2020 Florida Gators football schedule to be announced Monday night on TV

Football

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Image Credit: ESPN Images

If a 2020 college football season is played, the Florida Gators and the rest of the Southeastern Conference will have the largest league schedules they’ve ever played on their hands. The SEC has decided to announce those schedules over the course of multiple hours Monday on the SEC Network.

What is already known is that SEC teams will play a 10-game conference schedule this season. In addition to the eight games that were set as part of the normal schedule rotation, two additional cross-division opponents were added to fill out the slates.

Florida has added a road game at Texas A&M and home game vs. Arkansas to its schedule for the 2020 season. The Gators last visited the Aggies in 2012 and last hosted the Razorbacks in 2013.

On Monday, the SEC will announce every team’s first opponents — games will begin in the traditional Week 4 on Sept. 26 — at 3 p.m. ET on the “Paul Finebaum Show.” Then, four hours later at 7 p.m., the rest of the schedules will be announced on the SEC Network.

Considering Florida was the only team in the SEC that had three of its five potential new opponents as ranked teams, the Gators were a winner with the additions of the Aggies and Razorbacks — even though they have to play Texas A&M on the road. Florida avoided potentially more difficult opponents in Alabama and Auburn and exits the scheduling process with a College Football Playoff-friendly slate — well, as friendly as an SEC schedule can be — which is key for its postseason aspirations.

It is not known when kickoff times and television information will be announced as ESPN is likely retooling its college football schedule to fill in slots vacated by Big Ten and Pac-12 games.

Check out the teams that the Gators are set to play in 2020.

Home: Kentucky, South Carolina, LSU, Missouri, Arkansas
Away: Tennessee, Ole Miss, Georgia (Jacksonville), Vanderbilt, Texas A&M

The SEC announced that it will mandate two COVID-19 tests for players and coaches each week, likely six and three days ahead of kickoff. The conference is also investigating adding a third, rapid test that would be administered closer to the games.

Players will be asked to pull up required neck gaiters when the ball is not in play, and all persons on the sideline will be wearing masks or neck gaiters while socially distancing as much as possible given the confinements of the field.