Texas A&M at Alabama on Oct. 24 set for afternoon kickoff in Tuscaloosa

Texas A&M's trip to Alabama on Oct. 24 will kick off in the afternoon at Bryant-Denny Stadium, SB Nation reported after the SEC set its Week 8 schedule.

The story by George Kopf, first published by Good Bull Hunting, says an afternoon kickoff "is on deck from T-Town." The version we could read did not include the exact start time or the TV network, so we are leaving both out until they can be confirmed.

On the field, the matchup has been one-sided. Texas A&M has beaten Alabama only twice since joining the SEC. The first win came in Tuscaloosa in 2012 with Johnny Manziel at quarterback. The second came at Kyle Field on Oct. 9, 2021, when the Aggies were unranked. Recent games have been close, though. SB Nation notes that the last two meetings were decided by a combined 10 points: Alabama won 24-20 in 2022 and 26-20 in 2023.

Before that, both teams play this Saturday, and their weeks look very different.

The Aggies (3-3, 1-3 SEC) step out of conference play to host FCS opponent The Citadel (2-4) at Kyle Field. Kickoff is 1 p.m. Eastern, and the game streams only on SEC Network+. It is A&M's last non-conference game of 2026. The Aggies have lost three of four league games, so this is a chance to steady things before the trip to Tuscaloosa. At .500 overall with a losing SEC record, they have little room for more losses if they want to stay in the bowl picture and finish the season with a winning record.

No. 6 Alabama (5-1) faces a much tougher test. The Crimson Tide visit No. 14 Tennessee (5-1) at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC. The game will go a long way toward deciding the top of the SEC race, and it will shape the College Football Playoff picture in mid-October.

Alabama is favored on the road. On Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, the Tide are favored at -317 on the moneyline. The best sportsbook price on Alabama is -325 at DraftKings. The spread is Tennessee +8.5 and the total is 52.5. Full pricing is on our Alabama at Tennessee odds page.

The result in Knoxville will set up the Oct. 24 game. If Alabama wins at Neyland Stadium, it will host A&M as a top-10 team chasing a conference title. If Tennessee wins, the Tide would come back home needing a win to stay in the conference race, and a Texas A&M team that has made recent games close would have a better chance at a third win in the series.

We will update the kickoff time and TV network for Texas A&M at Alabama once they are confirmed.