The Alabama Crimson Tide just wrapped up their fourth national title under head coach Nick Saban, forming what amounts to a college football dynasty (four titles since 2009) and arguably places Saban atop college football’s Mount Rushmore in terms of greatest coaches ever.
It was an insane 2015 college football season, one that culminated in a high-scoring win over Clemson for the Tide in just the second ever College Football Playoff. Looking ahead to the 2016 season – specifically in the SEC – we can safely expect another wild ride. The big question will be whether or not Alabama can repeat and grab Saban his sixth national championship (which would tie him with legendary coach Bear Bryant) or if another SEC team can emerge as a more suitable contender.
No matter how the SEC shakes out, fans will want to get a headstart on game day traveling and cheap hotel rates via Hipmunk.com, as well as learn the best deals on SEC tickets for the top games.
To get a better idea as to which games SEC fans will want to take in live this year, let’s take a look at the early lead for the top-priced SEC games for 2016, per TiqIQ.com:
11/24/2016 – Texas A&M Aggies vs. LSU Tigers at Kyle Field | Avg: $717.20 | Get-in: $174
It’s a mild surprise not to see the defending champs rule the top spot in our top-priced SEC tickets list for 2016, but an Aggies vs. Tigers clash is still nothing to scoff at. LSU hasn’t won 10 games in either of the last two seasons, but Les Miles is sticking around in an effort to turn the Tigers back into national championship contenders. Their last battle with the Aggies ended in an LSU win in a defensive battle (19-7), but the hype surrounding this game clearly vaults LSU tickets to the top spot. Texas A&M tickets are in high demand to start out 2016, which has the Aggies at first overall and locking down the top three most expensive SEC games for the new season.
10/8/2016 – Texas A&M Aggies vs. Tennessee Volunteers at Kyle Field | Avg: $640.32 | Get-in: $127
Johnny Manziel helped instill a ton of hype at Texas A&M just three years ago and Texas A&M has held strong as one of the better teams in the SEC ever since thanks to elite recruiting and coaching by Kevin Sumlin. Texas A&M once again has high hopes going into 2016, both because of talent and because they got off to a blistering 5-0 start a year ago. They’ll take on the rival Volunteers fairly early on in the year, which ends up being an extremely rare battle (third meeting ever). That is undoubtedly one reason why Aggies and Volunteers tickets see a huge rise for this showdown, but Texas A&M’s rise in recent years is still the key draw in this matchup.
11/12/2016 – Texas A&M Aggies vs. Ole Miss Rebels at Kyle Field | Avg: $635.29 | Get-in: $118
Aggies tickets remain in high demand with their third straight appearance in our list of the top SEC games for 2016. Their battle with the rival Rebels in front of their home crowd at Kyle Field should arguably be even higher (and more expensive), so in a sense fans from both sides are getting a bit of a deal. Hype and ticket price aside, this stands to be one of the top games of the year, as the Rebels were the only team to take down the national champion Crimson Tide last year and went an impressive 10-3 in 2015. They also trounced the Aggies (23-3) in their 2015 meeting, so it’s safe to say Aggies nation will get up for this 2016 clash.
9/17/2016 – Ole Miss Rebels vs. Alabama Crimson Tide at Vaught Hemingway Stadium | Avg: $624.38 | Get-in: $193
Alabama’s only appearance in our top SEC games list comes against Ole Miss, and it makes sense since the Rebels were the only team to take down Nick Saban’s crew last year. The Tide will once again have their sights on a national title, but they’ll probably be out for some sweet revenge when they head to Vaught Hemingway Stadium to take on the Rebels. This is a meaty game for both sides, as Alabama Crimson Tide tickets won’t be pricer in any other matchup in 2016. Win or lose, fans can expect a high-scoring affair if last year’s shootout is any indication of how the game could unfold.
9/3/2016 – Wisconsin Badgers vs. LSU Tigers at Lambeau Field | Avg: $567.48 | Get-in: 198
The Badgers and Tigers continue their tradition of meeting up to start the year, and the Badgers will hope things go a little smoother after losing in 2015. Having this game go down in Wisconsin could help them out considerably, but taking down a Les Miles squad is far easier said than done. This game easily ranks as Wisconsin’s most highly touted 2016 matchup and will spike the price of Badgers tickets, while this one is just LSU’s second-most expensive clash for the new college football season. Fans can probably expect a stiff defensive battle, but if things break their way, LSU could run away in a rout.
