We knew the dates already for the games coming up this season in the Southeastern Conference, the first with new members Texas and Oklahoma in the mix – and the first in the new TV deal with ESPN-ABC, after the long-running deal with CBS finally came to an end (Cue the Gary Danielson-haters).
And now we know the TV schedule for the first three weeks of the 2024 season. (See the SEC’s complete grid in the release below)
Oh – and a few other important dates – including one that Southern Cal and coach Lincoln Riley tried so desperately to get out of: their season opener with LSU (Saturday Down South sources: USC wanted out of its Week 1 showdown vs. LSU).
The league is wrapping up its annual spring meeting in Destin, Florida, and announced the times and networks for the first three weeks on Thursday. Again, the actual games /sites we already knew; it was the times we were awaiting. Among the highlights (that had not already been announced):
- League newcomer Texas will play at defending national champion Michigan on Sept. 7, a noon Eastern / 11 a.m. Central kickoff on FOX.
- Auburn will host its non-conference game against Cal on Sept. 7 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern / 2:30 Central on ESPN2.
- Alabama’s first big non-conference game in the post-Nick Saban era will be at Wisconsin on Sept. 14, and that will also be a FOX “Big Noon Kickoff” game, in that noon Eastern / 11 a.m. Central slot.
- LSU’s game at South Carolina on Sept. 14 will be the noon Eastern / 11 a.m. Central game on ABC.
Now, some announcements of some kickoff times not in that first three-week window, but definitely of interest:
- The very first SEC version of the Texas-Oklahoma Red River Rivalry will be a 3:30 p.m. Eastern / 2:30 p.m. Central kickoff on ABC or ESPN on Oct. 12, in Dallas – again, sites and dates were known for these, it’s the times that are the news.
- Georgia will host its annual meeting with rival Georgia Tech on Friday, Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving, at 7:30 p.m./6:30 p.m. on ABC.
- Mississippi State and Ole Miss will play their annual Egg Bowl that day, as well, in Oxford at 3:30 p.m. / 2:30 p.m., as coach Jeff Lebby, once an Ole Miss assistant coach and a longtime friend of Lane Kiffin, returns as the coach of the Bulldogs.
Other games of note whose times had already been announced, but are worth mentioning again:
- Georgia and Clemson meet at the Mercedes Benz Dome in Atlanta in the season opener for both on August 31 – that’s a noon ET / 11 a.m. kickoff.
- Also that day, Miami plays at Florida, a 3:30 / 2:30 kickoff there at The Swamp.
- The next day, on Sunday, Sept. 1 (the rare Sunday college game – the week before the NFL kicks off), Southern Cal and LSU meet in Las Vegas, a 7:30 p.m. / 6:30 p.m. kick of a game that Riley would love to not have to play.
- Texas A&M hosts Notre Dame on August 31, a 7:30/6:30 start at Kyle Field (that’ when the Fighting Irish are going to find out what a home field advantage really sounds like, by the way), and then the Aggies play at Florida on Sept. 14, a 3:30/2:30 contest on ABC.
- Georgia gets to face Alabama a LOT earlier than the last few years, when they met the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game. This year, they’ll meet ‘em in Tuscaloosa, in prime time, in a 7:30/6:30 time slot on ABC.
Speaking of the SEC Championship, it will be Dec. 7 on ABC, a 4 p.m. Eastern / 3 p.m. Central kickoff at the Mercedes Benz Dome in Atlanta.
