The SEC just released every conference game for each team for the 2026 regular season. It is safe to say that the majority of fanbases within the conference are not happy with the way their team's schedule shaped out. Among those fanbases is the Georgia Bulldogs.
Though the toughness of their schedule is a whole other conversation that proves to be unfair to Georgia, there is another factor that stings fans just a little bit more. Key rivalry games Georgia has played for decades will be lost in 2026.
Ratings over Rivalries: Tennessee and Clemson fall Wayside
The most shocking of the schedule release is the fact that the Tennessee Volunteers will not play Georgia in 2026. A deep rivalry that has produced some of the most watched games in recent memory will not be played. Included in those games is a thriller that went into overtime just this season, and a matchup in Athens in 2022 that featured No. 1 Tennessee and No. 3 Georgia.
Beyond that, when was the last time Georgia played Clemson? It was 2024 in a neutral site game. This rivalry used to be intense and played annually. Stars like Todd Gurley emerged from this game. The last time this game was played in either Athens or Clemson was in 2014; over 10 years ago. A game that has produced thrillers such as that key victory over Clemson in Charlotte in 2021 has seemed to vanish before our eyes.
So, who does Georgia play instead? Well, the conference is putting Georgia in Tuscaloosa for the third time since 2020, while Alabama has only traveled to Athens once. Georgia once again will play Ole Miss in Oxford as well as Vanderbilt and Missouri. There is absolutely no appeal to these games for fans. No hatred, no rivalry. The only one that is a rivalry has been Alabama, and the scheduling for that game has been extremely unkind to Georgia in recent years.
Ratings have to be the only answer for these matchups. Georgia fans want their rivalries back, and college football as a whole deserves them.