There are going to be lots of games involving SEC teams worth watching this season, so trying to narrow them down to a top 10 list isn't easy.
The opening weekend alone features three matchups between teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25, and that doesn't include Ole Miss-Boise State and Alabama-West Virginia.
But we're talking about the SEC, so a lot of weeks will be like that. There's not enough space to list 50 can't miss games, so here we go with 10:
AUG. 28
TEXAS A&M AT SOUTH CAROLINA
Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C.
The No. 21 Aggies playing against the No. 9 Gamecocks will be the first football game shown on the SEC Network in prime time Thursday night, but you won't get to see Jadeveon Clowney trying to sack Johnny Manziel.
Clowney and Manziel never got to play against each other in college and have moved on to the NFL, but the show must go on.
Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin seemed to grow weary of Manziel and the attention his off-the-field actions drew, but you have to figure the Aggies will miss their Heisman Trophy winner.
Aggies sophomore quarterback Kenny Hill, who last season completed 16 of 22 passes for 183 yards, will make his first start and try to show there is life after Johnny Football.
AUG. 30
LSU VS. WISCONSIN
Reliant Stadium, Houston
LSU taking on Wisconsin has extra relevance because it's the only Big Ten-SEC matchup in the regular season. Unless you count Missouri playing Indiana, which isn't going to interest much of anybody who didn't attend those schools.
But with LSU at No. 13 and Wisconsin at No. 14 in the AP poll and Big Ten people constantly complaining about everything the SEC says and does, this is a chance for LSU to reinforce the SEC's status as the nation's top conference.
If Wisconsin wins, the SEC Network may have to go blank for a moment of silence.
This game also will mark the college debut of LSU freshman running back Leonard Fournette, who is so hyped that people may expect him to be Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson and Darren McFadden rolled into one.
SEPT. 13
GEORGIA AT SOUTH CAROLINA
Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C.
This may be the game that ultimately decides the SEC East title, but as South Carolina has learned the past two seasons, you can win the battle but lose the war.
Two years ago South Carolina beat Georgia, but the Bulldogs won a share of the East title with Florida at 7-1 and, because they beat the Gators, got to play in the SEC Championship Game. South Carolina went 6-2 with losses to Florida and LSU -- a team Georgia didn't play.
Last year the Gamecocks beat Missouri, but the Tigers won the outright East title at 7-1. South Carolina finished 6-2 with losses to Georgia and Tennessee.
If South Carolina wants to make sure it plays in the SEC Championship Game, the Gamecocks need to go 8-0.
OCT. 4
LSU AT AUBURN
Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala.
LSU was the only SEC team to beat Auburn last season, 35-21, and Auburn trailed 35-14 early in the fourth quarter during the Sept. 21 game at Tiger Stadium.
Back then you couldn't have figured Auburn would reel off nine consecutive victories and win the SEC championship, but Coach Gus Malzahn's team kept getting better and better each week while LSU lost to Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama to fall from title contention.
Now LSU Coach Les Miles and his Tigers go into this season as underdogs in the SEC West behind Alabama and Auburn, so stealing a road game at Auburn would be huge for LSU.
Both teams scheduled easy home games for the week before they meet, with Auburn facing Louisiana Tech and LSU facing New Mexico State.
OCT. 4
ALABAMA AT OLE MISS
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, Ala.
Ole Miss will be looking to break a 10-game losing streak to Alabama and show the Rebels are ready to contend for the SEC West title.
The Rebels' last victory in the series -- which they trail 47-9-2 -- came in 2003, when Eli Manning was a senior and Ole Miss beat Alabama 43-28.
If Ole Miss beats Boise State in the season opener, there is a good chance the Rebels will be 4-0 going into the Alabama game considering the Rebels play Vanderbilt, Louisiana-Lafayette and Memphis after facing the Broncos.
This will be the Rebels' first home game against Alabama since 2011 because of a scheduling tweak after the SEC expanded to 14 teams by adding Missouri and Texas A&M for the 2012 season.
OCT. 25
SOUTH CAROLINA AT AUBURN
Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala.
Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn began wearing a visor as a high school coach to emulate Steve Spurrier, who at the time was running high-powered offenses at Florida and winning SEC championships and a national title.
Back then, Malzahn never could have imagined matching up against Spurrier in a high-stakes SEC game, but they're going to meet as head coaches for the first time when South Carolina plays at Auburn.
Spurrier said he's an admirer of Malzahn, who in his first season at Auburn led the Tigers to the SEC championship.
Maybe Malzahn and Spurrier should exchange visors before the game.
If Auburn wins, expect to see Spurrier throwing his visor on the ground a few times.
NOV. 1
FLORIDA VS GEORGIA
Everbank Field, Jacksonville, Fla.
OK, so maybe the Florida-Georgia game won't have national title implications this season. But, c'mon, it's still Florida and Georgia and the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" and all that, even if nowadays the schools and the SEC ask CBS and other media not to refer to the game by that phrase because it promotes alcohol abuse.
The Gators made it exciting last season against the Bulldogs, falling 23-20, even as they were staggering to a 4-8 finish with seven consecutive losses.
Will Muschamp fell to 0-7 in the series. He's 0-3 as Florida's coach and was 0-4 as a Georgia defensive back from 1991-1994.
If Florida doesn't beat Georgia this season, Muschamp may not get another shot to win the game.
NOV. 8
ALABAMA AT LSU
Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, La.
Alabama Coach Nick Saban is 5-3 against LSU -- his former team -- since returning to college football as the Crimson Tide's coach.
Les Miles, who succeeded Saban as LSU's coach in 2005, started 3-2 against Saban, but the Tide has won the teams' past three meetings, including a 21-0 victory in New Orleans for the 2011 national championship after the Tigers won 9-6 in overtime at Alabama in the regular season.
Miles is 96-24 in nine seasons at LSU, including 44-20 in SEC play, along with winning the 2007 national title. But beating Saban is the No. 1 goal for a lot of Tigers fans.
Saban has lost 10 SEC games in seven seasons at Alabama, so LSU fans should take some solace in Miles beating him three times. Now they want to see Miles make it four.
NOV. 15
AUBURN AT GEORGIA
Sanford Stadium, Athens, Ga.
It's billed as "The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry." It also could be called the Deep South's tightest rivalry.
Auburn holds a 55-54-8 lead in a 117-game series that dates to 1892.
Auburn broke the series tie in dramatic fashion last season, winning 43-38 when quarterback Nick Marshall-- a former Georgia defensive back -- completed a 74-yard touchdown pass to Ricardo Louis on a fourth-and-18 play with 36 seconds left.
Louis caught the ball after it was tipped into his hands by Georgia safety Josh Harvey-Clemons in what is known as "The Prayer at Jordan Hare" or "The Immaculate Deflection."
The Bulldogs had rallied from a 37-17 deficit to take a 38-37 lead with 1:49 left before Auburn's miracle finish.
NOV. 29
AUBURN AT ALABAMA
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Alabama-Auburn winner might wind up in the new four-team college football playoff. The loser might, too, although it's difficult to picture selection committee chairman Jeff Long -- Arkansas' athletic director -- being able to convince the other 12 members to have two SEC teams in the final four.
Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn will be looking to make two in a row over Alabama's Nick Saban after the Tigers beat the Crimson Tide 34-28 last season on the game's final play when Chris Davis returned a missed field-goal attempt 109 yards for a touchdown.
It was the ending to top all Iron Bowls and cost Alabama a shot at winning a third national championship.
Don't look for Saban to attempt a 55-yard field goal this time if the opportunity presents itself.
Sports on 08/24/2014