Last month, the SEC finally resolved their decades-long debate over 8 games vs. 9 games, electing to go with the 9-game slate starting in 2026. In large part due to the College Football Playoff committee adjusting the strength of schedule metric “to apply greater weight to games against strong opponents.”
Under the new format, the SEC will still play without divisions as they have done since the addition of Oklahoma and Texas, but each school will now play three annual opponents. The conference has
highlighted that it wants to protect rivalries.
According to a report from On3’s Chris Low, for Kentucky, those schools will be Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee, with a formal announcement from the SEC set to be released on Tuesday. No longer will they annually play Georgia, Mississippi State, or Vanderbilt.
Kentucky’s all-time record against these teams does not inspire confidence at 55-155-9.
Florida: 21-54
South Carolina: 14-21-1
Tennessee: 20-80-8
Under Mark Stoops:
Florida: 4-7
South Carolina: 7-5
Tennessee: 2-9
It’s important to note that the annual opponents will be reevaluated every four years, which opens the door for further scheduling changes in 2030 and beyond.
The full list of permanent opponents can be found here.
