Vanderbilt will host Georgia to open 2019 season

Thursday night season openers won’t return in 2019, but Week 1 SEC games will.

With the SEC releasing its 2019 conference schedule on Tuesday, Vanderbilt has now released its full schedule for next season, and it comes with a wrinkle that’s been rumored for a few weeks. The Commodores will open the season by hosting the Georgia Bulldogs on August 31 — which is a Saturday, so no, we’re not bringing back Thursday night openers.

(The offshoot of that: Vanderbilt joins the SoCon Saturday parade! The Commodores play East Tennessee State on November 23.)

The Commodores will follow the opener with a trip to Purdue on September 7, before hosting LSU on September 21. (Another wrinkle: Vanderbilt will have two bye weeks next year.) September closes with a visit from Northern Illinois on the 28th.

October begins with a trip to Ole Miss on the 5th, followed by visits from UNLV on the 12th and Missouri on the 19th, with another bye week to close October. I can almost guarantee you that UNLV will be the homecoming game.

Vanderbilt will open November with trips to South Carolina on the 2nd and Florida on the 9th, followed by a visit from Kentucky on the 16th. And the season-ending trip to Tennessee on the 30th will be preceded by a beatdown of the actual alma mater of most Vol fans.