SEC sets annual football opponents over next four season, per report

Jeff Hauser

SEC sets annual football opponents over next four season, per report image

The Southeastern Conference is set to unveil its football opponents for the next four seasons Tuesday night in a one-hour television special at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network and ESPN2. The league is shifting to a nine-game schedule beginning in 2026, after playing eight league games annually since 1992.

Under the new model, each school will have three permanent opponents, re-evaluated every four years, and six rotational opponents. The format ensures that every program will face all other SEC schools at least once every two years and both home and away in a four-year span.

Here's the SEC opponent breakdown from On3's Chris Low. 

Alabama – Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State

Arkansas – Missouri, Texas, LSU

Auburn – Georgia, Alabama, Vanderbilt

Florida – Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky

Georgia – Auburn, Florida, South Carolina

Kentucky – South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida

LSU – Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M

Mississippi State – Ole Miss, Alabama, Vanderbilt

Missouri – Arkansas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma

Oklahoma – Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri

Ole Miss – Mississippi State, LSU, Oklahoma

South Carolina – Georgia, Kentucky, Florida

Tennessee – Alabama, Vanderbilt, Kentucky

Texas – Texas A&M, Arkansas, Oklahoma

Texas A&M – Texas, LSU, Missouri

Vanderbilt – Tennessee, Mississippi State, Auburn

The scheduling plan was designed with an emphasis on preserving rivalries, balancing home-and-away games and accommodating Power Four non-conference matchups. Adding the ninth game will also revive infrequent matchups, including Alabama-Georgia, Auburn-Florida, LSU-Tennessee and Georgia-Texas A&M. Remarkably, Georgia has never played at Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012. 

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Jeff Hauser

Jeff Hauser is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He has over twenty years of experience and is a two-time Emmy Award winner, Heisman Trophy and Biletnikoff Award voter. Among the events he has covered are the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff, World Series, World Cup, and WBC Boxing. Hauser is a regular guest on FOX Sports and ESPN Radio. He previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, SB Nation and Athlon Sports.