JACKSONVILLE – A season opener in Miami, the return to Florence for the first time since 1992 and five home games highlight the 2020 Jacksonville State football schedule, which was released on Wednesday.
 
The Gamecocks will open at Florida International on Sept. 5, their first Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since 2017 before travelling to North Alabama's Braly Stadium in a week two tilt between old rivals. JSU will then open its five-game home schedule on Sept. 19 against Southeastern Louisiana, a return game from the 2019 season opener in Hammond, La.
 
"We are excited about our 2020 football schedule," Athletics Director Greg Seitz said. "We've worked extremely hard to get an FBS opponent back on our schedule and we were able to do that with an opener at FIU, which will be a great destination game for our fans.
 
"We also play in Florence for the first time since winning the 1992 national championship and host a return game from Southeastern Louisiana before opening conference play, where we won't have back-to-back road games."
 
The opener will be JSU's first game against FBS competition since the 2017 meeting with Georgia Tech in Atlanta. It snaps a two-year streak without an FBS foe after having at least one team from football's highest subdivision in each year since 2005.It will be the Gamecocks' first meeting with FIU, who is a member of Conference USA.
 
The trip to Florence, Ala., on Sept. 12 will be JSU's first appearance in Braly Stadium since defeating Pittsburg State on Dec. 12, 1992, in the Div. II National Championship Game, the Gamecocks' final game before beginning the move to Div. I. It will be the second in a four-game series with the Lions that started with a 30-12 JSU win in Jacksonville in 2019.
 
The home opener against Southeastern Louisiana will be Band Day and Fall Preview Day on the JSU campus and will kick off at 6 p.m.
 
Ohio Valley Conference play will begin on Sept. 26 at Tennessee State in Nashville and then Tennessee Tech will visit Burgess-Snow Field at 6 p.m. on Oct. 3 for Family Day.
 
Homecoming will take place on Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. against Austin Peay, a game that is sandwiched between trips to UT Martin on Oct. 10 and Eastern Illinois on Oct. 24. 
 
Eastern Kentucky will come to JSU on Halloween for a 3 p.m. game. JSU's open week will be on Nov. 7 before a trip to Murray State on Nov. 14. For the second-straight season, JSU will finish the regular season at home, hosting Southeast Missouri at 1 p.m. on Nov. 21