<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3e6CiW_0vC0E9n500" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3e6CiW_0vC0E9n500" width="620" height="320" >Football season sneak up on you? For many, the first look at the <a href="https://247sports.com/college/mississippi-state/">Mississippi State</a> football schedule revealed some surprises. With <a href="https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma/">Oklahoma</a> and <a href="https://247sports.com/college/texas/">Texas</a> joining the Southeastern Conference, some things had to change. A pair of new members forced adjustments to every school's regular football scheduling rotation. The good part of that is some new and unique trips will be a part of the fun. The bad part is that some longstanding series will no longer be contested on an annual basis.<a href="https://247sports.com/college/alabama/">Alabama</a> - The Battle for 82 is no longer a regular event. The Crimson Tide is Mississippi State's most regular opponent. State has met Alabama on the football field 107 times in a series that dates back to 1896. The Bulldogs have defeated their neighbors to the east just 18 times. State has not claimed a victory in the series since 2007, which marked the second in back-to-back wins. The two teams will not meet on the field of play this year for the first time since 1947.<a href="https://247sports.com/college/auburn/">Auburn</a> - While Alabama has dominated State for the last decade, their arch-rivals cannot make the same claim. In the last dozen games, the match-ups between the Bulldogs and Tigers are split 6-to-6. In fact, State has won two of the last three meetings. Perhaps, it is not a good thing that Auburn is off the slate this year. The two teams have met on the gridiron 97 times with State claiming 29 wins. This year will be the first time since 1954 that Auburn has not appeared on the Mississippi State football schedule.<a href="https://247sports.com/college/lsu/">LSU</a> - Another former SEC Western Division foe who rotates off the schedule this year are the Bayou Bengals. State has earned 36 wins in 117 meetings. Three of those wins have come in the last decade of play. Perhaps part of the reasoning in the lopsided series is the fact that from 1931 to 1957 every meeting was played in the state of Louisiana. In fact, the Bulldogs have only hosted LSU in Starkville just over two dozen times since 1896. LSU is absent from the slate this year for the first time since 1925 save 1943 when the State did not field a team due to WWII.<a href="https://247sports.com/college/kentucky/">Kentucky</a> - When the SEC expanded back in 1992, Kentucky became a regular cross-divisional opponent for Mississippi State. Even when the league changed the format reducing the number of opponents from the other side of the league from two to one, the Wildcats remained. State and UK have only met in football 51 times with the Wildcats holding a 26-25 record. State and Kentucky squared off every season from 1990 through 2023. 2024 will serve as the first interruption in the series since 1989.<a href="https://247sports.com/college/arkansas/">Arkansas</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/ole-miss/">Ole Miss</a> and Texas A&amp;M are on the schedule this year. Perhaps the one certainty when it comes to football scheduling is that the Rebels will remain on the annual slate. Everything outside of that appears to be a guess as the league considers the possibility of a nine-game schedule in the years ahead. </div></body>

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New schedule rotation 'suspends' some long time southern series

Football season sneak up on you? For many, the first look at the Mississippi State football schedule revealed some surprises. With Oklahoma and Texas joining the Southeastern Conference, some things had to change. A pair of new members forced adjustments to every school's regular football scheduling rotation. The good part of that is some new and unique trips will be a part of the fun. The bad part is that some longstanding series will no longer be contested on an annual basis.

New schedule rotation 'suspends' some long time southern series

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