have selected. 

The calendar is a big help this season. There are actually 14 Saturdays from Labor Day weekend thru November (one more than usual). We’ll start with the ultimate SEC road trip. The goal would be to go to 14 campus stadiums over 14 weeks, but I realized we have to include the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” in Jacksonville. That changed the visit to Arkansas from the Auburn game on November 2nd to the season opener. Enjoy.

8/29 (Thr) - Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt - Opening night in CFB. Fans of the Rebels are as excited for a season as they have been since Eli Manning graduated. Hugh Freeze pulled in a great recruiting class to go with 19 returning starters. Vandy is coming off a nine win season and figures to be competitive again under third year coach James Franklin.

8/31 - Louisiana @ Arkansas - In order to squeeze in the Florida-Georgia game, I passed on Auburn @ Arkansas for this one. It is the only non-league game on the SEC road trip. There should be some excitement beyond the normal season opener as Bret Bielema takes over in Fayetteville. The Hogs lost 7 starters on offense including QB Tyler Wilson, but they should still improve upon last year’s 4-8 mark.

9/7 - South Carolina @ Georgia -The SEC East may be decided before most NFL teams even kick off the 2013 season. You can’t count out Florida, but the most experienced and talented teams in the East are the Gamecocks and Bulldogs. Georgia must replace 8 starters on D, but they do return QB Aaron Murray and his entire offensive line. Meanwhile, the Ol’ Ball Coach says their goal is to finally win the SEC. To do that, they must win here.

9/14 - Alabama @ Texas A&M - It’s the game of the year. The rematch between A.J. McCarron’s Crimson Tide and Johnny Football’s Aggies. Bama has been replaying the TV broadcast of last year’s loss in the weight room with A&M logos around the room. It is the hottest ticket of the year. Tickets just to get in and sit in the upper deck behind an end zone are going for $376 each. 

9/21 - Tennessee @ Florida - The Vols are sick and tired of being pushed around by Florida and Alabama. Florida won with defense last year, but only four starters return on that side of the ball.  Florida has won 6 straight in the series by an average of 19 points per game. This will be the 1st SEC game for Butch Jones. The Swamp should be rocking for this rivalry game.

9/28 - Florida @ Kentucky - The Wildcats will enter this game coming off a bye. That could mean their fans will have officially turned their attention to basketball season, depending on how the first three games went. Florida has won 26 in a row over Kentucky. Get into the stadium early. Florida has outscored Kentucky 97-3 in the first quarter of the last five meetings.

10/5 - LSU @ Mississippi State - The Bulldogs have two weeks to prepare for the Tigers. Meanwhile, LSU will be coming off a trip to Georgia. Trap game? Maybe. Last time here, LSU won a defensive struggle 19-6. 

10/12 - Texas A&M @ Ole Miss - Any October trip to the Grove is good enough for me, but here we have a great western division match-up. The Rebels return 19 starters from a team that fell to A&M last year after a late Aggie rally 30-27. This should be a great game. It may be the difference between a 10-win season for A&M and a disappointing year.

10/19 - South Carolina @ Tennessee - The Vols have lost three straight and four of the last five to South Carolina. Butch Jones has brought energy to the UT program that has been missing for almost a decade. With a week to prepare for this one,  UT will be a legit threat.

10/26 - South Carolina @ Missouri - Unlike Texas A&M, the Tigers first year in the SEC was a rough one. Mizzou went 2-6 in league play. Missouri gets an easier start to the schedule this year and have a good chance of entering this game with a winning record. It will be tough back-to-back road games for South Carolina making this a potential trap game.

11/2 - Georgia v. Florida - We had to squeeze in “the Cocktail Party.” Hopefully this game isn’t as sloppy as last year when these two combined for only 29 first downs and nine turnovers. Georgia has won back to back meetings for the first time since 1988-89, and they will likely be favored here.

11/9 - LSU @ Alabama - Bama & A&M has the hype, but this has become the must watch game of the college football season the last few years. Just like the trip to College Station, Alabama has two weeks to prepare. Few atmospheres in 2013 will top this one.

11/16 - Florida @ South Carolina - It won’t match LSU-Bama, but this crowd will be rocking too. It is the headline SEC game on the home schedule. Last year, Florida rolled 44-11. The Gators only managed 14 first downs and 183 total yards, but four Gamecock turnovers led to the rout. They are itching for payback.

11/23 - Texas A&M @ LSU -The Aggies have two weeks to prepare for this showdown which could be the difference between a BCS bowl or not for both teams. Last season, A&M turned the ball over five times, missed an extra point and two FGs in a 24-19 loss. Can Johnny Manziel win in Baton Rouge a year after winning in Tuscaloosa?

11/30 - Alabama @ Auburn - The Tide has rolled the last two years by a combined score of 91-14. Auburn has not scored an offensive TD in this series since Cam Newton completed the comeback in 2010. Even if the rivalry has been one-sided, this is a must for any SEC roadtrip.

When it comes to a prediction, I just can’t go against Alabama in the SEC West... especially with two weeks to prepare for both A&M and LSU. In the east, I will take South Carolina. Schedule once again plays a factor. They will face Arkansas and Mississippi State from the west. Georgia gets LSU and Auburn, and Florida faces Arkansas and LSU. Expect the Tide to roll to another SEC crown.