With the 2025-26 college football season fully underway this weekend, it will be the last year the SEC plays an eight-game conference schedule. The league office made it a point to get out ahead of this before its second season as a 16-team conference. This fall will feature all 16 teams playing the same eight conference opponents it did a year ago, but the venue will be flipped. It was all part of their plan.
So with that comes the notion of a 3-6 scheduling model. For those not in the know, here is what that entails. Every SEC school will have three permanent rivals it plays annually, with the other 12 schools rotating in as part of the six. Thus, in a four-year period, every SEC team will play at least one game home and away vs. every team in the conference. Divisions served their purpose, but not anymore.
With that in mind, here is what Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had to say on the upcoming format.
Kirby Smart's take on the SEC's plan for a nine-game schedule in 2026
Smart is more locked in on the Marshall game, but he did have this comment to say on the matter.
"As far as the balance of the three games or the preference of the three games, I don't really have a preference on that. I do think traditional rivalries are important. I enjoy those, having been a traditionalist and grew up in the state of Georgia, but I don't know one way or the other. You got to win the games you play, man."
Having grown up in Bainbridge and played at Georgia, Smart knows how important rivalries are to this sport. Every team has their own. Historically, Georgia's three biggest rivals are Auburn, Florida and Georgia Tech. While "Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate" will almost certainly be kept in the non-conference, it will leave open a spot for one more SEC team to play Georgia annually besides Auburn and Florida.
However, despite their recent dominance and close proximity, it was never going to be Alabama.
What does this mean for Georgia maintaining traditional CFB rivalries?
Even when the SEC was a 10-to-12-team league when Smart played safety for the Dawgs, Georgia did not play Alabama regularly. They were not placed in the same division. In fact, The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry between Auburn and Georgia was each school's respective cross-divisional rival. Alabama has a similar rivalry with Tennessee. The Third Saturday in October will be protected as well.
Before diving into who Georgia's third permanent rival could be, here is a look at who Alabama will likely be playing annually as a part of their 3-6 schedule model. The Iron Bowl with in-state rival Auburn will be protected at all costs, much like Georgia's annual affair with Florida in Jacksonville. Their secondary rival with Tennessee will be protected, as will Georgia's huge rivalry with Auburn.
From there, the likeliest candidates to round out Alabama's annual rivalry schedule would be either LSU or Mississippi State. There could be others, especially with Oklahoma and Texas now in the league. However, the SEC would be far more willing to keep Alabama-LSU alive than to prop up Alabama vs. Georgia. Keep in mind that The 90-Mile Drive with Mississippi State is played annually.
As for Georgia, the three teams that seem to be in close contention to rounding out their schedule are Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee. Some may favor one over the other, but South Carolina and Tennessee would be border wars. Plus, Georgia plays Kentucky pretty much annually anyway. Tennessee will not have a problem finding teams. Kentucky may have issues. South Carolina sure will.
To bring this all back home, Alabama and Georgia may be a fun game whenever it is played, usually when the stakes are the highest. However, neither team traditionally views the other as even a tertiary rival. Since the SEC will want to have some semblance of competitive balance, the league is not going to overload Alabama and Georgia's annual rivalry schedule with either school serving as their tertiary.
However, there may come a time when the league office shakes it up a bit ahead of another four-year cycle. This model will be new for everyone, so surely there will be some bumps in the road. For now, Dawg Nation should accept that Alabama will only be on the regular-season schedule twice from 2026 to 2029. They could meet in Atlanta or in the College Football Playoff, just not in league play.
Should it become apparent that they must play each other in a few years, let's revisit this come 2029.