The SEC announced some massive news Thursday evening when they said that the conference will now play nine league games every season beginning in 2026. This decision matches what the Big Ten has been doing for about a decade now and comes in the wake of them begging the SEC to move to nine conference games all offseason.
There are pros and cons to the SEC making this decision, but for Georgia they now face a huge dilemma.
What should they do about their future nonconference schedules?
Georgia has to change how they schedule going forward
Georgia is known for being the SEC team that is willing to play anyone in their nonconference schedule. The Bulldogs have played the likes of Clemson, Oregon and even Boise State in recent years to help bolster their schedule.
Creating exciting and new nonconference matchups is going to be a lot more difficult now after this announcement from the SEC. Since the SEC will now play nine conference games, this means Georgia will only play three nonconference opponents. That may not sound like a huge deal, but Georgia will now be extremely restricted when it comes to their nonconference schedules.
This announcement from the SEC also included a stipulation that each team will have to play a power four nonconference opponent every season as well. Georgia has their bases covered with that because they play Georgia Tech every season, but what will UGA do with their other two games?
Georgia has tough decisions to make in the near and distant future
Assuming Georgia continues to play Georgia Tech every season, the Bulldogs options for their other two games will be limited. UGA likely will want to keep at least one very easy opponent on their schedule every season, so that leaves room for one big nonconference matchup every season that isn't Georgia Tech.
But is anyone sure Georgia should be playing 11 power four opponents every season?
The 2026 season is the perfect example of the challenge Georgia faces. They already have four nonconference games scheduled for next year, so one will have to be canceled. It's unlikely they cancel on Georgia Tech, so that leaves Western Kentucky, Tennessee State and Louisville. Georgia now has to decide if they want to cancel their road game at Louisville so they can have two easy opponents on their schedule or if they want to keep that game on their schedule and only play one cupcake.
This is a tough decision to make because every Georgia fan wants to play a new team like Louisville, but the smart move might be to cancel on them.
This unfortunately isn't the only season where this problem exists. UGA only has three nonconference games scheduled for the 2027 season, so they technically don't have to make any adjustments there. But those three opponents are Florida State, Georgia Tech and Louisville, so if nothing changes UGA will play 12 power four opponents in 2027. This exact scenario also exists on Georgia's 2030 and 2033 schedule as well.
It will be interesting to see what Kirby Smart and Georgia decides to do and which opponents they will remove from their future schedules. But one thing is certain, the Bulldogs exciting nonconference schedules will take a hit after this news, and that is not a good thing for fans of the sport.