The word easy should not be used to describe SEC football schedules. Instead, the range of schedule difficulty should range from toughest to least tough. The Alabama Crimson Tide does not have the least tough 2026 regular season schedule.
In June, Strength of Schedule (SOS) rankings rely on data and presumptions. True SOS cannot be determined until at least half a season has been played. For the Alabama Crimson Tide, second half of the season opponents, Tennessee, Texas A&M, LSU, and Vanderbilt, will determine the toughness of the Alabama schedule.
Based on rankings from College Football News, Vanderbilt has the SEC's least-tough schedule, No. 32 among FBS teams. The rest of the SEC are ranked Auburn No. 30, South Carolina No. 28, Texas A&M No. 27, Ole Miss No. 22, LSU No. 18, Georgia No. 14, Tennessee No. 12, Missouri No. 11, Kentucky No. 10, Mississippi State No. 9, Alabama No. 8, Florida No. 5, Texas No. 3, Oklahoma No. 2, and Arkansas No. 1.
A frequently used method in preseason rankings is opponents' previous season's win-loss records. SI.com provided one of the calculations with Auburn having the SEC's least-tough schedule, at No. 58 among all FBS teams. The rest of the SEC were: Texas A&M No. 50, Vanderbilt No. 46, South Carolina No. 45, Georgia No. 42, Alabama No. 38, Ole Miss No. 36, Missouri No. 35, Florida T-No. 28, LSU No. 26, Tennessee No. 23, Oklahoma No. 18, Texas No. 14, Arkansas No. 13, Kentucky No. 11, and Mississippi State No. 5.
Worst Take on the Alabama Crimson Tide
The worst assessment of the Alabama Crimson Tide schedule comes from Bill Bender of The Sporting News. Bender ranks Alabama as having the "easiest" SEC football schedule. Bender often does good work, and he explains his formula for the rankings. It is a formula that clearly needs improvement. There is nothing easy about a schedule that includes Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and LSU in five weeks.
Based on the toughest four games for each SEC team, Chase Goodbread has the Crimson Tide with the 11th toughest quartet of games for SEC teams. Goodbread's weaker five are: Tennessee, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Georgia.
Goodbread deserves added merit for writing about SEC football schedules and never using the 'easy' word.
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