SEC announces kickoff times, TV designations for early-season showdowns

A bevy of college football kickoff times came down on Wednesday, including three weeks worth of games on SEC Network and SEC Network+, the streaming platform for the network. From a Week 0 opener to some intriguing Power 5 non-conference matchups, it’s one set of kickoff times to start planning your fall around.

The only team in the SEC not to appear on on the league network in the first three weeks of the season is Florida. The Gators open the season against Utah in primetime on Aug. 31, a Thursday, and plays Tennessee in Week 3, giving minimal opportunity to get Florida on the SEC Network.

Check out the full SEC Network slate of games for the first few weeks of the season. All games are on the SEC Network unless noted otherwise.

Early season, non-conference kickoff times on SEC Network

Saturday, Aug. 26

Hawaii at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 31

South Dakota at Missouri, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 2

Ball State at Kentucky, noon

Mercer at Ole Miss (SECN+), 2 p.m.

Southeast Louisiana at Mississippi State, 4 p.m.

Western Carolina at Arkansas (SECN+), 4 p.m.

UT Martin at Georgia (SECN+), 6 p.m.

Alabama A&M at Vanderbilt (SECN+), 7 p.m.

Middle Tennessee at Alabama, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 9

Ball State at Georgia, noon

Austin Peay at Tennessee (SECN+), TBD

Eastern Kentucky at Kentucky (SECN+), 3 p.m.

Kent State at Arkansas, 4 p.m.

Arizona at Mississippi State, 7:30 p.m.

Furman at South Carolina (SECN+), 7:30 p.m.

Grambling at LSU, (SECN+), 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 16

Kansas State at Missouri, noon

UL Monroe at Texas A&M, 4 p.m.

Samford at Auburn (SECN+), 7 p.m.

Georgia Tech at Ole Miss, 7:30 p.m.

ESPN also shared a slew of bowl games times and TV assignments

Last bowl season saw some absolute dandies, like a thrilling Tulane comeback to beat USC 46-45 in the Cotton Bowl, or tightly contested 35-32 win over Oklahoma by Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl. There was the 28-27 Oregon win over North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl and the 55-53 Arkansas shootout win over Kansas.

Even the College Football Playoff semifinals were elite in 2022, with Georgia hanging on by a thread to beat Ohio State 42-41 and TCU outlasting Michigan 51-45.

Many of the same favorites to win the national title last year will be gunning for it again in 2023, and as last season showed us, newcomers can always emerge. So without further ado, here’s the 2023-24 bowl schedule as released by ESPN.