SEC Football by the Numbers: Goodbye East and West
The SEC will reveal its 2024 football schedule at 6 p.m. CST Wednesday. The new-look league will have two more teams with Oklahoma and Texas coming aboard and, for the first time since 1991, no divisions.
When Arkansas and South Carolina joined the conference in 1992, the SEC split into Eastern and Western divisions for its 60th season and kept the format for 32 campaigns. That included through the league’s previous expansion in 2012, when Missouri and Texas A&M came over from the Big 12.
In regular-season play over the 32 division seasons, the West had a 304-235-3 record against the East – a .564 winning percentage that wasn’t far from the results of the SEC Championship Game. The Western Division representative won 19 of the 32 SEC Championship games – a .594 winning percentage.
From 1992 through 2011, the SEC played 18 interdivision regular-season games annually. It dropped to 14 games for the seasons from 2012 through 2023, except for 2020. To deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the SEC played a conference-only schedule that included 28 interdivision games.
The most lopsided seasons of interdivision competition came in 2015, when the West posted a 12-2 record, and 2010, when the West went 15-3 against the East.
The West had a winning record against the East in 17 seasons, the East had a winning record against the West in six seasons and the divisions split the games in nine seasons.
From 1992 through 2002, each SEC team had two permanent interdivision opponents while rotating through the other four teams in the opposite division one at a time annually.
In 2003, the format shifted to one permanent interdivision opponent and two games against rotating opponents. When Missouri and Texas A&M joined the league, the rotation dropped to one new team each season.
Ten of the SEC programs kept a permanent interdivision opponent from 1992 through 2023. Missouri and Texas A&M were paired as permanent interdivision opponents in their first two years in the SEC. In 2014, the league paired Missouri with Arkansas and Texas A&M with South Carolina. The Razorbacks and South Carolina had squared off annually since 1992 before the change was made.
The longest winning streak in interdivision regular-season games of 27 was posted by Alabama. On Oct. 9, 2010, the Crimson Tide lost to South Carolina 35-21, then didn’t lose to an Eastern Division opponent until falling to Tennessee 52-59 on Oct. 15, 2022.
The longest losing streak in interdivision games of 20 was posted Vanderbilt. On Sept. 19, 1992, in their second interdivision game, the Commodores defeated Ole Miss 31-9, then didn’t down a Western Division opponent until topping Ole Miss 37-34 on Sept. 18, 1999.
The records for each SEC member in interdivision play (including only regular-season games and excluding the results of SEC Championship games):
ALABAMA
Interdivision record: 65-20-1
Longest interdivision winning streak: 27 games
Longest interdivision losing streak: Three games (twice)
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 20-11-1 against Tennessee
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 11-0 against Vanderbilt
ARKANSAS
Interdivision record: 34-52
Longest interdivision winning streak: Eight games
Longest interdivision losing streak: Eight games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 13-9 against South Carolina and 2-8 against Missouri
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 2-9 against Tennessee
AUBURN
Interdivision record: 48-37-1
Longest interdivision winning streak: Eight games
Longest interdivision losing streak: Five games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 11-20-1 against Georgia
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 3-8 against Florida
FLORIDA
Interdivision record: 47-39
Longest interdivision winning streak: Seven games
Longest interdivision losing streak: Six games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 16-16 against LSU
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 8-3 against Auburn
GEORGIA
Interdivision record: 59-26-1
Longest interdivision winning streak: Seven games
Longest interdivision losing streak: Three games (three times)
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 20-11-1 against Auburn
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 8-3 against Ole Miss
KENTUCKY
Interdivision record: 30-56
Longest interdivision winning streak: Four games
Longest interdivision losing streak: Nine games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 13-19 against Mississippi State
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 5-6 against LSU
LSU
Interdivision record: 50-35-1
Longest interdivision winning streak: Six games (twice)
Longest interdivision losing streak: Eight games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 16-16 against Florida
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 6-5 against Kentucky
MISSISSIPPI STATE
Interdivision record: 43-43
Longest interdivision winning streak: Five games
Longest interdivision losing streak: Eight games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 19-13 against Kentucky
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 6-5 against South Carolina
MISSOURI
Interdivision record: 13-13
Longest interdivision winning streak: Four games
Longest interdivision losing streak: Four games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 1-1 against Texas A&M and 8-2 against Arkansas
OLE MISS
Interdivision record: 45-41
Longest interdivision winning streak: Eight games
Longest interdivision losing streak: Six games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 22-10 against Vanderbilt
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 3-8 against Georgia
SOUTH CAROLINA
Interdivision record: 30-55-1
Longest interdivision winning streak: Three games (twice)
Longest interdivision losing streak: Seven games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 9-13 against Arkansas and 1-9 against Texas A&M
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 5-6 against Mississippi State
TENNESSEE
Interdivision record: 41-44-1
Longest interdivision winning streak: 14 games
Longest interdivision losing streak: 15 games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 11-20-1 against Alabama
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 9-2 against Arkansas
TEXAS A&M
Interdivision record: 19-7
Longest interdivision winning streak: Nine games
Longest interdivision losing streak: Three games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 1-1 against Missouri and 9-1 against South Carolina
VANDERBILT
Interdivision record: 15-71
Longest interdivision winning streak: Two games (four times)
Longest interdivision losing streak: 20 games
Record versus permanent interdivision opponent: 10-22 against Ole Miss
Record versus secondary interdivision opponent (1992-2002): 0-11 against Alabama
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.