SEC football slate to feature 3 annual opponents for next 4 seasons - ESPN

The SEC is set on Tuesday to release its new nine-game schedule for 2026, which will feature an overhaul in how the schedule traditionally works.

The biggest mystery hovering over the new nine-game schedule, which will be formally released at 7 p.m. ET (TV: SEC Network/ESPN2), is the three annual opponents set in place for the next four seasons.

The annual opponents are balanced by the teams playing each league opponent every two years, a far cry from the SEC's old divisional play when teams could go six seasons without playing each other.

The annual opponents, sources told ESPN, are:

• Alabama: Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State

• Arkansas: LSU, Texas, Missouri

• Auburn: Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt

• Georgia: Auburn, Florida, South Carolina

• Florida: Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina

• Kentucky: Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee

• LSU: Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Arkansas

• Mississippi State: Alabama, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt

• Missouri: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M

• Oklahoma: Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas

• Ole Miss: LSU, Mississippi State, Oklahoma

• South Carolina: Georgia, Florida, Kentucky

• Tennessee: Alabama, Kentucky, Vanderbilt

• Texas: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M

• Texas A&M: LSU, Missouri, Texas

• Vanderbilt: Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee

SEC officials designed the slate by honoring traditional longstanding rivalries — such as Georgia-Florida — and attempting to balance schedules as best as possible.

The general format of the new schedule includes nine league games — three annual opponents, six rotating opponents and an annual power conference/Notre Dame opponent. Along with playing each league team within a two-year span, the SEC teams will visit every venue over the four-year span.

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