2012 SEC Football Schedule Released: How Missouri, Texas A&M Shake Up Conference

Despite our continuing slog through the deadest sports week on the whole calendar, we still got a little basket of good news Monday morning, when the SEC released its complete TV schedule for the first three weeks of the season. Some kick times we already knew about, but now we’re even closer to planning out every moment from now until January.

Alabama-Arkansas is your first Uncles Verne and Gary CBS main event of the season, while Week 1 gets a respite here and there from what’s mostly a cupcake-packed affair. I don’t know whether Kentucky counts as a cupcake for Louisville or not.

Georgia wins! South Carolina loses! Oh my God, Ole Miss is doomed! Most initial reactions to the release of the 2012 SEC football schedule followed the same lines; it makes sense, really, as those things all appear to be true. But what else can we learn about the 2012 slate? Using 2011 numbers, quite a bit.

One of the better ways to imagine the impact of the 2012 schedule is to look at the impact it would have had in 2011. Using F/+ numbers and actual 2011 results, we can come up with a loose set of projections. Some guidelines:

And it’s not like any of those home dates are gimmes, either -- they got blown out by insurgent Vanderbilt this year, you’ll recall. Welcome, Mr. Freeze.

If only there were some way to calculate HEY LOOK:

Other positive vibes for the Vols: No two SEC road games in consecutive weeks, Bama in Knoxville ... that might be about it. Still, having a very balanced road-and-home schedule is good news for a still-young Tennessee team facing plenty of questions in Derek Dooley’s third season. Losing streaks won’t be tolerated quite as well this time around.

A few instant reactions looking at the 2012 SEC Football Schedule, now featuring 14 teams and PAIN. Lots and lots of pain.

1. The power of prayer has never been scientifically confirmed, but if you want evidence start with Georgia’s schedule. The clear winner in conference realignment is Mark Richt’s net worth, as contract bonuses are guaranteed with UGA’s breezy conference draw.

Sept. 8 marks Texas A&M’s first game as a SEC team. Florida will take its yet-to-be-determined offensive coordinator against Kevin Sumlin’s Aggies in a game that could be very, very ugly. That one replaces Florida’s rematch against Auburn, which we already know would’ve been an eternally ugly affair. The devil you know, sometimes.

Out-of-conference games aren’t yet included, so it’s not simple to determine where bye weeks lie, but with that late of a SEC opener, expect LSU to have a pretty-looking record entering conference play.

Also, fun fact, by the end of 2012 the Dawgs will have gone 22 weeks without facing the SEC West’s big three of Alabama, LSU and Arkansas. Larry Munson will still find plenty to fret about from Heaven here, though, including the lack of a bye before Florida:

And here’s South Carolina’s modified schedule:

And here’s A&M’s schedule, which has to be one of the most brutal in the country right away, but does retain a neutral-site game against Arkansas:

A three-game road trip against SEC West opponents after playing LSU? Go with God, and you sure you hate the Longhorn Network that much, y’all?

Here’s Auburn’s 2012 SEC football schedule:

Out-of-conference schedules aren’t yet finalized, so it’s not yet 100 percent whether the Tide will have a bye week before the Iron Bowl. All in all, not a disastrous schedule for Alabama, with the Third Saturday in October preserved right where it’s supposed to be.

The 2012 SEC football schedule is finally out, after a delay of almost a week or so, depending on who you listened to. Quite a bit has changed from the conference’s traditional layout, thanks in large part to the incorporation of Big 12 imports Texas A&M and Missouri.

Go right here to take a look at the complete 2012 schedule, and it’s included below.