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The SEC released its 2024 conference opponents’ schedule for football on Wednesday night. The schedule was formed from traditional opponents and the strength of the team. The strength was based on the winning percentage for the team since 2012.
https://twitter.com/SEC/status/1669126777577299968?cxt=HHwWgICz6b799qkuAAAA
The SEC announced earlier that the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns will join the SEC Conference starting July 1, 2024. This announcement has opened a lot of questions for people, especially those who watch college football.
The major questions being asked were about scheduling and rivalries. There was a discussion about having the football schedule have nine conference games, three-set rivalry games for every season, and six rotating conference games. The other option was eight conference games with a one-set rivalry game and seven rotating conference games. However, earlier this month, the SEC announced implementing the eight-game option for now.
Florida’s Opponent Schedule
For Florida, the 2024 opponents are; Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi and Texas A&M at home. Mississippi State, Tennessee and Texas are on the road. The Georgia game will also be on the road at the TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. Each SEC team will go against one of the two teams for the 2024 season. For the Florida Gators, it’s the Texas Longhorns. Even though the SEC decided to go with the eight-game schedule with only one rivalry opponent (which will likely be Georgia-Florida), they still added the Gators’ other biggest rivalry games in the season (LSU and Tennessee).
2024 SEC OPPONENTS@GatorsFB #SECFB x @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/iE2mRzr6Ou
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) June 14, 2023
Other SEC Matchups to Look Forward to
Looking at the schedule, there are many games that college football fans are excited about. The biggest one, not even including Oklahoma or Texas, is the Alabama and Georgia game. It is rare to see these two teams in a matchup against one another in the regular season, with only five regular season games in the last 20 years. The last time these two played in the regular season was in 2020. These two have solid football programs, with both teams winning a National Championship Title in the last three years.
Other games that fans are looking forward to are the Texas vs. Texas A&M game, Georgia facing Texas, Alabama going against Oklahoma and finally the Oklahoma and LSU matchup.
Looking Ahead at the 2025 Schedule
The 2024 season will be the guinea pig season for the new 16-team conference. Deciding on the future long-term scheduling for the conference will also be based on how the 2024 season goes. In the 2025 season, some teams may have to go to the same location as the 2024 season to start the more “regular” and long-term scheduling.
