The 2014 SEC Football Schedule has yet to be released, but information on potential match-ups, or lack thereof, continues to trickle out.
Earlier this month, Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News reported that Alabama would likely be playing Florida in 2014. Hurt then replied to us on Twitter that a rumored Alabama-Georgia match-up in 2014 had been pushed back to 2015, although he later deleted that Tweet.
Yesterday, LSU athletic director Joe Alleva told The Advocate that the Tigers will not play Georgia or South Carolina in 2014.
“I’m shocked the schedule isn’t out yet,” he said. “When we left Destin, they told us a few schools had to move some games. We weren’t one of those.
“It sounded relatively quick and easy, but it isn’t done yet. But there will be no Georgia or South Carolina.”
Although the 2014 schedule will again be considered a “bridge” and not part of any long-term format, it was already obvious that LSU wouldn’t host Georgia in 2014. The Tigers visit Athens this season, and under new rules adopted last year by the SEC, rotating cross-division games will not be played in back-to-back seasons. Rather, they will be played in succession.
Without Georgia or South Carolina as LSU’s 2014 rotating cross-division opponent, that leaves the Tigers with four possible options: Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt.
LSU already plays Florida from the East as their permanent cross-division rival. But head coach Les Miles and Joe Alleva have been lobbying to do away with the permanent rivals due to a “competitive imbalance.”
LSU-Wisconsin Series Update
Joe Alleva also provided an update on the likely two-game neutral site series between LSU and Wisconsin.
“It’s going to happen,” Alleva told The Advocate regarding the two-game series.
The two schools will open the 2014 season at Reliant Stadium in Houston. They will then meet in a future season at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The date of that game, and possibly the financial details, are the only remaining contract issues to be resolved.
Wisconsin has already cleared the way for opening the 2014 season against LSU. The Badgers were slated to open next season at Washington State, but postponed the entire home-and-home series to 2022 and 2023.
Football Schedules