SEC Unveils Four-Year Football Schedule As League Moves To Nine Games. Let The Arguments Commence

The SEC has released its college football schedules for the next four years, coinciding with the league’s move to a nine-game conference slate. Each school has been assigned three permanent opponents, while the remaining games will rotate.

The conference made an effort to preserve most of its premier rivalries, but not every traditional matchup survived the cut. That has left plenty of fans upset about certain games disappearing from the annual schedule.

Some of these matchups that will not be taking place have caused an uproar among fans. 

• LSU vs. Alabama
• Alabama vs. Georgia
• Tennessee vs. Florida
• Florida vs. LSU
• Tennessee vs. Georgia
• Auburn vs. Florida
• Texas A&M vs. Arkansas
• Arkansas vs. Ole Miss

Some of these games, like LSU vs. Alabama, feel like they should be played every year. But the SEC had to make concessions, balancing tradition with fairness and scheduling logistics.

But, not everyone could get their way, and the SEC had to make some concessions in the process. 

Here's how the conference determined which games stayed, and which ones were took off the annual schedule. 

SEC Football Annual Opponents: Protected Rivalries, Rotational Games, and Big Takeaways. No LSU vs. Alabama?

Annual SEC Opponents Determined Based On These Factors

Traditional rivalries

• Final week matchups (i.e., Alabama-Auburn, Ole Miss-Miss. State)
• Neutral site games (i.e., Oklahoma-Texas, Florida-Georgia)
• Historical long-time series (i.e., Auburn-Georgia, LSU-Ole Miss)
• 10 matchups among annual opponents in the new schedule have been played more than 100 times.
• Avg. distance of annual opponents is 281 miles (4-hour drive)
• 80 pct. of annual opponents are in the same or contiguous state.

And, here's how the conference came up with their six rotating opponents. 

• The remaining six conference games will come from a rotating pool of the other
• Each school will play every other SEC opponent at least once every two yearsEach school will play every other SEC opponent at least twice (home and away) over a four-year period.

SEC Schedule For Next Four Years. Intriguing Matchups

The conference announced on Tuesday night the rotational games that each school will play, with home-and-home series for the following. 

Here you go. 

Georgia: Congrats Texas A&M, the Bulldogs are headed your way. 

Ole Miss: Hmm, we are getting the LSU game in 2026 

Oklahoma: Hosting Texas A&M in 2026 

Texas A&M: Aggies vs. Alabama next season. 

Kentucky: Hosting Florida, keeping some traditions alive. 

Tennessee: My goodness, hosting Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Texas in 2026. 

LSU: I'm just glad they kept the Ole Miss rivalry. 

Mississippi State: Really loving the trip to Oklahoma in 2026 

Alabama: LSU on the schedule for 2026. Georgia at home

Auburn: Florida is on the 2026 schedule. At Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee. Woof

Vanderbilt: Sorry Auburn, you still have to play the Dores, minus Diego Pavia 

Florida: The 2026 game against Georgia in Atlanta should be fun 

South Carolina: Starting to feel like the SEC East vs. West again. UF Back 

Missouri: We've got a Big-8 feeling with Oklahoma, Texas A&M on schedule 

Arkansas: I'm digging the road schedule.

Texas: Yep. Arkansas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma rolling. 

There you go, let the arguments begin on how your favorite team got railroaded with future SEC scheduling. 

Let me know what you think. Email me at Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com