2013 Alabama SEC Schedule Released

One can appreciate the difficulty the Southeastern Conference faces in attempting to make equitable schedules in which 14 teams play only eight conference games. And one can appreciate that when it takes the SEC so long to give the schools their open dates that the schools might have problems getting available teams to fill those slots.

The SEC released 2013 conference schedules Thursday and Alabama announced 11 of the 12 games the Crimson Tide will play next season. Bama will play eight SEC opponents and three of the four non-conference opponents have been announced.

The SEC has a 6-1-1 format. That is, every team plays six games against the other teams in its division, one game against a traditional and permanent opponent from the other division, plus one game against a team from the other division on a rotating basis.

This year Alabama played its rotating game against an Eastern Division opponent against Missouri. In 2013 Alabama will go to Kentucky.

The Crimson Tide plays home SEC games against Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennessee and LSU. UA travels to Texas A&M, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Auburn in league play.

Alabama starts the 2013 season in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game for the third time and second time against Virginia Tech. The Crimson Tide opened the 2008 and 2009 seasons in Atlanta with wins over Clemson and Virginia Tech, respectively. Alabama and West Virginia are scheduled to play in the game in 2014. Georgia State will visit Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 5 and UA hosts Chattanooga on November 23.

The final non-conference opponent will be announced at a later date. That final opponent is expected to be a home game on September 7, leaving the 2013 Crimson Tide open date the week before the LSU game.

Here is the 3013 Alabama Football schedule:

Aug. 31 -- Virginia Tech in Atlanta Sept. 7 -- Open Sept. 14 -- @ Texas A&M Sept. 28 -- Ole Miss Oct. 5 -- Georgia State Oct. 12 -- @ Kentucky Oct. 19 -- Arkansas Oct. 26 -- Tennessee Nov. 2 -- Open Nov. 9 -- LSU Nov. 16 -- @ Mississippi State Nov. 23 -- Chattanooga Nov. 30 -- @ Auburn Dec. 7 -- SEC Championship Game @ Atlanta Jan. 7 -- BCS National Championship Game @ Pasadena