LSU Football's Brian Kelly Reacts to Alabama Crimson Tide Not Being Annual SEC Clash

Brian Kelly and Co. received the program's SEC slate across the next four seasons, Alabama not an annual rival.

Nov 4, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly and Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban talk together at midfield before the Alabama vs LSU game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images | Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

The LSU Tigers have received their three annual SEC opponents beginning in 2026 with Arkansas, Ole Miss and Texas A&M on the docket moving forward.

The Southeastern Conference league office announced the opponents and sites beginning is 2026 and through the 2029 season.

"In the new format, each SEC school will play every other SEC school at least once every two years, and every opponent home and away over four years, making it the most fair and balanced schedule in the history of the Conference.

"Under the new format, each school will play three annual opponents focused on maintaining many traditional rivalries and each team’s remaining six games will rotate among the remaining conference schools."

The SEC will continue with a single-standings, non-divisional structure.

Courtesy of LSU Tigers Football.

The SEC used the following to determine annual and rotating opponents for the next four years:

Annual Opponents
• Annual opponents were determined with consideration given to traditional rivalries, competitive fairness, geography and alignment with existing non-conference home/away commitments
• Annual opponents will be evaluated after each four-year cycle to maintain continued competitive balance.

Rotating Opponents
• The remaining six conference games will come from a rotating pool of the other conference teams
• The rotating schedule is designed so that a team will play every other conference opponent at least once every two years and twice (once at home and once away) over a four-year period.

Courtesy of LSU Tigers Football.

Balance
• With nine conference games, eight schools will play five home games each season and eight schools will play four home games.
• Home/away determination was made with the intent of providing seven home games for each school while balancing existing home/away commitments to annual non-conference rivalry games.
• To meet the scheduling priorities established by the conference and its members, the 2026 conference schedule includes cases where schools play at the same venue in back-to-back years. This has occurred in the past when the SEC has changed football scheduling formats.

But there is one glaring team missing from LSU's three annual opponents - the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Kelly and Co. will not play Alabama each year beginning in 2026 with Kelly commenting on the new SEC slate this week.

Courtesy of LSU Tigers Football.

“I’m fine with the way it’s set up, because within four years you’re going to play them home and away,” Kelly said. “So you might not get them every year, but you’re going to get them enough where it continues to take the big-game approach to playing Alabama.

"The way the schedule is set up, I feel really good about what it looks like, and all the teams we’ll get a chance to play in the SEC.”

For the LSU Tigers, the program will return to action on Saturday afternoon in Oxford for a Top-15 matchup against the Ole Miss Rebels.

More LSU News:

The Early Predictions: LSU Football vs. Ole Miss Rebels in Massive SEC Showdown

LSU Football Eyeing Flip Targets Committed to Ohio State, Arkansas and Texas A&M

LSU Football Cornerback, Five-Star Freshman Receives Rave Review From Brian Kelly

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