NEW SEC: 2024 opponents announced; Tide, Tigers to face newcomer Oklahoma
By GRAHAM DUNN
The Southeastern Conference made its big splash on Wednesday, naming the opponents for each of the 16 schools for 2024.
Opponents plus home and away designations for games for the 2024 football schedule were announced with the first season featuring the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas as part of the SEC.
Among the features of the matchups announced Wednesday is that each of the 14 existing Conference members will play either Oklahoma or Texas – home or away – during the 2024 season.
As previously announced, SEC teams in 2024 will play eight conference games plus one required opponent from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 or major independent during the 2024 season when the SEC becomes a 16-team conference.
The slate of home and away designations in 2024 was built with the provision that no school will travel to the same location to which it traveled in 2023.
It was also previously announced the SEC will eliminate divisional standings beginning in 2024. The SEC Championship Game will feature the two top teams in the Conference standings at the end of the regular season.
The 2024 SEC opponents were determined based on two primary factors: traditional opponents and balance of schedule strength.
Both Alabama and Auburn lost regular opponents including a few that were long-time rivals. The Crimson Tide has played Mississippi State more than any other team in the conference (107 times) and has faced the Bulldogs 71 straight years, dating back to World War II. But that series comes to a halt in ‘24 with the new schedule.
Auburn also had a long-running series with Mississippi State, having played 96 times. Both teams also lost former SEC West opponent Ole Miss from the schedule. Alabama will not face Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the league in 2012. Auburn lost LSU from its schedule.
Alabama will face two-time champ Georgia along with a trip to Oklahoma. Alabama was originally scheduled to face South Carolina in its division crossover game and the Gamecocks stayed on the schedule.Annual rivalries with Auburn, Tennessee and LSU stayed on the docket.
Auburn kept its rivalries with Georgia and the Crimson Tide. Texas A&M and Arkansas remain on the schedule.
Balance of schedule strength was based on each school’s conference winning percentage since the last expansion of the SEC in 2012. The winning percentages for the performance of Oklahoma and Texas in the Big 12 since 2012 were included in determining 16 positions ranked by winning percentage.
Each school’s schedule in 2024 will include four opponents – two home and two away -- whose winning percentage ranked among the top eight conference winning percentages since 2012. Also, each school’s 2024 schedule will include four opponents – two home and two away -- whose winning percentages ranked among the second eight conference winning percentages since 2012.
While no school will travel to the same location to which it traveled in 2023, it should be noted that when a long-term schedule format is determined, it may not be possible to structure a schedule that does not include some schools playing at the same location in back-to-back years in the first year of a new format.
A complete 2024 SEC football schedule that includes dates of games will be announced later this year.
2024 SEC FOOTBALL OPPONENTS
Dates and times to be announced later
ALABAMA
AUBURN
GEORGIA
MISSOURI
SOUTH CAROLINA
at LSU
at Oklahoma
at Tennessee
at Vanderbilt
ARKANSAS
LSU
OLE MISS
TENNESSEE
TEXAS
at Auburn
at Mississippi State
at Missouri
at Texas A&M*
AUBURN
ARKANSAS
OKLAHOMA
TEXAS A&M
VANDERBILT
at Alabama
at Georgia
at Kentucky
at Missouri
FLORIDA
KENTUCKY
LSU
OLE MISS
TEXAS A&M
at Georgia#
at Mississippi State
at Tennessee
at Texas
GEORGIA
AUBURN
FLORIDA#
MISSISSIPPI STATE
TENNESSEE
at Alabama
at Kentucky
at Ole Miss
at Texas
KENTUCKY
AUBURN
GEORGIA
SOUTH CAROLINA
VANDERBILT
at Florida
at Ole Miss
at Tennessee
at Texas
LSU
ALABAMA
OLE MISS
OKLAHOMA
VANDERBILT
at Arkansas
at Florida
at South Carolina
at Texas A&M
OLE MISS
GEORGIA
KENTUCKY
MISSISSIPPI STATE
OKLAHOMA
at Arkansas
at Florida
at LSU
at South Carolina
MISSISSIPPI STATE
ARKANSAS
FLORIDA
MISSOURI
TEXAS A&M
at Georgia
at Ole Miss
at Tennessee
at Texas
MISSOURI
ARKANSAS
AUBURN
OKLAHOMA+
VANDERBILT
at Alabama
at Mississippi State
at South Carolina
at Texas A&M
OKLAHOMA
ALABAMA
SOUTH CAROLINA
TENNESSEE
TEXAS+
at Auburn
at LSU
at Missouri
at Ole Miss
SOUTH CAROLINA
LSU
OLE MISS
MISSOURI
TEXAS A&M
at Alabama
at Kentucky
at Oklahoma
at Vanderbilt
TENNESSEE
ALABAMA
FLORIDA
KENTUCKY
MISSISSIPPI STATE
at Arkansas
at Georgia
at Oklahoma
at Vanderbilt
TEXAS
FLORIDA
GEORGIA
KENTUCKY
MISSISSIPPI STATE
at Arkansas
at Oklahoma+
at Texas A&M
at Vanderbilt
TEXAS A&M
ARKANSAS*
LSU
MISSOURI
TEXAS
at Auburn
at Florida
at Mississippi State
at South Carolina
VANDERBILT
ALABAMA
SOUTH CAROLINA
TENNESSEE
TEXAS
at Auburn
at Kentucky
at LSU
at Missouri
* Arkansas at Texas A&M - Arlington, TX
# Florida at Georgia - Jacksonville FL
+ Texas at Oklahoma, Dallas, TX