The ACC, PAC-12 and Big Ten have all released their official schedules for the 2020 season. The SEC, meanwhile, is still waiting to officially announce what the 2020 season looks like for its conference members as it moves to a 10-game conference-only schedule.
The league has already announced some changes, such as a start date of August 17 for practice, as well as the two additional opponents that each team will play. For Georgia, that will be Arkansas and Mississippi State.
Related: WATCH: Instant responses to Georgia football 2020-only schedule
The season will also begin on Sept. 26, later than the Big Ten and the ACC and the same Saturday as the PAC-12. The final week of the regular season is set for Dec. 5. The SEC championship game is set for Dec. 19.
But the start and end dates are just some of the many points of concern when it comes to building a schedule. If you look at some of the changes the other leagues have already had, it paints a better picture of what the 2020 SEC football schedule might ultimately look like.
What do the off weeks look like?
The SEC and Commissioner Greg Sankey have already explained what the off-weeks will look like for teams in the SEC. Each team has the date of 12 dec. Off. This allows games that need to be postponed in the latter half of the season to be moved to this date.
The league also said each team will have an off-week in a three-week stretch in the middle of the season. However, do not be surprised if this off-week is actually filled by a game that has been postponed from earlier. The PAC-12 earmarked the games that came before the midweek off-week to be played in that off-week if they had to be made.
The ACC gave each team two off-weeks, while also having the league game on December 12 or December 19 as a way to offer themselves flexibility if it needed to be moved. The Big Ten offer themselves a similar option, as teams have two off-weeks, along with each member having the week of Nov. 28. The league, like the ACC, has the option of playing its conference championship game on December 12th or December 19th. However, it is currently scheduled for Dec. 5.
Georgia’s off-week traditionally came prior to the Florida game.
Will previously scheduled games be moved?
For Georgia in particular, we already know this will be the case, as their game against Alabama was originally set for Sept. 19. The Bulldogs will also have to fill in the dates of September 26 and November 28, because the Bulldogs were set to play enemies non-conference in those weeks There is also the December 5th that needs to be filled.
But what about games that were already on the schedule? Will Georgia and Florida still meet on Halloween? Will the Bulldogs Tennessee play the same weekend as the Masters?
If we see both the Big Ten and ACC, then use some of the games previously planned to be moved. The Big Ten moved the Michigan-Ohio State game on October 24, from the original November 28 date. And if the conference is ready to move that game, then everything should be on the table.
But one thing we do know is that teams that were already planning to play each other will still do so. Georgia will still have to play Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky to go along with Arkansas and Mississippi State.
One difference between what the SEC does with its schedule and the ACCs is that the latter will not use divisions because the two best teams will play in the ACC championship game. The SEC, Big Ten and PAC-12 have all teamed up with the divisions for the 2020 season. Look to the SEC, as other leagues have, to prioritize those games in division to make sure they are played this season.
How will home and away games be balanced for this upcoming college football season?
With a conference schedule of 10 games, each team will play five home games and five away games. Georgia previously had road games against Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina and Alabama. The home games were against Auburn, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. Georgia is the home team against Florida this season, but that game will be played as of now in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Bulldogs will visit Arkansas and then host Mississippi State. The SEC decided to go into the next two games in the SEC rotation, which would mean for Georgia a home game against Arkansas and a road game against the Bulldogs. But say, Florida, that model would mean that Alabama and Texas A&M were added to plans. That did not come to fruition, as the Gators Arkansas and Texas added A&M to their schedule.
ACC 2020 football schedule
Great football schedule of 2020
PAC-12 2020 football schedule
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