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Schedules will always be out of balance. Even within your own division, where everybody plays everybody, the home/away balance can impact the outcome of a season. When comparing schedules in the SEC Tennessee is at an automatic disadvantage right now because we play Alabama every year...but we want to play Alabama every year, so we're not complaining.
But in the SEC's three year old cross-division rotation, the Vols have had the most difficult draw of any team in the East.
I'm sure much of this is just bad luck, but it's been bad business for Tennessee Football even beyond the new 14-team league in 2012; the year before Tennessee's two rotating SEC West opponents were #1 at the time and eventual #2 LSU, and eventual #5 Arkansas. In the last three years Tennessee has had the extreme misfortune of catching teams on their way up instead of on their way down: an undefeated Mississippi State team in 2012, the SEC Champions from Auburn in 2013, and a healthy top five Ole Miss this season. While there may have been no free wins against the SEC West this year, that hasn't been the case over the last few seasons. Considering we already play Alabama, Tennessee has still found a way to face not just the most difficult rotation among SEC East teams, but almost the most difficult rotation possible.
Here are the rotating cross-division opponents for SEC East teams over the last three years, with their ranking at the time of the matchup and their eventual record at the end of the year:
FLORIDA
- 2012: at Texas A&M (11-2)
- 2013: Arkansas (3-9)
- 2014: at #3 Alabama (11-1)
- Total: 25-12
- 2012: Ole Miss (7-6)
- 2013: #6 LSU (10-3)
- 2014: at Arkansas (6-6)
- Total: 23-15
- 2012: at Arkansas (4-8)
- 2013: #1 Alabama (11-2)
- 2014: at LSU (8-4)
- Total: 23-14
- 2012: #1 Alabama (13-1)
- 2013: at #24 Ole Miss (8-5)
- 2014: at #24 Texas A&M (7-5)
- Total: 28-11
- 2012: at #9 LSU (10-3)
- 2013: Mississippi State (7-6)
- 2014: at #5 Auburn (8-4)
- Total: 25-13
- 2012: at #19 Mississippi State (8-5)
- 2013: #7 Auburn (12-2)
- 2014: at #3 Ole Miss (9-3)
- Total: 29-10
- 2012: Auburn (3-9)
- 2013: at #14 Texas A&M (9-4)
- 2014: at #4 Mississippi State (10-2)
- Total: 22-15