One of the biggest pieces of news to come of every offseason is the scheduling of nonconference opponents, and while this piece of news does not concern the addition of one, one of Auburn’s games has been pushed back quite a few years.
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A 2027 game that pitted the Tigers against the Missouri State Bears has been pushed back to 2034, part of a series of changes that has taken place throughout the SEC.
The SEC recently made a key decision to switch from an eight-game to a nine-game conference schedule, seeking to create a stronger strength of schedule for the eyes of the College Football Playoff committee. In addition, the establishment was also made that each team have at least one of their nonconfrerence opponents be from the Power Four.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey spoke on the topic at SEC Media Days, emphasizing how much of a spotlight it puts on the conference.
“We and I recognize that a nine-game Southeastern Conference football schedule, coupled with our expectation that we maintain a high-quality non-conference opponent, creates one of the most… it creates, without question, the most demanding sets of football schedules in all of college football,” Sankey said.
The delay of the game against Missouri State is now the second time in recent memory that a nonconference game for Auburn that has been pushed back due to the conference schedule elongation. A game slated to be played against Jacksonville State this upcoming season was pushed back to 2029. A home-and-home scheduled for 2027 and 2028 against UCLA was also recently canceled, but was done so because of the expansion of the Big 10 and how much travel was being required as a result for the Bruins.
The nine-game conference schedule now allows only three nonconference games for each SEC team to be scheduled.
The Tigers have not been the only team affected by the change. Georgia canceled a home-and-home series with Florida State set for 2027 and 2028, while Alabama took away home-and-home games with both West Virginia and Oklahoma State.
“When you look at our schedule, no one has created the kind of weekly competition that exists in the Southeastern Conference,” Sankey said. “It’s competition that our fans will experience every week because we believe we’re the best conference in college football. If so, we should also embrace the challenges with a difficult and challenging conference schedule, the best in college football.”
Auburn’s nonconference schedule is now tentatively set for the next three years barring any last-minute changes. In place of the UCLA series, the Tigers inked a home-and-home with Notre Dame beginning in 2027. Auburn will travel to South Bend, Indiana to take on the Fighting Irish on Sept. 25, while also facing Middle Tennessee State and Austin Peay in the weeks prior.
The Tigers will play Georgia Southern, North Alabama and Notre Dame in 2028, before taking on Jacksonville State, West Georgia and Miami (FL) in 2029.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting, and insider news.
