DSOR to move to October starting in 2020

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AUBURN, Alabama — Auburn's annual rivalry game against Georgia will move to October starting in 2020.

University of Georgia president Jere Morehead confirmed Auburn Undercover's report the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry will move from its traditional mid-November date starting with the 2020 season.

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The game will be played in October, on a date typically set aside for Georgia's annual game against Tennessee.

"As I understand it the conference has essentially flipped Auburn and Tennessee," Morehead said Wednesday, according to Dawgs247.com. "They had their reasons for doing it. ... I really defer to coach (Kirby) Smart on those sorts of things."

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Auburn athletics director Allen Greene said in November there is not "an avenue" for Auburn to fix the schedule with Georgia and Alabama alternating home and away games until the current SEC rotation ends with the 2024 football season.

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The SEC has not yet formally discussed fixing the hiccup in Auburn's schedule that requires the Tigers to travel to Georgia and Alabama in even years on the calendar. Such a move will not happen until at least the 2025 season, the sources said, but Georgia officials said Wednesday that is not an option unless the SEC expands again.

Georgia was, however, completely on board with moving the game to earlier in the season.

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"I think that one thing that's really important is that when you are presented with drafts of schedules, that's the time you review it with the head coach and your football staff," Georgia athletics director Greg McGarity said. "Every school advocates for their own desire. So you get into a room and if there's certain things you want to discuss with the conference about moving or changing, there are 14 athletic directors doing that. Everybody advocates for their own."

Greene said in November he planned to present the idea to the SEC during a meeting of athletics director in February and again at the SEC's spring meetings in May.

"It can be done," Greene said at the time. "It’s a matter of will it be and what are we willing to give up and what other teams are willing to give up to make that happen and if there’s a benefit to them. If we can find win-wins, then it’ll make it a heck of a lot easier for us."

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Auburn coach Gus Malzahn wants a permanent fix to the schedule to move to a home-away schedule each year for the Georgia and Alabama games.

"Whatever Allen wants is fine, but what I want is one home and one away," Malzahn said in November.

Greene said in November Auburn is willing travel to Georgia in back-to-back years after the SEC's 2024 scheduling cycle. Doing so would fix the scheduling hiccup.

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