Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
By Chris Marler
Our long national nightmare has come to an end. The SEC is moving to a nine game conference schedule model.
The 8 vs. 9 games weren’t the disaster. Talking about them nonstop all offseason was.
After Ross Dellenger reported that the SEC was close to agreement on the nine game schedule early Wednesday afternoon, it took just a few short hours to make it official. The momentum towards that decision comes a day after the College Football Playoff announced significant changes to the criteria for teams making the 12 team playoff.
Another key factor that is building momentum towards the nine games is ESPN agreeing to add more money to the current media rights deal already in place if there is a ninth game to be played.
🚨 @SEC to implement nine-game conference football schedule beginning in 2026, reinforcing the SEC’s position as the nation’s leader in competitive excellence and fan excitement.
🔗 https://t.co/pMhRTuZGu0#SECFB x #ItJustMeansMore pic.twitter.com/NqzseBDd4E
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) August 21, 2025
This is a move that commissioner Greg Sankey has been eyeing for a while, speaking about it this summer at Media Days in Atlanta.
“I think we should be working towards that,” Sankey told ESPN’s Heather Dinich. “My life doesn’t end if we don’t. There’s this absolutist notion that he’s going to dictate what’s going to happen. I think we should have an adult conversation. We should be able to make a decision. I think nine games would promote great interest through the year, but it would be hard to coach. I’ve had candid conversations with coaches. I’ve told them that.”
The format for conference scheduling that the SEC would adopt is most likely a 3+6 model. Each team would have three permanent opponents and then rotate the other six with home and away games.
Every SEC fan wants to know two things: who their team’s three permanent opponents will be, and if the league can actually make those draws fair.
In the 12 team SEC days, Alabama’s cross divisional opponents were Tennessee and Vanderbilt, while teams like Auburn played juggernauts Florida and Georgia every year. It would make sense for Arkansas to play Texas, LSU and Texas A&M every year, given their historical ties to each. It would also be an annual nightmare.
Another question moving forward is what happens to some of the scheduling already in place. Despite what coaches like Curt Cignetti and Rhett Lashlee would have you believe, plenty of SEC programs have more than held up their end in non-conference scheduling.
Say it with me…
IF WE ARE GONNA TALK ABOUT COLLEGE FOOTBALL WE ARE GONNA DO IT WITH FACTUAL INFORMATION
Here’s a look at some SEC non-conference schedules vs Indiana’s
Multiple teams will play 10 P4 teams every year for the next 5-10 years.
But remember, Mercer… pic.twitter.com/RE5xgSGK4t
— Chris Marler (@Vern_Funquist) July 23, 2025
Ole Miss is the only SEC team that doesn’t have a single P4 non-conference opponent on their schedule over the next 7 years.
Even then they play Va Tech in 2032 and a home and home against Purdue in 2033-2034. Pathetic pic.twitter.com/msqCFhF229
— Chris Marler (@Vern_Funquist) July 24, 2025
Teams like Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Florida have scheduled multiple Power 4 non-conference opponents over the five to ten years. In fact, the only team who doesn’t have a single Power 4 opponent scheduled in the next seven years is Ole Miss. And, that is only because Wake Forest paid them $750,000 to get out of a road game this season.
From 2026 through 2034 Alabama and Georgia are scheduled to play at least two P4 opponents every year. Alabama starts this season with Wisconsin and Florida State on the docket. South Carolina will play at least two in the next seven seasons, including 2025.
So what happens to those games?
Some of those matchups that Georgia, Florida and South Carolina have are built-in because of their annual in-state non-conference rivalry games that each play. Surely those won’t be the first to go, but it seems farfetched to think Kirby Smart or Shane Beamer are going to play nine SEC games AND go on the road to Clemson, South Carolina or Columbus, Ohio in the same year.
None of those games matter when the SEC insists on eight conference matchups and an FCS opponent in November instead of December. And honestly, I’m not even sure who deserves the blame, Greg Sankey, the Big Ten for pressuring the league or the money-hungry power brokers who are letting cash dictate a sport that thrived for 150 of its 156 years without this nonsense.
I guess I’ll just be mad at all of them. And, still watch every second of the season, regardless.
There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered, but two things are for sure: this is happening and a lot of traditions are going to die because of it.
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