2017 Southeastern Conference football season


The 2017 Southeastern Conference football season was the 85th season of SEC football and took place during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on August 31 and will end with the 2017 SEC Championship Game on December 2. The SEC is a Power Five conference under the College Football Playoff format along with the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big 12 Conference, the Big Ten Conference, and the Pac–12 Conference. For the 2017 season, the SEC has 14 teams divided into two divisions of seven each, named East and West.

Preseason

Recruiting classes

SEC media days

The SEC conducted its annual media days at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham – The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama between July 11 and July 14. The event commenced with a speech by commissioner Greg Sankey, and all 14 teams sent their head coaches and three selected players to speak with members of the media. The event along with all speakers and interviews were broadcast live on the SEC Network and streamed live on ESPN.com.

Preseason media polls

The SEC Media Days concluded with its annual preseason media polls. Since 1992, the credentialed media has gotten the preseason champion correct just six times. Only nine times has the preseason pick even made it to the SEC title game. Below are the results of the media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses.
SEC Champion Voting
West Division
East Division
References:

Preseason All-SEC Media

PositionPlayerClassTeam
DLDaron PayneJRAlabama
DLDa'Shawn HandSRAlabama
DLTrenton ThompsonJRGeorgia
DLMarquis HaynesSrOle Miss
LBArden KeyJRLSU
LBRashaan EvansSRAlabama
LBRoquan SmithSRGeorgia
DBMinkah FitzpatrickJRAlabama
DBRonnie HarrisonJRAlabama
DBArmani WattsJRTexas A&M
DBDuke DawsonSRFlorida

PositionPlayerClassTeam
PJK ScottSRAlabama
KEddy PiñeiroJRFlorida
RSEvan BerryJRTennessee
APDerrius GuiceJRLSU

References:

Head coaches

Note: All stats shown are before the beginning of the season.
TeamHead coachYears at schoolOverall recordRecord at schoolSEC record
AlabamaNick Saban11205–61–1114–1965–12
ArkansasBret Bielema593–5025–2610–22
AuburnGus Malzahn544–2135–1818–14
FloridaJim McElwain341–2419–813–3
GeorgiaKirby Smart28-58-54-4
KentuckyMark Stoops519–3019–308–24
LSUEd Orgeron122–296–24–2
Ole MissMatt Luke10–00–00–0
Mississippi StateDan Mullen961–4261–4229–35
MissouriBarry Odom24–84–82–6
South CarolinaWill Muschamp234–286–73–5
TennesseeButch Jones580–4830–2114–18
Texas A&MKevin Sumlin679–3844–2121–19
VanderbiltDerek Mason413–2413–245–19

References:

Rankings

Schedule

Regular season

All times Eastern time. SEC teams in bold.
Rankings reflect those of the AP poll for that week until week 10 when CFP rankings are used.

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

Week Six

Week Seven

Week Eight

Week Nine

Week Ten

Week Eleven

Week Twelve

Week Thirteen

Championship game

Week Fourteen (2017 SEC Championship Game)

SEC vs other conferences

SEC vs. Power 5 matchups

This is a list of teams considered by the SEC as "Power Five" teams for purposes of meeting league requirements that each member play at least one "power" team in non-conference play. In addition to the SEC, the NCAA officially considers all football members of the ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac-12, plus independent Notre Dame, as "Power Five" teams. Although the NCAA does not consider BYU a "Power Five" school, the SEC considers games against BYU as satisfying its "Power Five" scheduling requirement.
All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.
DateVisitorHomeSiteSignificanceScore
September 2NC StateSouth CarolinaBank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NCBelk Kickoff GameW 35–28
September 2#11 Michigan#17 FloridaAT&T Stadium • Arlington, TXAdvocare ClassicL 17–33
September 2#1 Alabama#3 Florida StateMercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, GAChick-fil-A Kickoff GameW 24–7
September 2BYU#13 LSUMercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, LATexas KickoffW 27–0
September 3Texas A&MUCLARose Bowl • Pasadena, CAL 44–45
September 4#25 TennesseeGeorgia TechMercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, GAChick-fil-A Kickoff GameW 42–41 2OT
September 9#23 TCUArkansasDonald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, ARL 7–28
September 9#13 Auburn#3 ClemsonMemorial Stadium • Clemson, SCAuburn–Clemson football rivalryL 6–14
September 9#15 Georgia#24 Notre DameNotre Dame Stadium • South Bend, INW 20–19
September 16PurdueMissouriFaurot Field • Columbia, MOL 3–35
September 16#18 Kansas StateVanderbiltVanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TNW 14–7
September 16Ole MissCaliforniaCalifornia Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CAL 16–27
September 23Syracuse#25 LSUTiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LAW 35–26
October 14BYUMississippi StateDavis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MSW 35–10
November 25#7 GeorgiaGeorgia TechBobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GAClean, Old-Fashioned HateW 38–7
November 25LouisvilleKentuckyKroger Field • Lexington, KYGovernor's CupL 17–44
November 25#4 ClemsonSouth CarolinaWilliams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SCBattle of the Palmetto StateL 10–34
November 25Florida StateFloridaBen Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FLFlorida–Florida State football rivalryL 22–38

Records against other conferences

Regular Season
Post Season

Postseason

Bowl games

DateTimeBowl GameSiteTVSEC TeamOpponentResult
January 8, 20188:00 p.m.CFP National ChampionshipMercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, GAESPN#4 Alabama #3 Georgia ALA 26–23
January 1, 20188:45 p.m.Sugar Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, LAESPN#4 Alabama #1 Clemson W 24–6
January 1, 20185:00 p.m.Rose Bowl Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CAESPN#3 Georgia #2 Oklahoma W 54–48
January 1, 20181:00 p.m.Peach Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, GAESPN#7 Auburn #12 UCF L 27–34
January 1, 20181:00 p.m.Citrus BowlCamping World Stadium • Orlando, FLABC#17 LSU #14 Notre Dame L 17–21
January 1, 201812:00 p.m.Outback BowlRaymond James Stadium • Tampa, FLESPN2South Carolina Michigan W 26–19
December 30, 201712:00 p.m.TaxSlayer BowlEverBank Field • Jacksonville, FLESPN#23 Mississippi State Louisville W 31–27
December 29, 20174:30 p.m.Music City BowlNissan Stadium • Nashville, TNESPNKentucky #21 Northwestern L 23–24
December 29, 20171:00 p.m.Belk BowlBank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NCESPNTexas A&M Wake Forest L 52–55
December 27, 20179:00 p.m.Texas BowlNRG Stadium • Houston, TXESPNMissouri Texas L 16–33

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

SEC Individual Awards

The following individuals won the conference's annual player and coach awards:
Reference:

All-Conference teams

Coaches

Media

References:

All-Americans

Winners in bold
Game played at Arkansas' secondary home stadium War Memorial Stadium, capacity: 54,120.
Reference: