Saturday Blitz
Fansided

SEC Football: 5 most important SEC East games for 2017

By Erich Hilkert

JACKSONVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 29: Head coaches Kirby Smart of the Georgia Bulldogs and Jim McElwain of the Florida Gators shake hands after the game at EverBank Field on October 29, 2016 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 29: Head coaches Kirby Smart of the Georgia Bulldogs and Jim McElwain of the Florida Gators shake hands after the game at EverBank Field on October 29, 2016 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next
JACKSONVILLE, FL – OCTOBER 29: Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators players line up before a snap during the first quarter of the game at EverBank Field on October 29, 2016 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL – OCTOBER 29: Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators players line up before a snap during the first quarter of the game at EverBank Field on October 29, 2016 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images) /

The SEC East could end up a battle of the “Big Three”—Florida, Georgia and Tennessee—although there could be a few darkhorse contenders with the schedule playing a role in the outcome of the division.

Depending on the source, most pundits see either Florida or Georgia as the favorite in the East. Fans might remember Tennessee being the overwhelming favorite last year and that didn’t go over so well.

Tennessee is breaking in a new quarterback this season and the 2017 schedule is brutal. The Vols must play Alabama and LSU from the West and Florida on the road in the third game of the season.

Georgia has almost all the defense returning from a strong 2016 unit and two talented senior running backs in the fold, too. Florida is the returning East division champ with some questions but plenty of talent.

The “other guys”

Expectations are low for Missouri and Vanderbilt. Derek Mason is bringing the program back to respectability with wins against Georgia and Tennessee last season. That said, we are still talking about Vanderbilt, a school with a better track record in basketball than football. Missouri isn’t impressive, at least on paper.    

Then, there are potential darkhorse candidates in Kentucky and South Carolina, teams not likely to win the division but capable of doing so.

What are the games that will determine which team wins the division? Sure, it’s easy to pick out cross-division games that might affect the outcome. Tennessee’s road contest to Tuscaloosa is one such example. Will Florida take advantage of facing LSU at home, where the team was undefeated last season? Georgia travels to Jordan-Hare in facing a talented Auburn team near the end of the season. However, what are the pure, strictly SEC East games that will have the biggest impact on who wins the division?

Let’s take a closer look.

Home/SEC