SEC announces Kentucky’s two additional football foes in rebuilt 10-game season.
The Southeastern Conference on Friday announced the two new opponents each of the 14 teams in the league will play as part of their revised 2020 football schedules.
Kentucky, coming off its fourth straight winning season under head coach Mark Stoops, will play Alabama and Mississippi in addition to the other eight SEC teams against whom it was already scheduled to play in 2020.
Three UK opponents — Georgia, Florida and Auburn — were ranked among the top 15 teams nationally in the preseason Amway/USA Today coaches’ poll released Thursday. Now, add Alabama to that list.
The SEC announced Friday evening that Kentucky will visit Alabama and host Ole Miss.
The SEC announced last week that its 10-game regular season would kick off on Sept. 26. The Pac-12 is the only other Power Five conference beginning on that date; the Big Ten (Sept. 3) and ACC (week of Sept. 7) have announced earlier start dates and the Big 12 has not yet shared its intentions.
Complete week-by-week schedules for the league are expected to be revealed next week. The eight holdover opponents from UK’s previous 2020 schedule were Mississippi State, Georgia, South Carolina and Vanderbilt at home and Auburn, Florida, Missouri and Tennessee on the road.
Previously scheduled games against Eastern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Kent State and Louisville were canceled as a result of the SEC’s decision to adopt a 10-game, conference-only schedule. This season, if played to completion, will be the first in league history in which conference teams play more than eight regular-season games against one another.
In-season protocols
The SEC on Friday also announced testing and in-game procedures to which its schools must adhere throughout the fall sports season, including:
▪ Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing provided through a third party and coordinated by the SEC “to ensure consistency in surveillance and pre-competition testing.” Alternative testing methods may be considered for use “if sufficient data develops to support those methods.” Football players must test at least twice weekly during the season, “typically six days and three days prior to competition.” The SEC’s COVID-19 task force is also recommending the exploration of a third, rapid test to provide results as close to competition as possible.
▪ All football, volleyball and soccer coaches, staff and non-competing personnel will be required to wear a face covering on the sideline and social distancing will be required “to the extent possible.” Cross-country athletes are required to wear a face covering at the starting line, which may be removed when proper distancing has been achieved. Coaches and staff associated with cross country competition are expected to socially distance to the extent possible and will be required to wear a face covering during pre- and post-competition.
▪ All schools must designate a COVID-19 protocol oversight officer who will be responsible for education and compliance.
The league previously announced in July that athletes in all sports who elect not to play in the 2020 semester because of safety concerns related to COVID-19 will continue to have their scholarships honored by their schools and continue to be in good standing with their teams.
(Click here for a complete look at the SEC’s latest medical guidelines related to COVID-19.)
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 6:14 PM.
