SEC football: Grading Auburn, rest of league’s non-conference scheduling

With the news that Auburn and North Carolina will play in the 2020 Chick-fil-A Kickoff game, it’s a good time to look at future Auburn football non-conference opponents as well as how the rest of the SEC football schedule is taking shape.

Auburn announced last week that it will face the Tar Heels on Sept. 12, 2020, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The game will be part of a three-game Chick-fil-A series to kick off the 2020 season.

The appearance in the game will be the Tigers’ fourth in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff. Auburn opens this season in Atlanta against Washington on Sept. 1 at 3:30 p.m.

Out-of-conference scheduling is getting more important every season, especially for teams like Auburn that aim to compete for the SEC championship as well as a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The SEC enacted a rule that requires every SEC football member play at least one opponent from a Power 5 school (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12) every season as of 2016. Some schools, like Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky and Georgia already have built-in non-conference, Power 5 opponents in annual rivalry games against Florida State, Clemson, Louisville and Georgia Tech. respectively.

But the rest of the SEC has to find a Power 5 opponent to go along with the league’s 8-game conference schedule.

Here’s a look at how the conference is set up for the future as SEC Media Days 2018 begin Monday: