For our purposes here, we will divide the teams into three categories; 1) Power Five (P5), Group of Five (G5), & 3) FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) opponents. It should be noted, that the P5 & G5 are not NCAA terms (FBS & FCS are the NCAA descriptors), but rather, constructs of of the CFP (College Football Playoffs), which is also, not, an NCAA championship! I will try to define all acronyms.
Let’s start with the Mighty SEC: West Division!
The SEC plays 8 conference games, 4 @ home, 4 on the road, and 4 NC games to reach the alloyed 12 game schedule
Alabama plays one P5, Non-Conference (NC) team, Louisville (ACC), in Orlando, two G5’s, Arkansas State, from the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) and Louisiana (SBC), both games are at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Tide also takes on one FCS (this category of team has 63 scholarships not 85 as an FBS roster), The Citadel, a team from the Southern Conference (SoCon)! To be Bowl eligible, a team must win 6 games, you may count one, and only one win against a FCS opponent toward the bowl requirement of 6 wins!
Arkansas does not play a P5, NC game in 2018! This is likely related to the fact, that they play in the SEC West Division and struggle to win games against the likes of, LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State , not to mention Bama! The Razorbacks challenge, Colorado State from the Mountain West Conference (MWC), North Texas, Conference USA (C-USA), and Tulsa, who plats in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). The R-Backs also play one FCS school, Eastern Illinois, out of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). All of the games are in Fayetteville, with the lone exception of the CSU game, which is in Fort Collins, Colorado!
Auburn opens the season against one of the best teams in the country, Washington, a P5 PAC 12 team, at a neutral site, Atlanta, Georgia! This is the only game the Tigers play against a NC, P5 opponent, in 2018! That said, this game is one of the best match-ups on opening weekend, rivaling, if not surpassing, the Michigan-ND clash in South Bend! Auburn also takes on two G5 teams, one from C-USA, Southern Miss and Liberty, in transition from the FCS to the FBS and playing this season as an Independent. Both of these games are in Auburn! The Tigers also tangle with Alabama State, an FCS from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
LSU also adds to opening weekend excitement by lining up against the resurgent Miami Hurricanes, in Arlington Texas! This is the only time the Bengal Tigers take on a P5, in the 2018 season. They play two G5’s La Tech & Rice out of C-USA and an FCS opponent, SE Louisiana out of the Southland Conference (SLC). All these games are in Baton Rouge, @ Tiger Stadium! If LSU gets good QB play out of Joe Burrow or anyone for that matter, they have the talent on their roster, to beat anyone, and I do mean, anyone!
Mississippi State travels to B-12 country to take on Kansas State, this will be their only NC game vs P5 opponent! They play two G5’s From Louisiana, La Tech (C-USA) and Louisiana (SBC), aka Louisiana Lafayette. Their final NC game is their opener vs an FCS team, Stephen F. Austin, from the SLC. All three of these games are in Starkville, MS @ Davis Wade Stadium!
Ole Miss also takes on the B-12 as they ‘lace en up’ against, Texas Tech, in Houston, Texas! The usual look for an SEC West Division team, 1 P5, 2 G5, & 1 FCS. The G5’s are Kent State, from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Louisiana Monroe (SBC), both of these contests are in Oxford @ Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Their FCS opponent is Southern Illinois, a team out of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), this game will also be played in Oxford!
Texas A&M has a Tiger by the tail as they welcome Clemson, to College Station and Kyle Field. Jimbo Fisher, A&M’s new coach, who is 4-4 in his Florida State years vs Clemson, can’t be over-joyed to be playing these guys, yet again, in his second game as the Aggies head man! A&M also follows SEC West suit with 2 G5 opponents and 1 game vs an FCS team! The Aggies take on Louisiana Monroe (SBC) & UAB (C-USA), both of these games are in College Station! Their FCS opponent is Northwestern State, a team from the SLC!
The SEC West Division takes on 6 P5 teams (3 ACC, 2 B-12, & 1 P-12), 15 G5 ( 5 SBC, 1 IND, 6 C-USA, 1 AAC, 1 MAC, & 1 MWC) and 7 FCS opponents;(3 SLC, 1 MVFC, 1 MEAC, 1 OVC, & 1 SoCon) for a total of 28 NC games!
Let’s continue with the, less than, Mighty SEC: East Division!
The SEC plays 8 conference games, 4 @ home, 4 on the road, and 4 NC games to reach the alloyed 12 game schedule.
Florida is the victim of a rather unusual event, Idaho has left the FBS, after being voted out of the SBC (along with New Mexico State, who has elected to stay part of the FBS as an Independent) and is headed for the FCS and the Big Sky Conference. As a result, Florida will play 2 FCS opponents in 2018 and only one of the probable wins can count toward the 6 wins needed to be bowl eligible. That said, the Gators do travel from Gainesville, take on Florida State in Tallahassee’s Doak Campbell Stadium and welcome one G5 opponent to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, from the MWC, Colorado State, led by HC, Mike Bobo, a former Georgia QB and Offensive Coordinator (OC)!
Georgia opens its season against an FCS team, Austin Peay, out of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Dawgs take on 2 G5 teams, Middle Tennessee (C-USA) and U-Mass, an Independent, both of these games are in Athens’ Sanford Stadium! Georgia ends it season, @ home, against in state rival, Georgia Tech (ACC)! While the Dawgs have a relatively easy NC schedule, their SEC crossover games include, Auburn & LSU!
Kentucky plays 1 P5, in state rival, Louisville (ACC) on the road in their season finale. They battle 2 G5, Central Michigan (MAC) and Middle Tennessee (C-USA) and 1 FCS opponent, Murray State (OVC) all 3 of these games are at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky! a consistent theme, 1 P5, 2 G5, & 1 FCS!
Missouri is the only SEC team that will take on a B-10 team in 2018, Purdue, in West Lafayette. The Tigers also play 2 G5 teams, Wyoming (MWC) and Memphis (AAC), both of these games are in Columbia @ Memorial Stadium! Mizzou opens their 2018 season vs Tennessee Martin, a FCS team from the (OVC)!
South Carolina begins the their NC season at home vs 2 G5 teams, Coastal Carolina (SBC) and Marshall (C-USA). These games are the season opener and the Marshall game is played in week three, the issue is Georgia, who they play @ home in week two! If the Gamecocks are going to challenge for the East Division crown this is a great place to start! That said, no looking past, around, or through those early opponents. USC (the other USC) plays Chattanooga, a FCS (SoCon) team in week eleven and end their season against, in state rival, Clemson (ACC), who has beaten the Gamecocks four straight and badly the past 2 years (56-7 in 2016 & 34-10 in 17)!
Tennessee has a new coach and is hoping for a new beginning after what can best be described as some ‘peculiar goings on’ under the leadership of the last coach and AD! The Volunteers play the best opponent that the SEC East lines up against on opening weekend, West Virginia (B-12)! The game will be a neutral site affair, played in Charlotte, NC. UT will also ‘lace en up’ against 2 G5 teams UTEP (C-USA) & UNC Charlotte, both of these games are at Neyland Stadium, home of the Vols! The 4th NC game is against an FCS, in state opponent, East Tennessee (SoCon)!
Vanderbilt will travel a little further north in Indiana than Missouri, past West Lafayette to South Bend! The Commodores will play Notre Dame for the 1st time since 1995, the Irish jumped out to a 27-0 half time lead and never looked back! Vandy’s four NC games are played in the 1st five weeks on the season, with 3 of 4 played at home in Vanderbilt Stadium! Two G5 teams, Middle Tennessee (C-USA) and Nevada (MWC) & 1 FCS team, Tennessee State (OVC) will fill the NC slate for the 2018 season!
The SEC East Division takes on 7 P5 teams (4 ACC, 1 B-12, 1 B-10, & 1 IND), 13 G5 (1 SBC, 1 IND, 6 C-USA, 1 AAC, 1 MAC, & 3 MWC) and 8 FCS opponents;(1 BSC, 1 B-Sky, 4 OVC, & 2 SoCon) for a total of 28 NC games!
The SEC plays 13 P5 opponents (ACC 7, B-12 3, B-10 1, P-12 1 & IND 1) 28 G5 teams (AAC 2, C-USA 12, MAC 2, MWC 4, SBC 6, & IND 2) and 15 FCS squads (BSC 1, B-Sky 1, MEAC 1, MVFC 1, OVC 5, SLC 3, SoCon 3) to complete their NC schedule which involves 56 teams.
Finally, It should be noted that the SEC & ACC play 8 conference games while the B-12, B-10, P-12 play 9 … so fewer NC games needed by those conferences, especially with the B-10 & P-12, who like to play one another!
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