Well, it's about time.
The SEC has announced the conference will implement a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2026, in a move that promises to reheat College Football Playoff expansion talks.
It really is about time. We have been writing that the SEC should have a nine-game conference schedule since 2022. Wait, make that 2021.
And, most importantly, it's also about time. As in the timing one day after the College Football Playoff announced new strength-of-schedule metrics and five days after Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti reportedly floated the idea of a 24-team playoff.
So now, how should the SEC and college football as a whole proceed as it pertains to the College Football Playoff?
"I think they could do 16 teams about as easy as 12 teams,” Steve Spurrier told Sporting News on Thursday. "That 24 or 28 doesn't make any sense to me. None of those teams have a chance, I don't think."
The Ole Ball Coach never coached in the playoff era, but he speaks the truth.
SEC nine-game conference schedule details
The SEC will continue to play without divisions. Each school will play three annual opponents then rotate the remaining six opponents every other year.
In a tradition rich conference, this should keep the fans happy. Teams play at every SEC venue at least one every four years, something the 18-team Big Ten team will have a difficult time pulling off.
The SEC also announced that the conference will require schools to play at least one more Power 4 conference opponent. That means rivalries such as Florida-Florida State, Clemson-South Carolina, Georgia-Georgia Tech and Louisville-Kentucky are protected and will count toward the strength of schedule.
"The SEC has established itself as the leader in delivering the most compelling football schedule in college athletics," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. "Fans will see traditional rivalries preserved, new matchups more frequently, and a level of competition unmatched across the nation."
This is a leave-no-doubt mechanism to ensure strength of schedule. Alabama (9-3) finished No. 11 in the final CFP rankings last season and was left out. No. 14 Ole Miss (9-3) and No. 15 South Carolina (9-3) also felt snubbed. Knowing the SEC has 10 teams in the AP Preseason Top 25 – the conference has positioned itself for more at-large bids this year. That will be even more substantial next year with a nine-game conference schedule.
What does that mean for the potential expansion of the College Football Playoff?
Will SEC going to nine games fast-track CFP expansion?
Spurrier was Florida's coach when the SEC revolutionized college football with the first conference championship game in 1992. The Gators played in the first five SEC championship games from 1992-96 and won a national championship in 1996.
That was a precursor to the conference's dominance during the BCS era – which piled up nine national championships from 1998-2013. Alabama, Georgia and LSU combined for six national championships in the four-team College Football Playoff, yet the conference watched Michigan and Ohio State win national titles the last two years.
The SEC also protects its conference championship game with the move.
"I like conference championship games. Every team in America you can't say, 'We want to win the national championship, " Spurrier said. "There's got to be something else. They have sorta eliminated two conference teams playing for it.
Credit SEC commissioner Greg Sankey for not standing still. Will the CFP follow suit?
The College Football Playoff has until Dec. 1 to implement changes to the 2026-27 College Football Playoff. The leadership – especially the SEC and Big Ten – appeared to be at an impasse this summer.
"They are a very collaborative group and a lot of people will say, 'Well they can't make a decision,” CFP executive director Rich Clark told Sporting News at the ACC Kickoff. “What they don't know is that it is a group of professionals who make decisions almost weekly for college football and college athletics in general.
Does this change the math? The CFP did its part by implementing strength-of-schedule metrics – even if those will need modified. The SEC did its part by matching the Big Ten and Big 12 in conference games, and the ACC will be next. Now it's the Big Ten's turn, which means dropping the multiple-AQ models and going with a 5-11, straight-seeded 16-team playoff that likely would not need further expansion for the foreseeable future. That's what Spurrier sees.
We've been writing about that for a while, too. This is clearly the compromise the SEC needed to make.
Will nine-game conference schedule help SEC in College Football Playoff?
It certainly won't hurt. With the Big Ten using a nine-game conference model, Ohio State and Michigan were CFP regulars in the four-team era, and the conference had the most playoff teams with four in 2024. Oregon, Penn State and Indiana – which made the CFP over those three-loss SEC teams – later joined the CFP party.
Yes, half of the teams in the conference will pick up another loss, but remember when Sankey said this at the SEC Meetings in Destin, Fla., on June 3?
"It's clear that not losing becomes in many ways more important than beating the University of Georgia, which two of our teams who were left out did. Nobody had that kind of quality win," Sankey said.
With today's move, Sankey can now back up similar statements very easily. The SEC objectively has the most-ranked teams and subjectively has the most College Football Playoff-caliber teams. A nine-game schedule is going to amplify that – and it might just lead to the conference getting more playoff teams in a 16-team field.
Sankey also put pressure on the Big Ten here to fall in, assuming that 16-team playoff is coming. Will this move lead the Petitti to endorse the 5/11 model? Will the Big Ten also mandate a Power 4 opponent in non-conference play?
The Big Ten's on the clock now. It's been a while since we had to say that.
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