As Alabama and Georgia prepare to meet on Saturday in the SEC championship game, fans won't have to wait too long to see them square off again.
Sources told ESPN that Alabama and Georgia are scheduled to square off during the first month of the 2024 campaign, on Sept. 28 in Tuscaloosa, in what will be one of the most anticipated regular-season matchups in college football.
The SEC plans to unveil the entire 2024 slate sometime in December, a schedule that will include new members Oklahoma and Texas in the expanded 16-team league.
The September meeting between Alabama and Georgia will be only the fifth time in the past 20 years that these SEC powerhouses have played in the regular season. Their showdown on Saturday in Atlanta will mean five of their past six meetings have come in either the SEC title game or the College Football Playoff National Championship game. The only exception was during the 2020 pandemic season, when attendance at Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium was capped at 19,424 in the Crimson Tide's 41-24 victory.
Alabama and Georgia have combined to win five of the past eight national championships.
Meanwhile, Texas and Texas A&M will renew their rivalry after a 12-year hiatus. The game will be played on Nov. 30 in College Station to close the regular season, according to sources. Traditionally, Texas and Texas A&M have played on either Thanksgiving Day or the Friday after Thanksgiving.
The LSU-Texas A&M contest will move to an earlier date (Oct. 26 in College Station). That game has been played on Thanksgiving weekend since the Aggies' second year in the SEC in 2013.
October will feature several marquee matchups, including Georgia traveling to Texas on Oct. 19. It will mark only the third time the schools have met in the regular season. They last played in during the regular season in 1958 in Austin, with Texas winning 13-8. They also faced off in the 2019 Sugar Bowl and the 1984 Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns lead the series 4-1.
Oklahoma will make its SEC debut against Tennessee on Sept. 21 in Norman, with Volunteers coach Josh Heupel returning to his alma mater. Heupel played quarterback and was the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2000, leading the unbeaten Sooners to a national championship.
Old Southwest Conference foes Arkansas and Texas will clash on Nov. 16 in Fayetteville for only their fourth regular-season meeting in the past 20 years. The Razorbacks beat the Longhorns 40-21 in 2021 during a nonconference game.
Arkansas and Texas A&M will play Sept. 28 in the final year of the contract pitting the two teams against each other at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Florida, in what looms as a pivotal third season for coach Billy Napier, will open SEC play against visiting Texas A&M on Sept. 14. The Gators kick off the season at home on Aug. 31 against in-state rival Miami. The Aggies also have a tough season opener, as they will battle Notre Dame on Aug. 31 at home.
The Alabama-Tennessee rivalry will remain on the third Saturday in October (Oct. 19 in Knoxville). The Vols will see Florida and Alabama in back-to-back weeks. Florida will travel to Neyland Stadium on Oct. 12.
The Egg Bowl rivalry between Mississippi State and Ole Miss will remain at season's end, on Thanksgiving weekend.
Alabama's close to the campaign will be especially challenging. The Tide play at LSU on Nov. 9 and at Oklahoma on Nov. 23, and they will then come back home to face rival Auburn on Nov. 30 in the Iron Bowl.
With Oklahoma and Texas joining the league, the SEC voted to stay at eight conference games for the 2024 season before determining a more permanent schedule for the future, which includes potentially adding a ninth conference game. The league will eliminate divisional standings beginning in 2024. The SEC championship game will feature the top two teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season.
The 2024 SEC opponents were determined based on two primary factors: traditional opponents and balance of schedule strength. Schedule strength was based on each school's conference winning percentage since the previous expansion of the SEC in 2012.
All 14 existing SEC schools will play either Oklahoma or Texas in 2024.