Miami to meet Auburn for first time since 1984 after scheduling home-and-home with Tigers

The Miami Hurricanes will meet a perennial Southeastern Conference power later this decade after scheduling a home-and-home series with the Auburn Tigers for 2029 and 2030.

Miami will host Auburn at Hard Rock Stadium in 2029, then travel to Alabama for a meeting with the Tigers in 2030, the university announced Thursday.

“We are excited to add Auburn to our future football schedule,” athletic director Blake James said in a statement. “We remain committed to scheduling top programs for our nonconference games and these two matchups will be a terrific showcase for two passionate and tradition-rich fan bases.”

Both games will likely open each team’s season. The 2029 matchup is set for Sept. 1 in Miami Gardens and the 2030 meeting is scheduled for Aug. 31 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The Hurricanes and Tigers have played 11 times, but not since 1984. Miami was the defending national champion in 1984 and opened its season with a win against then-No. 1 Auburn in the Kickoff Classic in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was also Jimmy Johnson’s first game as the Hurricanes’ coach.

The two haven’t played at either school’s home stadium since 1978, when Miami beat the Tigers in Auburn. The Hurricanes last hosted the Tigers in 1974, when they lost at the Miami Orange Bowl.

Auburn leads the all-time series 7-4.

The Hurricanes will open the 2021 college football season against an SEC opponent, too, and have six other future meetings scheduled against SEC foes. Miami will open the 2021 season in September against the defending-champion Alabama Crimson Tide at the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. The Hurricanes are also set to play the Texas A&M Aggies in 2022 and 2023, the Florida Gators in 2024 and 2025, then the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2026 and 2027.

Hedley gets All-American nod

A year after Andres Borregales was a first-team All-American and won the Lou Groza Award, Miami has a chance for another specialist to replicate the former kicker’s accomplishments.

Lou Hedley is a preseason first-team All-American, according to the Walter Camp Football Foundation, which announced its preseason All-America teams Thursday.

The punter was a second-team All-American last season, according to the Associated Press, and opted to return to Coral Gables for a third season despite some NFL interest.

Las season, Hedley ranked No. 2 in average punting at 47.3 yards per kick and the Hurricanes led the nation in net punting at 45.0 yards.