Slowly but surely, more and more kickoff times are starting to come out across all of college football. On Wednesday, ESPN released its early SEC football schedule for the 2026-27 season. This included the first three weeks of the season, as well as a few notable rivalry games that are being played in late November. Alabama fans now know the times of their first three games of the campaign in question...
Here are the dates, opponents, kickoff times, and television channels for Alabama's first three games.
- Sept. 5: East Carolina Pirates (12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT, ABC)
- Sept. 12: at Kentucky Wildcats (3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT, ABC)
- Sept. 19: Florida State Seminoles (3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT, ABC)
While much has been made about Alabama getting the mid-afternoon kick with Florida State on Sept. 19, let's not overlook how important the Sept. 12 game is in Lexington. This will be new Kentucky Wildcats head coach Will Stein's first SEC game. It may not be a night game for them, but optimism will surely be in the air then. Stein has come back to his home state to fix what Mark Stoops could not.
Although DeBoer has owned Stein from his days over at Oregon, this is still a trap game for Alabama.
Kalen DeBoer cannot let Alabama fall into the trap vs. Kentucky in Week 2
Because it is so early in the season, teams that are not expected to be great will not know they will be bad just yet. Even if Kentucky comes up short vs. Alabama at home, as long as the Wildcats play well, it could be a jumping-off point for Stein and his team in their first year together. Conversely, we have seen what happens when Alabama loses to a team it should beat under DeBoer, and what may follow.
In 2024, Alabama lost three conference games. The Vanderbilt defeat sent shockwaves throughout the sport. As it turns out, Vandy would be a 10-2 team a season later. This was their inflection point with Diego Pavia as their quarterback. The Tennessee loss helped the Vols to make the playoff out of the SEC. While the OU defeat cost Alabama the playoff, it may have propelled them to make it last fall.
Not to say losing on the road to Florida State in Week 1 last season could bring similar success to the Seminoles this year, but we cannot afford to let this trend continue to happen... While Kentucky could be markedly better in due time under Stein's watch, the last thing DeBoer and Alabama fans will want is to ignite a fire to be great prematurely. Of course, DeBoer has had the upper hand on Stein before...
Read more: Kalen DeBoer should not be discounted in coaching power rankings for this huge reason
Overall, DeBoer needs to have his team ready to play as soon as it gets off the bus in Lexington. Stein has so much to prove, and every little edge he can get will serve Kentucky long-term. Although Alabama may not have to flex much vs. East Carolina in their Week 1 opener, they cannot spend too much time worrying about revenge vs. Florida State in Week 3 with an SEC game at Kentucky up first.
If Alabama and DeBoer want to silence the critics, the Crimson Tide cannot start SEC play out at 0-1.
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