It's never too early to start looking ahead to next season. With that in mind, here's an early stab at the top 10 games to watch next season involving SEC teams, which includes both conference and nonconference games:
Aug. 28, Texas A&M at South Carolina: Life after Johnny Manziel begins for the Aggies in the first-ever meeting between these two teams and the first SEC game of the 2014 season, a Thursday night contest that will be televised on the SEC Network.
Aug. 30, LSU vs. Wisconsin, in Houston: It's not until 2016 that these two teams get it on in historic Lambeau Field, but they'll open next season in Reliant Stadium in what should be a classic Big Ten vs. SEC showdown.
Sept. 13, Georgia at South Carolina: The winner takes a big step forward in the East race, and the Dawgs have lost each of their last two trips to Williams-Brice Stadium. Plus, Todd Gurley vs. Mike Davis always makes for entertaining theater.
Sept. 20, Florida at Alabama: The Gators make a rare appearance in Tuscaloosa, only their fourth trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium since the 1992 expansion and division split. It's the SEC opener for the Crimson Tide, who are unbeaten in league openers under Nick Saban.
Oct. 4, Alabama at Ole Miss: The Rebels had to play at Alabama each of the last two seasons but finally get the Tide in Oxford next season. This could be the year that Ole Miss puts it all together and makes a run in the West, but doing that will mean snapping a 10-game skid against the Tide.
Nov. 8, Alabama at LSU: It got away from the Tigers a little bit this season against Alabama in the second half, but when's the last time this game hasn't meant something? Over the last five or six years, it's hard to find a better and/or more meaningful rivalry in college football than Alabama vs. LSU.
Nov. 15, Auburn at Georgia: Living up to the thriller these two teams played this season on the Plains will be difficult, but we could get a glimpse of the 2014 SEC championship game next November in Sanford Stadium.
Nov. 29, Mississippi State at Ole Miss: Talk about a rivalry that's been revitalized. The Bulldogs won in overtime this season, their fourth victory over the Rebels in the last five years. But the "school up north" will be looking for a little payback next season, particularly quarterback Bo Wallace.
Nov. 29, Auburn at Alabama: Just when you think you've seen it all in the Iron Bowl, Chris Davis delivers a play for the ages with his kick-six. We might never see another ending quite like that one, but it's not too farfetched to think that next season's game could again decide the West race.
Nov. 29, South Carolina at Clemson: When the Head Ball Coach knows he can get under somebody's skin, he just twists the needle that much harder. South Carolina has won five in a row now over Clemson, and it probably feels like 20 in a row to Dabo Swinney and the Tigers.