Shaking up the Schedule: SEC Announces New Opponents Through 2029

The SEC recently released every team’s new in-conference schedules spanning from 2026 to 2029 this week. This format features a nine-game conference schedule, where each school will play three annual opponents, and the remaining six games will rotate each year with the other teams in the conference. With this new format, every SEC team plays each other once every two years, once at home, and once away. Most rivalries have been restored, as the Iron Bowl, Egg Bowl, and Red River Rivalry are just a few of the protected premier matchups. An additional requirement for each team is that they must play at least one opponent from another Power Four conference, or Notre Dame, which will help resumés come December. 

Now there are some key matchups that we will only see every two years, such as Alabama vs. LSU, Georgia vs. Ole Miss, and Florida vs. Texas, on which fans of these schools have expressed their frustration fiercely on social media. Others are saying this new format protects teams like Alabama, who, instead of playing Georgia or LSU every year, have to go through Auburn, Tennessee, and Mississippi State, which are not exactly the toughest grouping of opponents in the SEC. As for Texas A&M, a team that has always been in the middle of the pack, it got dealt a rough hand with its three matchups each year being Texas, LSU, and Missouri. Overall, most teams’ schedules are pretty balanced, and it is evident that the Committee is bracing for sleeper teams to finally have their way with the most dominant conference in college football. One team that fits this mold is Vanderbilt, which has had recent success in the SEC and is looking forward to the next four years, as it drew the same slate as Alabama, a group of opponents that hardly ranks among the strongest. 

To the rest of the college football world, this shouldn’t be as serious as it may appear to be. Yes, an extra conference game looks good on teams resumé’s; however, when it comes down to who’s in and who’s out of the CFP, all that should matter are team performances. This new format shouldn’t grant more SEC teams leeway in getting a trip to the playoff, but the committee may feel differently, as we’ve seen in years past. With the continuation of teams choosing to realign, it is clear there will be more and more out-of-conference matchups where schools will try anything to improve their resumé, which could lead to a potential “Super Conference” that could be a burden for the entire sport.