BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The SEC has settled the debate. Beginning in 2026, the league will expand its football schedule to nine regular-season conference games, ending years of speculation about the future of SEC matchups.

The move comes as the College Football Playoff prepares to implement new metrics in 2025 that emphasize strength of schedule, a shift that could give SEC teams an edge.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Southeastern Conference (@sec)

What it means for SEC teams

Under the new model, each school will play three permanent rivals and rotate through six additional conference opponents each season. For decades, the SEC has played eight league games, but growing television revenue and playoff expansion reignited talks of a nine-game slate.

Commissioner Greg

See Full Page