• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Houston Sports Today

Houston Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Football
    • Roughnecks
    • Texans
  • Astros
  • Rockets
  • Soccer
    • Dash
    • Dynamo
  • Colleges
    • Rice
    • Texas A&M
    • University of Houston

Haters Silenced: SEC Nine-Game Schedule Coming in 2026

August 22, 2025 by Last Word On College Football

An SEC 9-Game Schedule? Turn it up to nine! Greg Sankey and the SEC heard the haters. Curt Cignetti and the rest of the B1G spent a lot of time talking about the strength of their nine-game conference schedule. Starting in the 2026 season, Cignetti and the rest of college football will have to find something else to complain about. Sankey and the conference announced on Thursday the new SEC nine-game schedule coming in 2026. In the league where It Just Means More, we will be getting more conference games!
The SEC nine-game schedule is a dream come true. Not only does it mean a stronger strength of schedule, but it also means better home games for SEC fans. As well as the opportunity to continue distinguishing itself from the rest of college football. Sankey shared how the move not only strengthens the SEC among its peers but also benefits the teams in the conference.

“Adding a ninth conference game underscores our universities’ commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation. This format protects rivalries, increases competitive balance, and paried with our requirement to play an additional power oppoent, ensures SEC teams are well prepared to compete and succeed in the College Football Playoff.” 

Let’s take a closer look at the details surrounding the SEC’s nine-game schedule.

What Will the SEC Nine-Game Schedule Look Like?

Single-Standings, No Divisions

The SEC will continue with a single-standings, non-division structure. The 2024 season marked the first time the SEC wasn’t divided into Eastern and Western divisions. The divisions were unbalanced and didn’t give fans and teams the opportunities to see and play teams throughout the conference. A 16-team league does pose problems when trying to decide who will play for a conference championship. The SEC went deep into last season trying to figure out what exactly the tie breakers would be to determine who was #1 and #2. The addition of a ninth game will provide an additional data point and more clarity in helping to determine who will be playing in the championship game.

Traditional Rivalries Maintained

Each school will play three annual opponents. The league will work to maintain as many traditional rivals as possible. This alleviates one of the biggest worries from SEC fans. With no divisions and a round-robin style conference schedule, what will become of the 3rd Saturday in October, Cocktail Party, the Iron Bowl, the Egg Bowl, or Red River?
The SEC is full of great traditions and rivalries. Each team in the conference has multiple teams it can consider its “rival.” With so much change occurring in college football, this is one that makes sense for both teams and fans.
Photo Credit: Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Six Game Rotation

The remaining six games will rotate amongst the remaining conference schools. Each team will face every other SEC program at least once every two years, and every opponent, both home and away, within a four-year period. That’s a nice way to balance out the SEC’s nine-game schedule. There have been some weird scheduling quirks in the SEC. LSU has not traveled to Athens and played between the Hedges since 2013. Georgia and Texas A&M played their first SEC football game in October 2024, despite the Aggies being in the league since 2012.
The ability of teams to play every opponent at home and on the road in a four-year span is good for the league. It will not only help to balance schedules, but it will also help connect the greatest fan base in college football.

Turn It Up to 10: Additional Power Opponent

In addition to the nine conference games, the SEC will also add one more game against a Power 4 team. One more for the Cignetti or haters of the SEC schedule. Unlike Indiana, which will play four or five FCS teams out of conference over the next five years. While that may be a slight exaggeration, if the shoe fits, hopefully the Hoosiers can wear it.
The move to the additional Power 4 game helps protect some of the SEC’s biggest rivals. The Gamecocks can continue to “meet at the paw” when they upset Clemson. Georgia and Georgia Tech can still meet for some Clean Old Fashioned Hate; maybe they can go back to Bobby Dodd. The additional game will also help preserve games like Texas traveling to Ohio State. What will the haters have to say after this? Probably very little. It won’t matter, lions don’t mind themselves with the opinions of sheep.
Main Photo: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The post Haters Silenced: SEC Nine-Game Schedule Coming in 2026 appeared first on Last Word on College Football.

Filed Under: Texas A&M

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Cal Raleigh hits his 48th, 49th homers to set MLB season mark for catchers, passing Salvador Perez
  • Houston Dash Sign Goalkeeper Nadia Cooper to Short-Term Contract
  • The Rockets Have Been Cooking In The NBA’s Apron Era
  • First-Time All-Star Is Rockets Most Important Player
  • WATCH: Peña drives in run in loss to Orioles

Categories

  • Astros
  • Colleges
    • Rice
    • Texas A&M
    • University of Houston
  • Football
    • Texans
  • Rockets
  • Soccer
    • Dash
    • Dynamo
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • August 2025
  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • Bleacher Report
  • CBS Houston
  • Houston Chronicle
  • House Of Houston
  • OurSports Central
  • The Sports Daily
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today

Baseball

  • MLB.com
  • Last Word On Baseball
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Climbing Tals Hill
  • The Crawfish Boxes

Basketball

  • NBA.com
  • Amico Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • The Dream Shake
  • Real GM
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Space City Scoop

Football

  • Houston Texans
  • Battle Red Blog
  • Last Word On Pro Football
  • NFL Trade Rumors
  • Our Turf Football
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Football Talk
  • Texans Wire
  • Toro Times

Soccer

  • Dynamo Theory
  • Last Word on Soccer - Dash
  • Last Word on Soccer - Dynamo
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • Busting Brackets
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Forgotten 5
  • Good Bull Hunting
  • Gig Em Gazzette
  • Last Word On College Football - Texas A&M
  • Saturday Blitz
  • Zags Blog

Recent Posts

  • Cal Raleigh hits his 48th, 49th homers to set MLB season mark for catchers, passing Salvador Perez
  • Houston Dash Sign Goalkeeper Nadia Cooper to Short-Term Contract
  • The Rockets Have Been Cooking In The NBA’s Apron Era
  • First-Time All-Star Is Rockets Most Important Player
  • WATCH: Peña drives in run in loss to Orioles

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • August 2025
    • July 2025
    • June 2025
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • October 2023
    • September 2023

    Categories

    • Astros
    • Dash
    • Dynamo
    • Rice
    • Rockets
    • Texans
    • Texas A&M
    • Uncategorized
    • University of Houston

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org

    Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in