SEC's Shift To 9-Game Conference Schedule Pauses Some Longtime Rivalries

Some of college football’s biggest rivalries are missing in 2026 — Florida vs. Tennessee (first time in 37 seasons), Alabama vs. LSU (first time since 1963) and Florida vs. LSU aren’t on the schedule — a surprising change for fans to talk about.
The SEC scrapped divisions and moved to a nine-game conference slate with three annual opponents (plus a mandated 10th Power-Four nonconference game), reshuffling who plays whom to boost strength of schedule.
That reshuffle also revives and creates flashier matchups (Arkansas–Texas, Texas–Texas A&M back annually; Oklahoma–Michigan, Ohio State–Texas, Kansas–Missouri) — and the conference says it may tweak annual opponents again before 2030.