What Could the 2024 SEC Football Schedule Look Like?, Other Tidbits Around The Conference

foreign what's happening everybody on today's show we are just days away from finding out what the 2024 schedule will look like for every SEC team Brad Crawford over 24 7 Sports he took a shot at what every team's schedule could look like or run through those and we'll get you caught up on some news going on around the conference Greg McElroy talks LSU and Alabama and some recruiting nuggets as well locked on SEC starts right now you are locked on SEC your daily podcast on the Southeastern Conference part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day oh [Music] and what is happening everybody welcome into lockdown SEC it's great to have you guys along today's episode is brought to you by bird dogs go to birddogs.com locked oncollege and when you enter our promo code locked on College they're going to throw in a free custom bird dog's Yeti style tumbler with every order I'm Chris Gordy thanks for making locked on SEC your first listen every day we're free and available wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day all right we want to dive right into it the SEC schedule we're gonna we're just days away from finding out what that 2024 schedule will look like of course with just the eight teams we're not going to nine nine games just yet um but uh we will find out that schedule with one permanent rival for each team and so Brad Crawford over 24 7 Sports he projected each team's eight-game conference slate and uh kind of just took a stab at it and said this is what they could look like so we figured we would uh jump into it and take a look at what Brad Crawford is projecting for some of these teams and we start with the Vanderbilt Commodores he projects that Vandy is going to get a 2024 SEC opponents of Kentucky at home Tennessee at home South Carolina at home Ole Miss at home and then we'll have four Road games and this is pretty tough at Georgia at Florida at LSU and at Mississippi State Crawford says Vanderbilt should Miss Texas Alabama and Oklahoma but the schedule won't be easy by any stretch of the imagination they have not played in Baton Rouge since 0-9 and he's got them projected here going to LSU next school he has is Mississippi State projected SEC opponents for them in 2024 he's got them playing at home Texas A M Arkansas Auburn and Vanderbilt and then he has Mississippi State going on the road for four games at Alabama at Ole Miss at Florida and at Oklahoma he says hail State traveling to Norman to face the Sooners welcome to the new sec in addition a trip to Alabama will be challenging the Bulldogs or one of only a couple teams with three SEC Road games projected here next up he's got Missouri projecting their SEC opponents for 2024 he's got home games against Texas A M Georgia Oklahoma and Arkansas and then four road trips to Ole Miss South Carolina Texas and Auburn and the road games aren't the scariest there for Auburn are for Missouri but home games against a m Georgia Oklahoma Arkansas those could all be brutal Crawford writes Missouri's new schedule will be SEC West heavy that much we know there's a great chance the Tigers will play Oklahoma Texas and Arkansas annually in their own quadrant of the SEC Eli drinkowicz has his work cut out if mizzou's schedule shakes out as projected next up we've got Ole Miss Crawford projects home games against Mississippi State of course the Egg Bowl Missouri Kentucky and then four Road games at Vandy at Arkansas at Tennessee at LSU it's actually got another road game in here at Texas I think he missed a home game in there so must be a typo but he says bye-bye Nick Saban we're not expecting Alabama to be on the Rebels schedule every year once the SEC figures out what it wants to do long term but the Crimson Tide could be replaced by either Texas or Oklahoma in the years they're not designated of course this is all speculation Ole Miss is not historically one of The Haves and therefore like another seven or eight programs within the conference won't have much of a say in who it wants to play every year next up we got Kentucky Crawford projects their SEC opponents for 2024 home against Georgia Florida Texas A M South Carolina and Auburn and then Road games at Ole Miss at Tennessee and at Vanderbilt pretty doable schedule there for Kentucky Crawford writes remember the SEC will do everything it can to balance things out for the teams near the middle tier of the conference and that's no disrespect to Kentucky it's just how it is when Georgia Alabama LSU and Texas are expected to be the torch bearers for the next decade plus we're expecting South Carolina to be Kentucky's annual opponent and Vanderbilt to be in there as well there's a chance of Commodores could be a permanent option if the league chooses that route for Kentucky next up with auburn Brett Crawford projects their 2024 opponents he says home games against Texas Missouri South Carolina and LSU Road games at Bama at Mississippi State at Kentucky the navigatable schedule there for Auburn of course a home game against Texas and road games at Georgia and Alabama are rough but the rest of the schedule is doable uh Crawford says the Iron Bowl would stay put and the annual battle with Georgia as well the rest is up for the SEC to decide but it's unlikely Hugh freeze wants to add Texas and Oklahoma to the teams he's having to meet every year sources tell 24 7 Sports South Carolina could become an annual game for the Tigers in the new SEC but we've only heard that from one side of the spectrum this schedule has a stance now might be tough and next up we got South Carolina projected 2024 SEC opponents Brad Crawford has them playing home games against Georgia Texas A M Tennessee and Missouri and then the Gamecocks going on the road at Florida at Vandy at Kentucky and at Auburn he says South Carolina is one of nine SEC schools that was not in favor of moving to a non-game conference schedule hey can you blame the Gamecocks they already played Clemson out of conference annually and if they were playing a nine game SEC slate this fall North Carolina is another tough game outside of SEC playing but Shane Beamer he's trying to build a program in Columbia and facing landmines every week in the SEC it's difficult to tackle we expect Florida Kentucky Georgia at least to remain on the Gamecocks annual schedule and lastly on this side of the schedule projection he's got the Florida Gators playing home games against South Carolina LSU Vanderbilt and Mississippi State with road games at Texas at Kentucky at Tennessee and then the Georgia game in Jacksonville he says the world's largest outdoor cocktail party Stan put in Jacksonville for now in the sec's new era the annual rivalry with LSU should stick and sources tell 24 7 sports that both Florida and South Carolina have told the sec's league office both schools want to continue that game fit the battle with Tennessee finally be over will the Gators play Oklahoma or Texas next year those are questions that need to be figured out and uh there you have it that's half of the games that Brad Crawford of 24 7 Sports is projecting we will get to the other ones in just a second thank you guys for making locked on SEC your first listen every day I want to take a quick second to remind you guys about our friends over at bird dogs look bird dogs are gonna help make you look good they've got some stretch khaki shorts that are designed to fit Slimmer through the thigh and leg giving you a truly sculpted look bird dog shorts they do the exact same thing as Lululemon but they fit way better they fit better than any of the regular shorts that are made of a stiff restricting cotton bird dogs they fixed this issue by inventing Cloud knit fabric and that looks just like khaki but stretches so you get a way Slimmer fit without having to sacrifice movement they use an anti-stink sweat uh fabric that keeps you cool and dry all day long so go check them out bird dogs I'm telling you we've gotten a couple pairs of them and they're awesome you can wear them anywhere they're durable they're versatile and uh you know wear them on a date wear them to work wear them uh you know out doing uh sports activities whatever you got bird dogs are going to be comfortable they're going to make you look good go to bird dogs.com locked on College use our promo code locked on College that's going to get you the free Yeti style tumbler with your order birddogs.com locked oncollege get that free Yeti style tumbler you won't want to take your bird dogs off we promise you all right Roll Along here locked on sec and again I want to reiterate this is not set in stone biting Meats we're going to find out here in a handful of days the SEC network will announce the official lineup the Slate for the SEC for the 2024 schedule again we've been very focused on 2024 here in the next couple days we will switch gears and you know get refocused on 2023 because that's the season we're going to play in the more media future but it's fun to kind of look ahead to next summer 2024 when Oklahoma and Texas get into the conference and you know we're sticking with the eight game conference schedule we're not going to nine so we know each team will keep at least one permanent opponent but what will the rest of the schedule look like Brad Crawford over 27 24 7 Sports he's trying to flush it out so I figured we'd jump back into it and take a look at what he is projecting for the SEC opponents you can kind of figure out who has the easier paths who has the tougher paths and so we jump back into it and we look at Arkansas he has got their projected opponents from for 2024 home games against bless you Oklahoma Ole Miss and Alabama the neutral field game in Arlington against Texas A M at Texas at Missouri and at Mississippi State he says the Razorbacks often play one of the sec's most difficult schedule so why would that change with Texas and Oklahoma coming in at least for one season we're not expecting the Razorbacks to have to play both the Sooners and longhorns if Arkansas can get LSU or Alabama off the schedule that would be helpful annual neutral side game with Texas A M will likely stay but that's something to be deliberated next up he's got Texas A M he projects their 2024 opponents home games against Oklahoma South Carolina Texas and of course the uh the neutrophil game against Arkansas Arlington and then at Alabama at South Carolina at Missouri at Kentucky and at Mississippi State that's a tough go there for the Aggies Crawford writes for the segment of a m fans who want to play Texas again it is coming that's one of the guarantees for the 2024 eight-game schedule we're expecting LSU and Oklahoma to be on their schedule as well but continue to play Alabama is not a guarantee from the outside looking in this slate looks incredibly difficult it's possible the Aggies could play Four top 20 teams maybe five if Arkansas stays up there under Sam Pittman next we've got Tennessee what could their projected 2024 SEC opponents look like Crawford writes home games against Alabama Florida Kentucky and Ole Miss and then Road games at Georgia at Oklahoma at South Carolina and at Vanderbilt he says that three-headed monster of Georgia Oklahoma could get ugly for Tennessee if those three programs are as good as they're expected to be next year the Rivalry with Florida's up in the air according to sources and as Crawford says we've already mentioned the expectation is Tennessee and South Carolina will continue to happen the Vanderbilt game should continue to be played as well so mixed bag there for Tennessee but the hard games are really really hard next we look at what an LSU schedule should look or could look like home games against Ole Miss Oklahoma Vanderbilt Texas and then Road games at Alabama at Florida at Arkansas and at Auburn he says this is what Brian Kelly gets for being at one of the college football's Elites if this schedule comes to fruition it would be one of the toughest schedules in 2024 outside of Vandy and Ole Miss is that a single matchup where the Tigers would be favored by more than a touchdown the good news is the playoff expands 12 games next season and maybe LSU could stomach a couple of losses to highly ranked teams next we look at Georgia's potential schedule he's got them playing home games against Tennessee Vanderbilt Alabama Auburn and the Florida neutral field uh Florida game in Jacksonville and then he's got road trips at South Carolina at Kentucky at Missouri he says this looks like a really tame schedule for the Bulldogs until their home game against Alabama we're not expecting Texas or Oklahoma on Georgia's 2024 schedule that's not going to sit well with those outside of Athens who have pounded George's 2023 schedules at Cakewalk what is their 2024 schedule is as well at least in this scenario they get Alabama on their schedule with the Bulldogs they are the favorites to three-peat this season and if they do that if they get this kind of schedule man they might be looking at four strikes and Kirby Smart just building the next coming of a dynasty again we've talked about this before not all schedules are created equal and there are going to be people who benefit from easier draws and people who get the short end of the stick and get really tough draws let's take a look at Alabama's projected 2024 SEC opponents he's got uh Alabama playing home games against LSU Texas A M Mississippi State Auburn and then road trips at Oklahoma at Tennessee at Georgia and at Arkansas said Alabama will be able to handle a brutal schedule but the likelihood of the Crimson Tide playing Texas for a third consecutive season seems low tossing a road trip to Oklahoma on there for maximum National exposure rivalry games with LSU and Auburn stay along with the third Saturday in October against Tennessee South Carolina owes the Crimson Tide a trip to Tuscaloosa so that could happen this year next up we take a look at Oklahoma and here's where he projects their 2024 opponents he's got Oklahoma playing a neutral field game with Texas over in Dallas of course that's already been renewed uh home games against Mississippi state Alabama Tennessee and then Road games at Arkansas at LSU at Missouri and at Texas A M he said this might be the sec's second most difficult schedule next season if it shakes out his projection projected it's possible at least the Sooners won't have to deal with Georgia yet uh it would be fun to see Oklahoma make that trip again to uh to Kneeland Stadium or perhaps the inverse with the volunteers going to Norman he said we are projecting Texas A M to get back on Oklahoma's schedule in 2024. over on the Texas side of things he projects them to play home games against Missouri Arkansas Ole Miss Florida of course the uh Oklahoma game in Dallas and then at Texas A M at Auburn and at LSU Crawford writes welcome back to the SEC Steve sarkisian the Longhorns rivalry with a M will be renewed but the rest of the schedule is Up For Debate we expect the annual Showdown with Oklahoma to continue and LSU will be added to the schedule the other games are a guess at this point but the SEC will try and balance the Slate a bit for the Longhorns during their first season the SEC with a couple of games they should win not gonna lie um a lot of this is you know again this is all projection from Brad Crawford at 24 7 Sports it's just kind of fun to take a look at what the schedule could look like and again some people getting easier schedules some people getting absolutely brutal schedules and the SEC is going to have a Rhyme or Reason for why they're doing a lot of these things trying to preserve you know they only get to preserve the one guaranteed rivalry with every team but there's multiple ones you want to preserve as well you want to try to keep Tennessee on Alabama schedule along with the Iron Bowl you know it's just there's certain ones they're going to try to keep together but again luck of the draw for some teams they're going to get easier schedules like in the scenario George has got Cakewalk where some other schools like LSU or Texas it's a brutal brutal draw so we will know in a handful of days what the SEC schedule will look like in 2024 and we will certainly dissect that once it's fully locked in but for now fun to look ahead and we appreciate Brad Crawford of 24 7 Sports doing a projection of what things could look like all right thank you guys for making the lockdown SEC your first listen every day coming up next we will go around the conference we've got some tidbits um Greg McElroy recruiting and much more that's coming your way in just a sec [Music] all right Rolling Along here locked on SEC we have got a lot we have got to jump back into so let's do it let's uh go around the conference [Applause] around the conference and we start with Greg McElroy who on his always college football podcast this week talked about a couple of different teams we'll start with LSU where he's a big believer in their quarterback Jayden Daniels who is listed as one of the top returning quarterbacks in the SEC McElroy says one big reason is the growth that Daniel showed throughout last season playing his first year in the Southeastern Conference he said the best quarterback returning in the SEC to him is Jade Daniels he puts him ahead of Will Rogers KJ Jefferson among others he said tell me a player that looked more comfortable in their final game of the season uh than the first game of the season than Jayden Daniels so in other words looked rough to start and then got way better by the end of the year he said and think about the progression that was made when he first played against Florida State to where we saw him against Purdue in the bowl game he was completely lights out uh Daniels did struggle to throw the ball in last year's opening game loss to Florida State either for just 209 yards on 34 attempts and uh those numbers were kind of ballooned up because he had a couple late touchdown drives in that game but by the bowl game Daniels was much better 12-17 for 139 yards in a blowout win over Purdue rushed for over 11 yards per attempt in that game and he comes into the season on the Heisman Trophy Contender list Greg McElroy said if you look across the board he's got everything you can want and another year that Mike denbrock system okay Daniels if he puts it all together could be right there uh you know have an LSU with double-digit wins and maybe sitting in New York with a Heisman invite McIlroy also touched on Alabama who he is high on heading into the 2023 season he said he likes the makeup of this year's team better than last year's during his uh show with Cole kublic on Jox FM this week McIlroy talked about some of the reasons why he wasn't as high on last year's Bama team as others around the country said sabin's team did possess some big time stars like Bryce young Jamir Gibbs Will Anderson he said he was not convinced last year's team was well equipped on the line of scrimmage on the passing attack he said I really like this team we talked about it last year I was not as high on last year's team last year's team he said I thought they could get to the playoff I thought they were without a true dynamic number one wide receiver I thought the interior of the d-line was still a significant concern I didn't think they had great game changers on the back end of the perimeter and I think that the offensive line um might still be an issue which kind of was for Batman so he said what you know what changed this year he said Nick Saban has basically said forget last year we're going back to the drawing board we're going to do things the way we did for a very long time around here we're gonna go ground and pound with the dominant Run game uh with Tommy Reese coming in that's you know kind of what they're going to do there offensively and then defensively getting after it get more aggressive shutting down the Run taking that away saying what else you got and oh by the way they got a pretty good secondary as well with some DBS who can get their hands on football so uh Alabama it'd be Georgia to win the SEC in 2021 the tide did go on to lose to Georgia in the college football title game and uh because they've been looking to get back there he's not uh did not play for the SEC Championship game last year had some close losses to Tennessee and LSU can Bama get back to playing in Atlanta this year last year of the SEC East and SEC West and get back into the playoffs we're gonna find out but pretty bold take there from Greg McElroy because those are some big stars you lost and Bryce Young Will Anderson Jamir Gibbs but I get what he's saying like they're going to be more fundamentally sound in doing what they want to do this year as opposed to last year where they're just offensive line one great the receivers were kind of average and again good not great defensive play last year be Golding out Kevin Steele in and that should change for the tide all right some other tidbits going around the conference Lane kiffin and Ole Miss they brought in a familiar face through the transfer portal this week getting a commitment from former FAU safety TJ young young has been in college football since 2018 was recruited by kiffin at FAU and his time there he recorded 159 tackles three-fourths fumbles and seven interceptions including four touchdowns his team's co-captain last year was a three-star Prospect in the class of 2018. so we'll see what TJ young can do for Lane kiffin and the rebels this coming season and recruiting news Mississippi State picked up a commitment from Xavier Gayton who's a Mississippi native He's listed as an athlete plays quarterback for his high school team but project projects to be a running back at the next level he's six foot tall 190 pounds not currently on the 24 7 Sports composite rankings but he is a 2024 recruit he's the fourth in-state recruit to pick Mississippi State so far in this cycle and then Georgia they added a big time piece to their 2024 recruiting class picking up a commitment from four-star linebacker Justin Green this week green is an elite Prospect he's the number 101 overall player the number 12 defensive line in the country and the number 17 player from the state of Georgia so you see that outside linebacker Edge rush or whatever we'll see but uh plays his high school ball in the state of Georgia six foot four 260 pounds and he had offers from other SEC schools like Bama Auburn South Carolina and LSU but Justin Green going with the Georgia Bulldogs and the rich get richer all right there you have it it is the latest going on around the conference I want to thank you guys again for making locked on SEC your first listen every day a shout out to our every dares and a reminder to check out our show tomorrow we're going to be talking all things SEC recruiting with our recruiting Guru and so you do not want to miss that any recruiting questions guys visits uh guys making decisions soon we'll talk about all that on tomorrow's show right here on lockdown sec I'm Chris Gordy this has been locked on SEC thank you guys so much for listening we'll talk to you tomorrow right here a locked on sec thank you