Crimson Red Sports

SEC fans spend summer months counting wins and losses for their favorite team in the fall. They've never had to use their imagination like this.

In order to quickly add Texas A&M and Missouri for 2012, the SEC rushed out a 14-member schedule last December. The league had to try to avoid stepping on rivalries, TV interests and contracts of nonconference games while attempting to maintain competitive balance.

The result: The quirkiest SEC schedule ever. Some unusual occurrences could resume in 2013 when the "permanent" 6-1-1 scheduling cycle (six divisional games, one permanent, one rotating) begins for an undetermined number of years.

For now, here are the top 10 oddities of the 2012 SEC schedule.

1. Georgia avoids SEC West's best again.

For the second straight year, Georgia doesn't play Alabama, LSU and Arkansas in the regular season. Alabama was originally scheduled to rotate onto Georgia's schedule, but Missouri was added and Ole Miss became Georgia's cross-division rotating team.

Alabama, LSU and Arkansas had a combined 67-12 overall record (.848) over the past two seasons. Georgia's 2012 opponents went 112-94 (.544) in 2010 and 2011.

Aided by a down SEC East, Georgia rode a weaker schedule to the SEC Championship Game in 2011. The Bulldogs figure to be a preseason top-15 team and could be 5-0 heading to South Carolina on Oct. 6. If Georgia emerges as a national title contender, would a potentially weaker schedule help or hurt its cause?

2. Florida calls it quits early in SEC.

The Gators could become the SEC's version of U.S. Open champ Webb Simpson: Reach the clubhouse early, either ahead or behind, and wait a while to see if they win.

Florida finishes its SEC schedule on Nov. 3 against Missouri, the earliest SEC season finale ever since divisional play started in 1992. The previous earliest finale was Florida and South Carolina both ending on Nov. 10 in 2001 and 2007.........

9. No Alabama bye before LSU.
 
For only the second time in Nick Saban's tenure in Tuscaloosa, Alabama won't have a bye before playing LSU, which is off the week before facing the Crimson Tide on Nov. 3. Alabama surrendered its typical bye week before LSU in order to avoid no home games in October.
 
The Crimson Tide plays three SEC road games in a four-week stretch from Oct. 13-Nov. 3. That hasn't happened at Alabama since 2002. Alabama finishes with three straight home games for the second time in three seasons.
 

That can't be good.  At least Saban is familiar with this opponent.