The SEC's leaked annual opponents includes a surprising third opponent for Alabama

Despite a planned release show on Tuesday night, the SEC's annual conference opponents were leaked on Monday with a scoop by On3's Chris Low.

As expected, Auburn and Tennessee will be two of Alabama's three annual opponents, but the third came as a bit of a surprise. Most expected the SEC would keep Alabama vs. LSU due to TV ratings, but instead the league went a different - and correct - direction:

Alabama's third annual opponent will be Mississippi State, the third rival that made the most sense from the beginning. Not due to schedule strength, but due to the history of the matchups. Even after missing them on the rotation the last two seasons, Alabama has played Mississippi State more than any other opponent. It's the second most common matchup in SEC history outside of Auburn/Georgia.

Alabama and LSU became a "rivalry" only after Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa. His being the former LSU head coach - coupled with the fact that when the SEC was in its divisional format, the Tide and Tigers' annual matchup typically decided the SEC West - made it one of the biggest games in the country every single year.

But Alabama and LSU aren't traditional rivals. Alabama and Mississippi State are, despite how lopsided the series has been. If competitiveness is the name of the game, then Alabama/LSU wouldn't make sense either considering how one-sided that "rivalry" has been over the years.

The SEC got it right with Alabama but missed the mark with others

One interesting tidbit to note is that Greg Sankey has said that the SEC would reevaluate the annual opponents every four years to determine if changes need to be made. It won't be a surprise four years from now if Alabama draws LSU or someone else instead, though Auburn and Tennessee should be safe every cycle.

While the SEC did right by Alabama, there are a few curious decisions in there:

Tennessee avoiding both Georgia AND Florida is a bit stunning. It seems a bit ridiculous that they'll draw both Vanderbilt and Kentucky, two programs that traditionally hover near the SEC cellar, the Commodores' recent surge notwithstanding.

Ole Miss-Oklahoma is a weird one, too. No projections had the Rebels and the Sooners playing each other year in and year out.

Some Alabama fans are probably miffed about Auburn getting Vanderbilt every year, but the Tigers do have to face the two best programs in the league over the last decade in Alabama and Georgia annually, so they were always going to get thrown a bone with their third annual opponent.

The SEC was never going to be able to make everyone happy, but it's hard to be upset as an Alabama fan. It was sad to see the matchup with Mississippi State, which had played for 75 consecutive years, end last year. Adding that back as an annual opponent was the right decision, even if ESPN may not be too happy.