Texas A&M to host Florida, play at Tennessee in 2020 schedule additions

Florida and Tennessee have been added as Texas A&M’s two additional conference opponents for the 2020 football season.

The Southeastern Conference on Friday released a list of the two new games added for each conference school as part of its revised 10-game, conference-only scheduling model. The Aggies will travel to Knoxville to face the Volunteers and will host the Gators at Kyle Field. The SEC has not yet announced the full conference schedule, including dates for the two newly added games.

The original 12-game schedule was altered because of the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which thus far has caused more than 160,000 deaths in the United States.

The Aggies were originally set to open the season on September 5 against Abilene Christian. Instead, the SEC followed the lead of the Big Ten and Pac-12 and opted to delay the season and adopt a conference-only format.

That forced the cancelation of non-conference games against Abilene Christian, North Texas and Fresno State. A&M’s originally scheduled game against Colorado on September 19 had already been canceled by the Pac-12’s decision to play only conference games.

The Aggies still play their traditional SEC West Division rivals, and they were already scheduled to play South Carolina and Vanderbilt from the SEC East.

The addition of Florida and Tennessee gives A&M a more challenging schedule.

Florida quarterback Kyle Trask heads a group of six offensive returning starters from last season’s team that finished 11-2. The Gators have five starters returning on defense and are ranked eighth in the Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Aggies and Gators have a brief history of competitive games. A&M defeated Florida 19-17 in Gainesville in 2017. A&M fell to Florida 20-17 in 2012 in the Aggies’ first game as an SEC member.

Tennessee returns eight offensive and eight defensive starters from last season’s team that finished 8-5. The Volunteers struggled early but closed the season with six consecutive victories. They beat Indiana 23-22 in the Gator Bowl.

A&M last played Tennessee in 2016, a game the Aggies won 45-38 in a double-overtime thriller at Kyle Field. 

Also, on Friday the SEC announced several medical protocols for the upcoming sports seasons. Each institution must designate a COVID-19 Protocol Oversight Officer. That officer is responsible for ensuring compliance with the protocols.

Among the protocols in place:

• There will be centralized testing through a third-party provider to ensure consistency in surveillance and pre-competition testing.
• Football, volleyball and soccer players, coaches and others involved with those programs will be tested for the COVID-19 virus at least twice a week.
• Coaches, staff and non-competing players will be required to wear face coverings on the sideline. Physical distancing will be practiced.
• Cross country athletes must wear face coverings at the starting line, but can remove them as sufficient distancing is achieved.