How irritating was it to watch the strongest teams in the college football universe front-load their schedule with non-conference cupcakes year after year? For the first three weeks of the season, high-profile matchups featuring squads like Alabama, Georgia, and the rest of the historically strong Southeastern Conference were sparse.
Want interesting football before conference play takes off? Hold your breath and cross your fingers for a major upset, because the giants of the land prefer to warm up against the serfs of the FCS, Sun Belt, Conference USA, and the like. In a product developed for the viewer, the welfare of the bloated blue-bloods took priority.
Then come November, and you're watching Alabama escaping the mighty Mercer. Georgia gutting out a 40-point victory against UMass. Tennessee mercifully blanking UTEP. Meanwhile, the Big 12 and Big 10 (our favorite poorly-named conferences) were in the throes of battle with a full nine weeks of intra-conference bloodshed. An obvious imbalance was plaguing college football.
But the landscape is changing a touch with a new rule for SEC football. Beginning in 2026, the SEC conference gauntlet will feature nine games, rather than the previous eight, and will include a mandatory matchup against a member of the Big 12, Big 10, ACC, or Notre Dame. No more hypothetical who-can-beat-who debates; we're kicking off the big matchups for real. Take a look at the board, fellas -- we're playing the feud!
NEW: SEC teams are required to play one out-of-conference high quality game per season🔥
— On3 (@On3sports) August 21, 2025
"SEC teams are required to schedule at least one additional high quality non-conference from the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten or Big 12 conferences or Notre Dame each season." https://t.co/CmWyoEmpR9 pic.twitter.com/Yoh8WKHmMr
This change is better for the fans, and better for the entire college football season. Now, instead of eight competitive battles per season, SEC teams will have at least ten such games where the competition is at least partially equipped to face such a strong opponent.
This puts the Big 12 and Big 10 on the same footing, with ACC teams suddenly a step behind when it comes to strength of schedule. Truthfully, when the inevitable "who have they played?" conversations spark up in the weeks leading to December, an eight-game conference slate may, and should, be seen as a weakness, not a strength.
Strength of record, a metric designed to rank teams based on how well they've performed with the schedule given, will be a factor in the College Football Playoff Committee's decision-making process starting this year. Injecting your team's calendar with as many strong opponents as possible will be critical for postseason consideration.
All in all, fans are getting more high-profile matchups and a more watchable product. This is a win for the fan.