The SEC has announced the football opponents for the 2024 season, which will be the first for the league as a 16-team conference.
The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns are set to join the SEC officially on July 1, 2024. Ahead of that move, the league announced the 2024 SEC football schedule format earlier this month.
For the 2024 season, SEC teams will play an eight-game conference schedule with four non-conference opponents. One of those four non-conference opponents is required to be from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 or major independent.
Additionally, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey stated that the 2024 slate will be a “…one-year schedule.” That means the opponents and rotations will likely change for 2025 and beyond.
The SEC will also eliminate the divisional standings beginning in 2024 and place the top two teams in the standings into the SEC Championship Game. Under the new division-less format, each school will play every other school a minimum of two times in a four-year period.
Featured matchups that will be played in 2024 include the Georgia Bulldogs visiting both the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas Longhorns. Other matchups include Tennessee at Oklahoma, Texas at Texas A&M, Alabama at LSU, Oklahoma at Auburn, Florida at Tennessee, and Oklahoma at Auburn, among others.
Below is the complete list of SEC football opponents for the 2024 season:
2024 SEC Football Opponents
Home: Auburn, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina
Away: LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Home: LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas
Away: Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri, Texas A&M
Home: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Away: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri
Home: Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Away: Georgia (in JAX), Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas
Home: Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, Tennessee
Away: Alabama, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas
Home: Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
Away: Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas
Home: Alabama, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt
Away: Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, Texas A&M
Home: Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Texas A&M
Away: Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas
Home: Arkansas, Auburn, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Away: Alabama, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M
Home: Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas (in Dallas)
Away: Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri
Home: Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Oklahoma
Away: Arkansas, Florida, LSU, South Carolina
Home: LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri, Texas A&M
Away: Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Home: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State
Away: Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Home: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State
Away: Arkansas, Oklahoma (in Dallas), Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Home: Arkansas, LSU, Missouri, Texas
Away: Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, South Carolina
Home: Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas
Away: Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri
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Below is more info on the 2024 SEC format from the conference office:
- The slate of conference 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.
- The 2024 SEC opponents were determined based on two primary factors: traditional opponents and balance of schedule strength.
- 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.
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Moving forward, it’s still possible that the SEC will move to a nine-game conference football schedule. But that will depend on the SEC’s discussions with their television partner, ESPN, which will revolve around extra compensation for adding conference matchups to the schedule.
Football Schedules
I think reducing to 7 conference games (3 protected, 4 rotating on a 6-year schedule) is the better option, which should be universal across the P5, as it would allow for more juicy OOC matchups and the protection of certain rivalries that would otherwise be lost to realignment like Bedlam.
Face it, most conference games in any conference are not attractive ratings-wise. It’s the matchups between juggernauts from different conferences that pay the bills.
Not to mention the increased amount of top-flight OOC games would look good in the eyes of the CFP committee
LOL@ZMan. More great OOC games for the SEC? Yeah right, scooter. You mean an extra game against Tennessee Southern Cupcake Tech. SEC teams, as a whole, play the least amount of OOC games against P5 teams. Especially those only looking for bowl eligiblity. 7 games would only give Kentucky 4 free wins every year. That would be the case for most teams too.
9 conference games is the best way to go to keep the rivalries intact and rotate through all conference opponents at a quicker rate.
I can see why some schools would vote against it, but a fan against it? Are you even a real fan of CFB? How could you possibly want one extra cupcake game instead of a competitive conference game. I want to see more of Bama, Texas, LSU and less of Mercer, Wofford, and Creampuff A&M.
Ain’t that the truth! Not to mention that those SEC OCC games are typically at home with perhaps one game at a neutral site….which means no true OCC road games. Pathetic!
They need to play more OOC games against the P5, They aren’t going to impress the CFP committee playing cupcakes.
LOL
You seem to think there is interest in what is good for the sport. These conferences and schools have ZERO interest in what is good for college football overall. They are interested in themselves and making money. Some of them are interested in winning, but mostly money.
A few glaring omissions:
Georgia-South Carolina
Georgia AT Texas A&M — which still hasn’t happened
Now that the 2024 SEC football schedule is set for one season and the SEC has not seemed eager to adopt a 9-game conference schedule (with a convenient 3+6+6 model), here’s a proposal for a workable 8-game conference schedule starting in 2025. This template uses a 2+5+1 scheduling model. It features two annual geographic rivalry games per team, adds five alternating bi-annual games, and then one rotating non-rival game every year on a three-year cycle. All teams will face each other at least once every 3 years and visit each stadium once every 6 years. Teams are divided into Group A or Group B and each will play five games within their group in 2025 and then five games vs. the other group in 2026. Future years will continue to alternate annually. Group A and B are approximately equal in terms of total team strength as per the following table–
Scheduling Groups
Group A 10 year wins Group B 10 year wins
in conference in conference
Georgia 58 Florida 48
S. Carolina 42 Kentucky 24
Vanderbilt 22 Tennessee 26
Auburn 45 Alabama 69
Mississippi 26 MSU 37
Arkansas 25 Missouri 30
Oklahoma* 68 LSU 58
Texas* 42 Texas A&M 34
Total wins 328 Total wins 326
*subtracted 10% from actual wins to adjust for the 9 game conference schedule while in Big 12.
Scheduling Matrix (2+5+1)
Annual Annual +5 2025 +1 three-year rotating opponent
TEAM Rival #1 Rival #2 opponents 2025 2026 2027
Georgia Florida Auburn Group A MSU Texas LSU
Florida Georgia SC Group B Oklahoma A&M MSU
Auburn Alabama Georgia Group A A&M LSU Oklahoma
Alabama Auburn Tenn Group B Missouri Oklahoma Vanderbilt
Vandy Tenn Miss Group A Arkansas MSU Alabama
Tenn Vandy Alabama Group B LSU Miss Texas
SC Kentucky Florida Group A Miss Missouri Arkansas
Kentucky SC Missouri Group B Texas Arkansas A&M
Miss MSU Vandy Group A SC Tenn Missouri
MSU Miss LSU Group B Georgia Vandy Florida
Arkansas Missouri A&M Group A Vandy Kentucky SC
Missouri Arkansas Kentucky Group B Alabama SC Miss
Texas A&M Oklahoma Group A Kentucky Georgia Tennessee
A&M Texas Arkansas Group B Auburn Florida Kentucky
Oklahoma LSU Texas Group A Florida Alabama Auburn
LSU Oklahoma MSU Group B Tenn Auburn Georgia
Rivalries
1. Historic end of season annual rivalry games are restored (like Texas vs. Texas A&M) or created (like LSU vs Oklahoma).
2. Allowing two annual rivalry games means many secondary rivalries can be preserved (e.g. Alabama vs. Tennessee, Auburn vs. Georgia) while other more recent annual “rivalries of convenience” can easily be abandoned (e.g. Texas A&M vs. South Carolina) and replaced (e.g. Texas A&M vs. Arkansas).
3. Three year rotating non-rival games were selected to partially balance out strength of schedule.
2025 Opponents by Team
1. Georgia– Florida, Auburn, S. Carolina, Vanderbilt, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, MSU
2. Florida– Georgia, S. Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, LSU, Oklahoma
3. Auburn– Alabama, Georgia, S. Carolina, Vanderbilt, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, A&M
4. Alabama– Auburn, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, MSU, LSU, Texas A&M, Missouri
5. Vanderbilt– Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, S. Carolina, Auburn, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas
6. Tennessee– Vanderbilt, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, MSU, Missouri, Texas A&M, LSU
7. S. Carolina– Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi
8. Kentucky– S. Carolina, Missouri, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, MSU, LSU, Texas
9. Mississippi– MSU, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Auburn, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, S. Carolina
10. MSU– Mississippi, LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, Texas A&M, Georgia
11. Arkansas– Missouri, Texas A&M, Georgia, Auburn, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, Vanderbilt
12. Missouri– Arkansas, Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee, MSU, LSU, Texas A&M, Alabama
13. Texas– A&M, Oklahoma, S. Carolina, Vandy, Auburn, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky
14. Texas A&M– Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, MSU, Missouri, LSU, Auburn
15. Oklahoma– LSU, Texas, Georgia, S. Carolina, Vanderbilt, Mississippi, Arkansas, Florida
16. LSU– Oklahoma, MSU, Florida, Kentucky, Alabama, Missouri, Texas A&M, Tennessee
Sorry for the messy text above. First time poster and I thought my table formatting would display more cleanly. In the Scheduling matrix (2+5+1) section, the second and third teams listed are Rival #1 and #2 of the first team, the next info is Group A or B for the 5 bi-annual opponents, and the last 3 teams listed are the 3 rotating non-rival games (for 2025, 2026, and 2027 respectively). I hope the rest of it is digestible. Feedback welcomed!