What the SEC's New Nine-Game Schedule Means for Florida

The SEC on Thursday officially confirmed plans to move to a nine-game conference slate starting in 2026, a topic that had been heavily discussed since Oklahoma and Texas joined the league ahead of the 2024 season.

Aspects of the nine-game schedule include the league sticking with its non-divisional structure, each school playing three annual opponents with a focus on traditional rivalries, the other six opponents on a rotation and facing every SEC opponent at least once every two years and every opponent home and away in four years.

Additionally, each school will be required to face one quality out-of-conference opponent, either Power 4 or Notre Dame, for one of its three non-SEC games.

"Adding a ninth SEC game underscores our universities' commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation," league commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. "This format protects rivalries, increases competitive balance, and paired with our requirement to play an additional power opponent, ensures SEC teams are well prepared to compete and succeed in the College Football Playoff."

🚨 @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

With that said, Florida Gators on SI breaks down what this means for the Florida Gators while giving predictions for who will or won't be one of Florida's three annual opponents.

1. Yes, Florida State is a "Quality Opponent"

Get your 2-10 jokes out of the way while you can. Florida State, as a Power 4 program, qualifies as the Gators' required quality out-of-conference opponent.

The decision stems from disallowing playoff contenders from scheduling two "cupcakes," while programs like Florida (FSU), Georgia (Georgia Tech), Kentucky (Louisville) and South Carolina (Clemson) have a traditional out-of-conference rivalry every season to begin with.

So, while the SEC is cutting down on non-conference games, Florida's game against Florida State won't be touched. That being said, Florida's future non-conference schedule will be affected from the change.

2. Future Schedule is Changing

Building off of that, Florida will now have to update its future non-conference schedule outside of Florida State. The Gators, which have largely scheduled its four-game out-of-conference schedule for the next few seasons, will have to drop a few programs.

In 2026, the Gators were set to host FAU (Sept. 5) and Campbell (Sept. 12). With these being the only two non-conference, non-FSU games, I don't see these games being changed. It's the same in 2027, with South Alabama (Sept. 4) and Charleston Southern (Sept. 11) already on the schedule.

Now here is where it gets interesting.

In 2028, the Gators already have its three non-FSU non-conference games set with hosting duties against Furman (Sept. 2) and Colorado (Sept. 9) and a road trip to Arizona State (Sept. 16). Both matchups against the Buffaloes and Sun Devils are the first of a home-and-home series against each team.

There's a few routes Florida could go. Dropping Furman, an FCS opponent, would be the easiest option if Florida wants to keep its strength of schedule higher. Or, the Gators could drop either Colorado or Arizona State understanding that they've already reached the league requirement with FSU on the schedule while also eliminating an away game.

I'd expect Furman to remain on the schedule, but only time will tell if either Colorado or Arizona State is taken off the schedule.

From there, no season until through 2037 have more than the allotted three non-conference games, leaving 2028 as the only season that could be affected.

3. Sorry Old Heads, Auburn Won't be an Annual Opponent

Yes, it's a travesty that Florida's rivalry with Auburn has been lost as a result of SEC expansion. No, that does not mean it will be given priority in the nine-game schedule.

With the SEC's emphasis on rivalries, matchups against Georgia, Tennessee and LSU would carry more weight than one against Auburn, especially considering the Gators and the Tigers haven't played each other since 2019 and only twice since 2011.

The good news is the matchup will be more consistent with the league requiring each team to face each other in a home-and-home series within a four-year span.

4. Tennessee or LSU... Can't Have Both

Let's first get this out of the way. Florida's rivalry against Georgia is safe.

One of three neutral-site games in the league, and one that has contractually been scheduled until 2031, this historic matchup is not going anywhere anytime soon, leaving two slots open for the Gators' annual opponents.

The obvious choices would be Tennessee, another historic SEC Eastern Division rival, and LSU, Florida's historic cross-division rival. With the SEC's emphasis on keeping rivalries, it would make sense and be the easiest decision to give Florida both.

However, to keep disparity across the league, i.e. not letting a team have too many "good" teams and another consistently playing the league's bottom feeders, as well as Tennessee's and LSU's non-Florida rivalries, I find it unfortunately hard to believe both remain on the schedule.

No schedule is going to be perfect, especially with the league removing divisions while adding four teams over the last 13 years, and losing either Tennessee or LSU would be the downside of what seems to be the best scheduling decision the SEC has made in years.

So who remains?

Tennessee would be my prediction. A former SEC East foe sellout crowds at nearly every game, it simply makes the most sense. LSU wouldn't be a bad decision either considering it's been a better matchup when it comes to balance (LSU holds a 15-10 advantage against Florida since 2000, while Florida holds a 19-6 advantage over Tennessee in that span).

Still, Tennessee, from a rivalry perspective, is more historical, giving the Volunteers the advantage.

5. Official Prediction

With Georgia and Tennessee already predicted, that leaves one spot open for the Gators' three annual opponents. Already having two games of historical and competitive rivals, I wouldn't be shocked if the league looked at a non-traditional SEC foe for the third spot.

To ease thoughts with that, no, it shouldn't be Texas A&M. And, trust me, I understand the frustration with consistently playing away games at the Kyle Field in recent years.

I would expect a team such as Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Missouri or South Carolina (Florida's old SEC East opponents) to be on the top of the list, considering history and easier travel for games. Going in the opposite direction of why Georgia and Tennessee were selected, Kentucky would be eliminated for being a common opponent for Florida, playing every season since 1967.

Compared to Vanderbilt, an uneven matchup historically, and Missouri, which will have to emphasize old Big 12 rivalries with Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, South Carolina makes the most sense.

Florida has played the Gamecocks 44 times, including every season from 1992-2023 after South Carolina joined the league. As a result of the SEC eliminating divisions, the matchup was taken off the schedule for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

It's certainly not a guarantee, but I predict Florida's three annual SEC opponents to be Tennessee and South Carolina with one at home and one away rotating each season with its annual neutral site game against Georgia.

1. Yes, Florida State is a "Quality Opponent"

2. Future Schedule is Changing

3. Sorry Old Heads, Auburn Won't be an Annual Opponent

4. Tennessee or LSU... Can't Have Both

5. Official Prediction

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