SEC football schedule released: Neither Iron Bowl nor Egg Bowl will conclude regular season

The SEC released its full 10-game conference-only football schedule Monday night, and one very notable item is that the Iron Bowl will not be the finale for either Auburn or Alabama. It will be played Nov. 28, Thanksgiving weekend, in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers will then host Texas A&M on Dec. 5 and Alabama will travel to Arkansas that day. Normally, Dec. 5 would have been the date of the SEC Championship Game but everything was pushed back this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The last time Auburn didn't end the regular season with a game against Alabama in the Iron Bowl was 2001, when the Tigers' Sept. 15 game against LSU was postponed to Dec. 1 due to the 9/11 attacks. Before that, the last time was 1947. The last time Auburn wasn't the finale for Alabama was in 2003 when the Tide played Hawaii the week after the Iron Bowl. Reading social media, neither Tigers nor Tide fans are very happy about it.

Alabama will also host Georgia on Oct. 17 in a potential SEC title game preview and visits LSU on Nov. 14 (that's the weekend of the rescheduled Masters). The Tide have back-to-back home games just once: Nov. 21 vs. Kentucky and then the Iron Bowl. They don't have back-to-back road games.

Alabama is the betting favorite at William Hill sportsbook to win the SEC and Georgia the second-favorite. The Dawgs look like potential big winners in terms of regular-season finales as they host Vanderbilt, and surely will be huge favorites, while fellow East Division contender Florida has a tough trip to Tennessee.

The Egg Bowl this season is Nov. 28 from Oxford and that should be must-see TV with Mike Leach now coaching Mississippi State and Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss. It's the first time since 2016 that the Egg Bowl won't be played on a Thursday night. It's the first time since 2001 that Ole Miss and Mississippi State won't end their regular seasons against one another. 

Week 1 (Sept. 26)

Alabama at Missouri

Florida at Ole Miss

Georgia at Arkansas

Kentucky at Auburn

Mississippi State at LSU

Tennessee at South Carolina

Vanderbilt at Texas A&M

Week 2 (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

Week 3 (Oct. 10)

Alabama at Ole Miss

Arkansas at Auburn

Tennessee at Georgia

Florida at Texas A&M

Mississippi State at Kentucky

Missouri at LSU

South Carolina at Vanderbilt

Week 4 (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

Week 5 (Oct. 24)

Alabama at Tennessee

Auburn at Ole Miss

Missouri at Florida

Georgia at Kentucky

South Carolina at LSU

Byes: Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Arkansas

Week 6 (Oct. 31)

Mississippi State at Alabama

Arkansas at Texas A&M

LSU at Auburn

Kentucky at Missouri

Ole Miss at Vanderbilt

Byes: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee

Week 7 (Nov. 7)

Tennessee at Arkansas

Florida vs. Georgia (Jacksonville, FL)

Vanderbilt at Mississippi State

Texas A&M at South Carolina

Byes: Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Missouri

Week 8 (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

Week 9 (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

Week 10 (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

Week 11 (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

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