Alabama football's SEC opponents for 2024 season revealed

The Southeastern Conference on Wednesday announced the opponents and home and away designations for games on its 2024 football schedule, and Alabama has a tough road ahead.

Familiar foes like Auburn, Tennessee and LSU are once again on the Tide’s 2024 schedule, but there were also some not-so-frequent opponents added to the slate. BamaOnLine first reported that Alabama will host Georgia next fall, which will be the first regular-season matchup between the Tide and Bulldogs since 2020 (a home game for UA but in a pandemic-affected season).

Alabama will also welcome Missouri and South Carolina to Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2024, and that will be the Gamecocks’ first trip to Tuscaloosa since 2009. The Crimson Tide is set to be on the road for games at Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, as well. The last regular-season matchup between UA and OU came in 2003, but the Tide will face the newcomer in its SEC debut year.

Alabama’s other known 2024 opponents include three home games against Western Kentucky (Aug. 31), South Florida (Sept. 7) and Mercer (Nov. 16), as well as a road game at Wisconsin on Sept. 14, which is part of a home-and-home series between the Crimson Tide and Badgers.

Alabama’s 2024 Football Opponents

HOME

Auburn, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina; Mercer, South Florida, Western Kentucky

AWAY

LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vanderbilt; Wisconsin

A complete 2024 SEC schedule that includes dates of games will be announced later this year.

On June 1, the SEC announced a 1-year scheduling model that will require its teams to play eight conference games and one Power 5 (or major independent) opponent for the 2024 season. 

In addition, the conference will eliminate divisional standings in 2024. The SEC Championship Game will feature the top two teams in the league’s standings at the end of the regular season. The 8-game format will allow teams to play every school a minimum of two times in a 4-year period, “regardless of whether the SEC utilizes an 8-game or 9-game format” moving forward.

In moving away from divisions, Alabama will not face former SEC West opponents Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State or Texas A&M in 2024 when the conference officially expands to 16 teams.

Said Alabama head coach Nick Saban of the one-year scheduling format, “I think there’s good and bad in both. I know that there are some issues going to nine games in terms of the future schedules that we’ve put together in terms of trying to play two Power 5 schools each year to go along with the SEC schedule.

“So I think eventually we’ll probably move to more involvement and more SEC games, but I think this just happened so quickly, it was really hard to make a lot of changes that fast, to be honest with you. Whatever it is, we’re excited about the opportunity and the challenges. It’s a tough league, so we’ll play enough really good games against really good teams. Whether we play eight or nine, we’ll just adapt to it.”

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