The Big Ten and the Pac-12 have already canceled college football this fall, but other conferences are still planning to play. That is the case in the Southeastern Conference, which is arguably the best conference in the country.
The SEC released the new schedule on Monday afternoon, and matchups had to be adjusted to provide more league games. The league will be playing a conference-only schedule, which will create additional terrific matchups this season.
League play will kick off on September 26, which is three weeks later than the original start date. Each team will play a 10-game schedule in 2020, as opposed to the traditional 12-game regular season.
Traditional non-conference rivalry games have been canceled for the upcoming season. There are some new matchups to entice sports bettors, however. The SEC still plans to host a conference championship game, and there could be more room for SEC teams in the College Football Playoffs in 2020.
The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12 Conference are also moving forward with plans to play football this fall. The three conferences will, of course, continue to monitor the numbers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Health and safety protocols and plans have been implemented, but there is still no guarantee that these games will be played.
The SEC has also built some flexibility into the schedule if some games are postponed. The hope is that each team will play all ten games and still leave time for the conference title game.
Week One Betting Lines From FanDuel
Now that the new 2020 SEC schedule is out, bettors can already place bets on the week one matchups. It took FanDuel just one day to release the game one betting lines, and there is expected to be plenty of action in the coming weeks.
Here is a look at each of the week one meetings in the SEC:
Alabama @ Missouri: The Alabama Crimson Tide are 21.5-point favorites over the Missouri Tigers.
Florida @ Ole Miss: The Florida Gators are 10.5-point road favorites in this week one showdown against the Ole Miss Rebels.
Georgia @ Arkansas: This is the second biggest spread in week one, and the Georgia Bulldogs are 24-point road favorites.
Kentucky @ Auburn: The Auburn Tigers are the first home favorite listed, and they are 9.0-point favorites over the Kentucky Wildcats.
Mississippi State @ LSU: The defending champion LSU Tigers are 18.5-point favorites over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Tennessee @ South Carolina: FanDuel has this as the best week one matchup, and South Carolina is a slight one-point underdog.
Vanderbilt @ Texas A&M: The Texas A&M Aggies are huge 28.5-points favorites over the Vanderbilt Commodores. This is the biggest week one spread.
Future Odds Are Also Available
Not only can bettors place bets on the week one matchups in the SEC, but future odds have also been listed. As expected, there are two clear favorites at the top, but anything can happen with a new conference-only schedule.
The SEC has produced more College Football Playoff participants than any other league, and that trend will likely continue in 2020. Several of the SEC teams are high on the list of CFP title contenders as well.
Here are the odds to win the SEC Championship via FanDuel Sportsbook:
Alabama +110
Georgia +220
Florida +700
LSU +750
Texas A&M +1400
Tennessee +2500
Auburn +3000
South Carolina +5000
Kentucky +8500
Mississippi State +10000
Missouri +10000
Ole Miss +15000
Arkansas +25000
Vanderbilt +25000
