SEC annual opponents revealed: Alabama-LSU will no longer be yearly in nine-game schedule

The SEC has set the three opponents each team will play annually beginning with the conference’s new nine-game schedule format in 2026, putting an emphasis on traditional and geographic rivalries.

That means a temporary end to Alabama and LSU playing every year, in favor of Alabama playing Mississippi State each year. But this set of annual opponents will only be applied for a four-year cycle over the 2026 to 2029 seasons and will be revisited for the 2030 schedule and beyond.

The three annual opponents were first reported on Monday morning by On3 and were confirmed by The Athletic. On Tuesday night the SEC will officially announce the three annual opponents, plus all nine conference opponents for each team from 2026 to ’29. Some games on the 2026 schedule will be repeat matchups from 2025, with teams playing at the same team they played at this year.

While geography and tradition were emphasized in choosing the annual opponents — 80 percent of the annual matchups are in the same or a contiguous state — the SEC plans to take competitive balance into account in assigning the other six opponents a team will face in conference play each year. For example, Alabama might not get elite teams such as LSU and Texas in the same year.

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