LSU Football Draws Favorable Schedule in SEC All-Conference Shakeup
LSU couldn't have asked for a more favorable schedule outlook on Friday afternoon. The Tigers will add Vanderbilt and Missouri to its 2020 slate, making the maneuvering through the 10-game conference slate a little easier.
Ed Orgeron and company are fresh off of hanging 66 points on the Commodores in 2019 behind the explosive offensive performance of Joe Burrow. The Tigers lead the all-time series 23-7 and ride an eight-game win streak heading into the 2020 matchup.
In 2016, Orgeron actually made his debut as the LSU head coach against Missouri, an outing that resulted in a 42-7 win for the purple and gold.
"We made every effort to create a schedule that is as competitive as possible and builds on the existing eight Conference games that had already been scheduled for 2020," said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. "This schedule is a one-year anomaly that we have developed under unique circumstances presented by the impact of COVID-19."
One conference staff member texted Sports Illustrated national writer Ross Dellenger immediately after the conference announced the two additional teams were announced.
"I want to see the algorithm in that formula,” the assistant wrote.
Here are the 10 conference opponents LSU will face this season. A full schedule is expected to be released by the SEC sometime next week.
vs Ole Miss
at Vanderbilt
at Florida
at Arkansas
vs Mississippi State
vs Alabama
vs South Carolina
at Auburn
at Texas A&M
vs Missouri
How the SEC ultimately decides to schedule the Tigers season will tell a lot. If games like Missouri, Vanderbilt and South Carolina can be sandwiched in between more fierce competition, it'd make the grueling schedule a little less daunting. Imagine, for example, having to face Florida and Alabama on back-to-back weeks.
The conference has already announced that each team will get one open date in the schedule plus an additional bye week for every conference team a week before the conference championship. Alabama, Florida, Texas A&M and Auburn were all ranked in the top-13 of the preseason Coaches Poll on Thursday, with LSU coming in at No. 5.
"Buckle up, big boy," Orgeron said in a Tuesday edition of Off the Bench on ESPN 104.5. "What else can you say, man? Hey, what a challenge. The best conference in the world. You play eight conference games and now you're going to play 10. You're going to play no out-of-conference games, but you know what? To get to the top of the mountaintop, you have to be the very best and beat the very best. That's part of being in the SEC, so I welcome the challenge."
Of course, the college football season still hangs in the balance and Saturday's news was unsettling to say the least. The MAC became the first FBS conference to cancel fall sports and that was immediately followed by the Big Ten putting a halt on padded practices “until further notice.”
The Big Ten Conference announced today, based on the advice and counsel of the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, that, until further notice, all institutions will remain in the first two days of the acclimatization period in football (i.e., helmets shall be the only piece of protective equipment student-athletes may wear) as we continue to transition prudently through preseason practice.
We understand there are many questions regarding how this impacts schedules, as well as the feasibility of proceeding forward with the season at all. As we have consistently stated, we will continue to evaluate daily, while relying on our medical experts, to make the best decisions possible for the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes.
It’s hard to imagine a world where the Big Ten pushes the 2020 season into next spring and the other conferences don’t eventually follow suit. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey responded to the news out of the MAC and Big Ten on ESPN radio, saying that while the conferences want to be unified, many decisions are being made separately.
"We want to be connected, but the best example is back in March. Different conferences made independent decisions but all arrived at the same destination," Sankey said.
"We all come at the decision from a perspective. Those perspective may intersect or not. That's reality. You can identify a truckload of issues around change but we are in an unprecedented environment."
