Razorbacks reveal 2026 SEC schedule loaded with some big conference tests

Arkansas drops new schedule, nine-game grind featuring Georgia, Texas, LSU and plenty of familiar frustrations.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield during his introductory press conference at Frank Broyles Center. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Arkansas revealed its 2026 SEC football schedule, and in a shocking twist, the league did not reward the Hogs for last year’s 2–10 adventure with a soft landing.

Instead, they received something much more on-brand: a nine-game SEC slate filled with annual rivals, heavyweight opponents, and just enough travel to earn frequent-flyer points.

This is the first year the SEC expands to nine league games, joining the Big Ten and Big 12 in the “more conference football, fewer complaints from television partners” movement.

Arkansas, ever the gracious participant, will now face LSU, Texas and Missouri annually. Those three have tormented the Razorbacks plenty over the years, which probably made the league’s decision very easy.

Ryan Silverfield, now fully settled in as head coach, inherits this schedule as part of his early-tenure challenge.

If he ever wanted to experience what coaching in the deep end feels like, here it is.

Arkansas opens SEC play in Week 3 by hosting Georgia, a team that strutted to a 12–1 record last season and punched a ticket to the playoff.

Nothing eases a new coach into a season quite like welcoming one of the country’s most stable powerhouses to Fayetteville.

Then again, the Razorbacks are not strangers to difficult starts. The SEC keeps the tradition alive.

The dates are set 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/U4vpNLTXqc

— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) December 12, 2025

Nine games, many questions

After the Georgia opener, the Razorbacks move to Week 5 and a road matchup with Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.

The Aggies finished 11–1 last season, including a 45–42 win over Arkansas that resembled a track meet more than a football game. Expect more fireworks, though perhaps fewer defensive highlights.

The Hogs then host Tennessee in Week 6. The teams split their last two meetings, including a 2024 Arkansas upset that briefly sent hope fluttering through the Ozarks.

Tennessee returns with its usual mix of speed, noise and expectations, while the Razorbacks attempt to remind themselves that good things have happened in this matchup before.

Week 7 sends the Hogs to Nashville for their first meeting with Vanderbilt since 2018. That contest ended 45–31 in Vandy’s favor, meaning both sides will likely approach the rematch as something resembling a cautious reunion between cousins who once fought at Thanksgiving.

A bye week follows, giving Arkansas time to regroup, hydrate, and perhaps seek therapy before the Battle Line Rivalry resumes in Fayetteville against Missouri.

The Tigers reclaimed the rivalry last year and have kept the trophy away from the Razorbacks since 2021. The series regularly defies logic, meaning anything can happen — except, apparently, Arkansas easily winning it.

The road tests keep stacking up

Week 10 brings a road trip to Auburn, now led by new coach Alex Golesh.

Auburn edged the Hogs last year and finished 5–7, which means both teams will enter this matchup trying to convince themselves they’re trending upward.

Week 11 returns the schedule to Fayetteville as South Carolina visits. Arkansas leads the all-time series, one of those rare historical advantages the Razorbacks will cling to like a souvenir.

It may feel like a more manageable game, though manageable is relative in the new SEC.

From there, the Hogs head to Austin for a Week 12 showdown with Texas. Arkansas fans have strong feelings about this rivalry, many of them four-letter words.

Yet the Longhorns’ 58–23 all-time edge and last year’s 52–37 win offer a fair reminder of how tall the climb has been.

The finale brings LSU to Fayetteville in Week 13 for the Golden Boot. Last season’s 23–22 LSU win was another installment of the series’ long tradition of chaos.

The matchup remains one of the SEC’s most bitter, unpredictable and entertaining late-season fixtures.

Silverfield will certainly earn his paycheck navigating this stretch.

Key takeaways

• Arkansas faces a full nine-game SEC slate that leaves little room for error and even less for comfort.
• LSU, Texas and Missouri remain annual opponents, continuing rivalries that carry emotional and historical weight.
• Road trips to Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Auburn and Texas create a challenging middle-season grind.