There are still nearly 100 days until the start of the college football season, but a taste of autumn was provided Thursday when CBS released a chunk of its Southeastern Conference broadcast schedule.
CBS, which became the league's exclusive national network broadcaster in 1996, will be televising SEC games each week this season for the first time. The network used to start its SEC telecasts a couple of weeks into the season due to its commitment with the U.S. Open tennis tournament, but ESPN is now covering the final tennis grand slam event of the year.
The early-season schedule on CBS will consist of Auburn vs. Louisville in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic on Sept. 5, Georgia at Vanderbilt on Sept. 12 and Auburn at LSU on Sept. 19. All three of those games will kick off shortly after 3:30 p.m. EDT.
Three former Georgia defensive backs could be on the field during the Auburn-Louisville game, with safety Tray Matthews earning A-Day defensive MVP honors last month for Auburn's Tigers and with Josh-Harvey Clemons and Shaq Wiggins now suiting up for Bobby Petrino's Cardinals. Former Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is in his second season in the same role at Louisville.
Georgia and Vanderbilt have met annually since 1968, but the Bulldogs and Commodores will be competing as the CBS marquee matchup for the first time.
The "SEC on CBS" has been the highest-rated college football package for six consecutive regular seasons. This year's schedule features 17 games, including a 3:30/8 p.m. doubleheader on Nov. 7 and a noon/3:30 doubleheader on Nov. 14.
Alabama and LSU have met four consecutive years on the lone CBS prime-time telecast, and the Crimson Tide and Tigers are scheduled to meet in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Nov. 7.
CBS again will televise the Georgia-Florida game at 3:30, with this year's game scheduled for Halloween. It also will show the Arkansas-Missouri game for a second straight year on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
The 2015 SEC championship game at the Georgia Dome will take place Dec. 5 with a 4 p.m. kickoff.
Tennessee, incidentally, did not have a game televised by CBS last season, which was a first since the network's agreement with the league began in 1996. Due to the dominance of the SEC West last season, the only East vs. East matchups on CBS last season were Georgia-South Carolina and Georgia-Florida.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.