As we inch closer to the start of the season, it’s time to review the schedules of every SEC team.

Whether it’s home vs. road, nonconference matchups or potential trap games, there’s a lot to get into.

We complete the series with the Vanderbilt Commodores:

Nonconference opponents (with 2015 record)

Sept. 10: Middle Tennessee (7-6)

Sept. 17: at Georgia Tech (3-9)

Sept. 24: at Western Kentucky (12-2)

Oct. 22: Tennessee State (4-6)

SEC home games

Sept. 1: South Carolina

Oct. 1: Florida

Nov. 19: Ole Miss

Nov. 26: Tennessee

SEC road games

Oct. 8: Kentucky

Oct. 15: Georgia

Nov. 5: Auburn

Nov. 12: Missouri

Gut-check time: Derek Mason’s team harbors hopes of appearing in the postseason this fall. It’s not impossible that the Commodores would reach the necessary six wins prior to their Oct. 29 open date, but it seems highly unlikely. That said, perhaps they will play well enough in those first eight weeks where a bowl bid is still possible once they enter a challenging November slate. Can Vandy notch a road win against Auburn or Missouri or an even more unlikely victory at home against Ole Miss or rival Tennessee? It’s entirely possible that the Commodores will need at least one November win to reach the postseason for the first time under Mason.

Trap game: Is there such a thing as a trap game when you’re coming off 3-9 and 4-8 seasons? They’re all trap games. Let’s focus on the opener against South Carolina, though. It’s a Thursday night game with a national cable audience on ESPN. Viewers across the nation will tune in for their first taste of football, with Mason taking on first-year Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp. This is certainly a game that Vandy can win, particularly since it’s at home, but Mason is just 2-14 in conference play thus far. There aren’t a ton of obviously winnable games on the schedule, so his team needs to cash in on opportunities like this.

Final analysis: It seems somewhat unfair that ESPN’s Football Power Index rates the Commodores’ schedule as the 14th-toughest in the FBS -- and as the most difficult slate that any SEC East team will play. Mason is battling for respectability, which is no easy feat if the Commodores play a tougher schedule than their closest competitors. Vandy’s first four games will almost certainly play a major role in whether the Commodores achieve their postseason goal. After South Carolina, they host Middle Tennessee (a bowl participant last season) and then visit Georgia Tech and Western Kentucky. Notch a few wins in September and a path to a bowl bid is not necessarily smooth, but it seems much more possible. Go 2-2 or worse and Vandy probably watches from home for a third straight bowl season. Perhaps Mason’s team will surprise us this fall. This should be the best all-around squad he will field in his three years in Nashville, after all. But a fast start seems like a necessity if the Commodores are to improve upon the also-ran results of Mason’s first two seasons.