Alabama plays at Kentucky on Saturday, September 12 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. It is the first SEC conference game of the season for both teams and the opening night of the league’s new nine game conference schedule.
| Kickoff | Saturday, September 12, 3:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | ABC |
| Venue | Kroger Field, Lexington |
| Significance | First SEC conference game of 2026 for both |
| Our pick | Alabama 31, Kentucky 17 |
What Time Is Alabama vs. Kentucky and What Channel?
3:30 p.m. ET on ABC from Lexington. It is the marquee afternoon window of the day.
The First Game of the Nine Game Era
This is the SEC’s first conference game under the new nine game schedule, which began in 2026. Every team now plays nine league games instead of eight, with three annual opponents and six that rotate, and every school faces every other at least once every two years.
The practical consequence is that conference play starts earlier and there are fewer soft weeks late. A September road trip that used to be a non conference tune up is now a game that counts in the standings.
What It Means for Both
Alabama is in year three under Kalen DeBoer and needs a clean start in league play to stay in the playoff conversation. Kentucky opens the Will Stein era at home against the biggest brand in the sport, one of six SEC schools that changed head coaches within 36 hours of last season ending.
Stein arrives from Oregon, where he coached Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore. This is his introduction to the country.
The Bottom Line
3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC at Kroger Field, the SEC’s first conference game of the season and the first of the nine game era. Alabama should win, but a new coach with a home crowd in September is not nothing.