The American Athletic Conference announced the league's full schedule for the 2021 season Thursday morning.

The Mustangs will open the regular season with a Sept. 4 home game against Abilene Christian at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. They will follow that game with a home matchup against North Texas on Sept. 11.

SMU's first road game will take place Sept. 18 at Louisiana Tech, as Sonny Dykes returns to the place where he got his first college head coaching job. The following week, SMU and TCU will reignite its Battle for the Iron Skillet at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. This will be the 100th rendition, as the 2020 game was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns.

Conference play kicks off for the Mustangs on Oct. 2 with a home game against South Florida. The Mustangs then travel to Navy on Oct. 9, then will have a bye the week of Oct. 16. SMU will host Tulane in a Thursday matchup on Oct. 21.

The Mustangs will make back-to-back road trips starting Oct. 30. SMU visits Houston on Oct. 30, then Memphis Nov. 6.

SMU returns to Gerald J. Ford on Nov. 13 for a game against UCF -- which is led by new head coach Gus Malzahn. SMU closes the regular season at Cincinnati on Nov. 20 and at home against Tulsa on Nov. 27. The Tulsa game could be moved to Friday, depending on television opportunity. Cincinnati and Tulsa played in the AAC championship game for the 2020 season.

The 2021 AAC championship game will be played on Dec. 4. It will be televised on ABC.