Alabama football will play Missouri in the first game of the 2020 season

The University of Alabama football team is scheduled to visit Missouri on Sept. 26 as its 2020 season opener, the Southeastern Conference announced on Monday afternoon. The game will be in Columbia, Mo.

The full SEC schedule will be released later on Monday, the SEC office said in its release. 

Alabama has not played at Missouri since 2012. The last meeting between the two teams was a 39-10 Alabama victory in Tuscaloosa in 2018. 

Alabama was originally scheduled to open against USC in Arlington, Tex., on Sept. 5, but that game was eliminated by the Pac-12’s original decision to play only conference games in 2020. The Pac-12 later decided to cancel its entire 2020 season. 

Alabama has opened its season against an SEC opponent in previous seasons, most recently against Vanderbilt in 1999. The Sept. 26 start date for the season, if it holds, would be the latest start to a Crimson Tide season since 1958, when UA opened against LSU on Sept. 27 in Paul W. “Bear”Bryant’s first game as the head coach of his alma mater. 

The Alabama team was on the practice field when the first 2020 opponent was announced, so there was no immediate reaction from head coach Nick Saban. 

Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or via Twitter @cecilhurt