
The Alabama-Tennessee game remained on Oct. 24 and the Alabama-Auburn game remained on Nov. 28 in the adjusted Southeastern Conference football schedule released Monday night.
There were, however, plenty of rivalry games that moved significantly as the result of the SEC's delayed 10-game schedule consisting solely of league contests that has resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Auburn-Georgia matchup will now be played on Oct. 3, which is the second Saturday of this year's season, while Tennessee will conclude its regular season by hosting Florida on Dec. 5.
The Gators and Volunteers last played in a season finale back in 2001, when Tennessee prevailed 34-32 in a riveting contest in Gainesville that had to be rescheduled due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"It will be a tough 10 games, and you'll have to be at your best every week," Volunteers coach Jeremy Pruitt said Monday night on a Zoom call. "You'll have to sustain and stay healthy, and obviously this will be the first time any of us will have experienced this. It will be a great challenge that we're looking forward to."
Tennessee will open at South Carolina on Sept. 26 before hosting Missouri on Oct. 3 and then traveling to Georgia on Oct. 10. The league's most anticipated matchup — Georgia at Alabama — was originally set to occur on Sept. 19 but will now take place Oct. 17.
The SEC managed to maintain Thanksgiving week rivalries such as Alabama-Auburn, Arkansas-Missouri, LSU-Texas A&M, Ole Miss-Mississippi State and Tennessee-Vanderbilt, but that is the penultimate weekend of this year's season. The week after the Iron Bowl, Alabama will travel to Arkansas while Auburn will host Texas A&M, and Georgia will end its season against Vanderbilt after opening last year against the Commodores.
"This is a year about adjusting," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said Monday afternoon. "The teams that adjust will have an advantage. Usually going into preseason camp, you have the first three opponents broken down, so we'll be playing catch-up, as will everyone else in our league.
"This isn't a time for tradition."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.
Southeastern Conference football schedule
Sept. 26
Alabama at Missouri
Georgia at Arkansas
Kentucky at Auburn
Mississippi State at LSU
Florida at Ole Miss
Tennessee at South Carolina
Vanderbilt at Texas A&M
Oct. 3
Texas A&M at Alabama
Arkansas at Mississippi State
Auburn at Georgia
South Carolina at Florida
Ole Miss at Kentucky
LSU at Vanderbilt
Missouri at Tennessee
Oct. 10
Alabama at Ole Miss
Arkansas at Auburn
Florida at Texas A&M
Tennessee at Georgia
Mississippi State at Kentucky
Missouri at LSU
South Carolina at Vanderbilt
Oct. 17
Georgia at Alabama
Ole Miss at Arkansas
Auburn at South Carolina
LSU at Florida
Kentucky at Tennessee
Texas A&M at Mississippi State
Vanderbilt at Missouri
Oct. 24
Alabama at Tennessee
Auburn at Ole Miss
Missouri at Florida
Georgia at Kentucky
South Carolina at LSU
Oct. 31
Mississippi State at Alabama
Arkansas at Texas A&M
LSU at Auburn
Kentucky at Missouri
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt
Nov. 7
Tennessee at Arkansas
Florida vs. Georgia (Jacksonville)
Vanderbilt at Mississippi State
Texas A&M at South Carolina
Nov. 14
Alabama at LSU
Arkansas at Florida
Auburn at Mississippi State
Georgia at Missouri
Vanderbilt at Kentucky
South Carolina at Ole Miss
Texas A&M at Tennessee
Nov. 21
Kentucky at Alabama
LSU at Arkansas
Tennessee at Auburn
Florida at Vanderbilt
Mississippi State at Georgia
Ole Miss at Texas A&M
Missouri at South Carolina
Nov. 28
Auburn at Alabama
Arkansas at Missouri
Kentucky at Florida
Georgia at South Carolina
LSU at Texas A&M
Mississippi State at Ole Miss
Tennessee at Vanderbilt
Dec. 5
Alabama at Arkansas
Texas A&M at Auburn
Florida at Tennessee
Vanderbilt at Georgia
South Carolina at Kentucky
Ole Miss at LSU
Missouri at Mississippi State
Dec. 12
Open date
Dec. 19
SEC championship game (Atlanta)
UGA coach Kirby Smart believes expanded SEC preseason will be beneficial
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