Pat Dooley of the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun is reporting that Texas A&M will host the Florida Gators on September 8 as part of the 2012 SEC football schedule.
The report indicates that the Gators will also play SEC newcomer Missouri as part of the Tigers' move to the SEC East Division. With Florida confirmed, the Aggies can expect one more SEC East opponents in addition to a full slate against Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Auburn and Mississippi State in the SEC West.
An early season contest would A&M would break tradition for the Gators - Florida normally opens SEC play the following week with a rivalry game against division foe Tennessee (slated to play in Knoxville this year).
A&M fans looking for an indicator of things to come won't be able to read anything into the 2012 slate. Dooley reports that next football season's schedule will be a temporary fix to accomodate the Aggies and Tigers until all 14 athletic directors and league officials can sort out a standard process moving forward:
The league and its athletic directors have been working on the schedules since A&M and Missouri joined the league. This year's schedule won't be a template for future schedules, rather a one-year stop-gap until the ADs can sit down and form a working schedule for future years.
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