Alabama vs. USC Is Cancelled – What’s Next For The Tide?

The Alabama Crimson Tide was scheduled to play the Southern Cal Trojans in Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas to open the season on September 5. Last week the Pac-12 announced the conference would cancel all non-conference contests in the fall, opening up the first weekend for the Crimson Tide.

Will the Tide attempt to fill the first week with a new opponent? Will the SEC opt for a conference-only schedule and shuffle the dates in order to start on Labor Day weekend? Time will tell as athletic administrations are working behind the scenes to work out the fate of the 2020 season.

Should the Crimson Tide be dead-set on playing "Jerry World" on September 5 one opponent that is now on the radar would be TCU. The Big 12 school recently had their season opening trip to Cal-Berkeley cancelled due to the Pac-12's decision to eliminate non-conference competition.

TCU, located in Fort Worth, Texas is a mere 20-minute bus ride to Arlington and would serve as a suitable Power 5 opponent for the Crimson Tide. Current Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson has a .737 winning percentage since taking over the program in 2000. He has overseen the program moving from the Conference USA to the Mountain West and now the Big 12 while still maintaining the program's success.

The Horned Frogs could step into the Advocare Classic and still allow the sponsors to put on the game with two big name programs.

TCU has played in this season opening event twice already. The Horned Frogs defeated the Oregon State 30-21 in 2010 under the leadership of quarterback Andy Dalton. They also played in it again in 2013 when they lost to LSU 37-27, Tigers wide receivers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. both notched over 100-yards receiving to defeat TCU.

Alabama is also familiar with the season-opening event, having played in it three times already. The Tide defeated Michigan in 2012, Wisconsin in 2015 and Southern Cal in 2016.

Rumors swirled earlier in the summer that TCU could be a replacement for Southern Cal if they were unable to play. Now that the Pac-12 has officially opted for a conference-only schedule all eyes will be on the Big 12, the SEC and the Horned Frogs to determine the fate of the season opening date.