Gators will begin and end SEC schedule against new teams

Florida's 2012 football schedule:

Sept. 1: Bowling Green
Sept. 8: at Texas A&M
Sept. 15: at Tennessee
Sept. 22: Kentucky
Oct. 6: LSU
Oct. 13: at Vanderbilt
Oct. 20: at South Carolina
Oct. 27: Georgia (Jacksonville)
Nov. 3: Missouri
Nov. 10: Louisiana-Lafayette
Nov. 17: Jacksonville State
Nov. 24: at Florida State
The SEC Championship Game is Dec. 1 in Atlanta.

After weeks of tweaking and jumping over speed bumps, the Southeastern Conference released its 2012 football schedule Wednesday and Florida, as reported by The Sun last week, will face both of the newcomers to the league.

The Gators will travel to College Station on Sept. 8 to face Texas A&M and will play host to Missouri on Nov. 3. This is the first time since 1995 that Florida has been scheduled to open SEC play with a team other than Tennessee. In 2001, Florida’s game with Tennessee was moved to the end of the season because of terrorist attacks on 9/11.

“We’re looking forward to going to Kyle Field and looking forward to having Missouri come to Gainesville,” said Florida coach Will Muschamp.

The new schedule is not a template for future years, but instead is a one-year schedule with an emphasis on giving the new SEC teams several marquee home games, according to someone familiar with the process. The league’s athletic directors will get together at a future date to determine future schedules.

Florida’s usual open date prior to the Georgia game is being replaced with a game against South Carolina in Gainesville. Instead, Florida will have its open date prior to its home game against LSU.

The Gators will also close the regular season with three straight non-conference games against Louisiana-Lafayette, Jacksonville State and Florida State.

As reported by The Sun last week, Georgia again gets a break in the schedule this season, Alabama was scheduled to rotate onto Georgia’s schedule but the Bulldogs will again manage to dodge the top three teams in the West — Alabama, LSU and Arkansas. Georgia opens SEC play at Missouri and plays its other seven conference games against teams that went a combined 20-36 in 2011 SEC play.

 
The SEC schedule begins on Thursday, Aug. 30, when South Carolina plays at Vanderbilt. Alabama and LSU, who will meet for the national title in January, face off again on Nov. 3.