Aggies facing a notably steeper climb in SEC's new-look schedule

The degree of difficulty for the first half of Texas A&M’s football season increased substantially on Monday when the Southeastern Conference released the ten-game, all-league schedule.

A&M opens with struggling Vanderbilt at Kyle Field on September 26 but follows with consecutive games against Alabama and Florida. The Aggies travel to Tuscaloosa on October 3 and entertain Florida in Aggieland on October 10.

Alabama is ranked No. 3, and Florida is ranked No. 8 in the preseason Coaches Poll, which was released before the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences announced they would not participate in an autumn football season.

The Aggies go on the road to face Mississippi State on October 17. After an open date on October 24, A&M plays Arkansas at Kyle Field on October 31.

A&M then travels to South Carolina on November 7 and goes on the road to face Tennessee on November 14.

The Aggies return to Kyle Field to face Ole Miss on November 21 and LSU on November 28, the Saturday following Thanksgiving. They close the season at Auburn on December 5.

Originally, the season was slated to start on September 5 against Abilene Christian. None of the Aggies’ FBS non-conference opponents in the first half of the season posted winning records in 2019. The back-loaded schedule concluded with clashes against Alabama and LSU.

But the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the SEC to cancel all non-conference games. The SEC later opted to add two conference opponents for a 10-game schedule.

Florida and Tennessee were added to A&M’s schedule earlier this month.

2020 Texas A&M Football Schedule

Sept. 26: vs. Vanderbilt
Oct. 3: @ Alabama
Oct. 10: vs. Florida
Oct. 17: @ Mississippi State
Oct. 24: OFF
Oct. 31: vs. Arkansas
Nov. 7: @ South Carolina
Nov. 14: @ Tennessee
Nov. 21: vs. Ole Miss
Nov. 28: vs. LSU
Dec. 5: @ Auburn
Dec. 19: SEC Championship Game