SEC adds road game versus Vanderbilt, home matchup with Missouri to LSU football schedule

The SEC has added Vanderbilt and Missuori to LSU’s 2020 schedule. The Tigers will play at Vanderbilt and host Missouri, the league announced on Friday afternoon.

As a result, LSU visits Vandy for the second straight season and face Mizzou in Tiger Stadium for the first time since 2016.

The Tigers were slated to play two road games to finish their season before the COVID-19 pandemic caused the SEC to shift to a 10-game conference only schedule. Confirmation of dates for the schedule set to start Sept. 26 will be announced later this month.

LSU TO HOST MISSOURI, TRAVEL TO VANDERBILT IN NEW 10-GAME SEC SLATE

BATON ROUGE – LSU will host Missouri and make a second consecutive trip to Nashville to face Vanderbilt, the Southeastern Conference announced today as each team in the league added two opponents from the opposite division to fill out the 10-game, conference-only schedule.

The addition of Missouri and Vanderbilt to the LSU schedule is a result of the SEC going to a 10-game, conference only slate this year in football. The remainder of LSU’s previously scheduled conference opponents remain the same. Dates for all 10 of LSU’s 2020 football games are expected to be announced in the near future.

LSU’s other four home games will come against Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and South Carolina. In addition to Vanderbilt, LSU travels to face Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, and Texas A&M.

LSU will face Missouri for just the second time since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012. LSU hosted Mizzou for Homecoming in 2016 in what was Ed Orgeron’s first game as head coach of the Tigers. LSU won that game 42-7.

LSU and Vanderbilt will meet in consecutive years for the first time since 2009 and 2010 when the Tigers beat the Commodores, 23-9 in Tiger Stadium followed by a 27-3 win in Nashville the following year. It will also mark the first time LSU travels to Vanderbilt in consecutive years since the 1930s when the Tigers played in Nashville four straight years from 1934-37.

Last year, LSU enjoyed a record-setting day in its 66-38 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville. In that game, the Tigers improved to 4-0 overall as Heisman Trophy quarterback Joe Burrow set the school-record by tossing six touchdown passes with an LSU record tying four going to Ja’Marr Chase.

LSU, who claimed the national title last year with a 15-0 overall mark in what was the most dominant season in college football history, opens the 2020 campaign on Sept. 26 against an opponent that has yet to be determined.

ADDED SEC GAMES FOR EACH TEAM:

Alabama: @Missouri, vs Kentucky

Auburn: @South Carolina, vs Tennessee

Arkansas: vs. Georgia, @Florida

Florida: vs Arkansas, @Texas A&M

Georgia: @Arkansas, vs Mississippi State

Kentucky: @Alabama, vs Ole Miss

LSU: @Vanderbilt, vs Missouri

Ole Miss: @Kentucky, vs South Carolina

Mississippi State: @Georgia, vs Vanderbilt

Missouri: @LSU, vs Alabama

South Carolina: vs Auburn, @Ole Miss

Tennessee: @Auburn, vs Texas A&M

Texas A&M: vs Florida, @Tennessee

Vanderbilt: vs LSU, @Mississippi State

Statement from LSU Athletics Director Scott Woodward:

“Today is an exciting day for all of us who love college football in the SEC. The toughest conference in college football is going to battle it out in historic fashion. Tiger Stadium and our National Championship Football team will play host to five SEC opponents in a 10-game, all-SEC regular-season schedule.

“As a conference we have been aligned in this process from the beginning and I want to thank Commissioner (Greg) Sankey for his leadership during this unprecedented time. There is still a great deal of work to be done and many important decisions to be made, but this is a big step in the right direction for our conference, our school and our student-athletes.

“Our top priority remains the safety and well-being of our student-athletes. We, as SEC member institutions, are continuing to engage in deliberate and informed discussions on planning for the safety of student-athletes, coaches and staff. We will continue to follow the guidance of medical professionals in our decision making, including the SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force. Together, and with the direction of state public health officials, we are focused on a safe return to competition.”