The SEC is going to a nine-game schedule in 2026 with three annual rivalries. Tennessee football should face Alabama, Florida and Vanderbilt

The SEC is making the right decision to preserve at least three permanent opponents per school in this new nine-game model. The conference's motto is literally "It just means more" so it would be pretty hypocritical to toss traditional rivalries in the name of staying relevant in the eyes of the College Football Playoff committee.

The Southeastern Conference on Thursday announced it will move to a nine-game conference schedule for the 2026 football season, with each team having three permanent games to preserve “traditional” rivalries while the other six games rotate.