SEC Nation announces destination for Week 1 of 2025 college football season
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
SEC Nation will be back before too long, with Laura Rutledge, Tim Tebow, Roman Harper, Jordan Rodgers, and Paul Finebaum — along with Marty Smith and Ryan McGee — making their way to the biggest games in the SEC each week.
It may come as no surprise that the popular pregame show will kick off the 2025 season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Aug. 30, as Tennessee faces Syracuse in the 2025 Aflac Kickoff. The SEC Network made the announcement on Tuesday, as you can see below:
The show already broadcasts each year from Mercedes-Benz Stadium at the SEC Championship Game, as well as during the College Football Playoff if an SEC team is involved. Aug. 30’s broadcast will mark the second time it’s broadcast from the Aflac Kickoff Game; the last time was 2021, a 44-13 win for Alabama over Miami.
As for the all-time series between Syracuse and Tennessee, it will mark only the 4th time the two programs have met on the gridiron. The Volunteers have won all 3 meetings, starting with a 18-12 victory in Jacksonville in 1966 before a 34-33 win in Syracuse in 1998 and a 33-9 triumph in Knoxville in 2001.
Syracuse finished 10-3 in 2024, its first season under former Georgia DBs coach Fran Brown. The 10 wins were the most for the Orange since 2018.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
