Oct. 18, 2012

BLOG: Notes on 2013 Slate

OXFORD, Miss. – With the Southeastern Conference finalizing its 2013 slate, Ole Miss has released its football schedule for next season.

Year two of the Hugh Freeze era will kick off in Nashville with the lone SEC encounter of the opening weekend against Vanderbilt, tentatively set for Aug. 31. The league lineup continues with a swing through Alabama with road games against the Crimson Tide on Sept.  28 and the Auburn Tigers on Oct. 5.

After three straight SEC contests away from Oxford, the Rebels return home for Texas A&M on Oct. 12, LSU on Oct. 19, Arkansas on Nov. 9 and Missouri on Nov. 23. The regular season will close with a trip to Mississippi State for the Egg Bowl on Nov. 30.

Ole Miss’ non-conference slate is highlighted by a rematch with the Texas Longhorns on Sept. 14 in Austin, while the 2013 home opener will be a Sept. 7 bout with Southeast Missouri. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will also play host to Idaho on Oct. 26 and Troy on Nov. 16, although those dates are subject to change.

The 2013 conference schedule is considered a “bridge” schedule by the SEC and not based on any other previous or future scheduling formats.  The SEC Athletics Directors will convene in Spring 2013 to begin formulating schedules for the 2014 season and beyond.

As next year’s lineup stands at this time, the Rebels will play four of their first five games on the road, followed by six straight at home before traveling to an in-state grudge match.

The 2013 college football schedule has 14 playing weekends which provides for two bye weeks. Ole Miss’ open dates are currently Sept. 21 and Nov. 2, although changes in the non-league slate could alter those dates.

In order to maintain a balanced SEC schedule for the 2014 season and beyond, there are three conference games that will have repeat hosts from the 2012 schedule, and two involve the Rebels.  The games are Ole Miss at Alabama, Texas A&M at Ole Miss and Georgia at Auburn.

The eight-game conference schedule consists of six games played inside the division and two games against teams from the opposite division.  The cross-divisional common opponents that were previously announced by the conference will not take place until 2014.

The 2013 SEC Championship Game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

OLE MISS 2013 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Aug. 31                 at Vanderbilt

Sept. 7                  Southeast Missouri

Sept. 14                at Texas

Sept. 21                OPEN

Sept. 28                at Alabama

Oct. 5                    at Auburn

Oct. 12                  TEXAS A&M

Oct. 19                  LSU

Oct. 26                  IDAHO

Nov. 2                   OPEN

Nov. 9                   ARKANSAS

Nov. 16                 TROY

Nov. 23                 MISSOURI

Nov. 30                 at Mississippi State