Alabama Football: When SEC goes to nine games, top games will be lost

At some point in the next year, Alabama Football will join a majority of SEC teams and vote for a nine-game, regular season, SEC schedule. At least, that is the expected outcome. The impetus for the shift will be when ESPN agrees to a fee for the added games. Some in the SEC project the additional games could be valued at around $5M each.

When it comes, it will be said that Nick Saban does not like the change. It is highly doubtful that will be the case. Saban has talked about playing more tough opponents every season as far back as 2018. He was the lone SEC voice stating Power Five teams should only play other Power Five teams. As usual, Saban was on the cutting edge while other, less bright minds dithered.

At one point the Crimson Tide head coach expressed a willingness for the SEC to play 10, regular season games.

When the inevitable occurs, some things will be lost. At the least, schedules that for Alabama go out to the 2035 season, will have to change. In the 2025 through 2035 seasons, the Alabama Crimson Tide has 25 out-of-conference games scheduled.

Two of the games are against FCS teams. Two more are against FBS, but not Power Five teams. The other 21 games are against what are now Power Five teams. Some of those 21 games are matchups fans have wished for, for many years. Included are home-and-homes between the Crimson Tide and Ohio State and Notre Dame.

It is impossible to predict future scheduling strategies. At some point, will Nick Saban prevail and all Power Five programs agree to just play each other? Or, with more difficult SEC schedules, will a majority of SEC teams still wish to schedule a win or two every season?

All of the Alabama Football future opponents are listed below. One guess, about one game, is offered. Nick Saban will not be willing to give up taking his 2026 Alabama football team to West Virginia. It will be a homecoming of sorts for the Sabans who grew up about the same distance from Morgantown as Tuscaloosa is to Birmingham.

Alabama Football Future Scheduled Games

Note: Schedules provided by FBSschedules.com. No neutral sites are scheduled.

• 2025 season: at FSU; ULM; Wisconsin; Eastern Illinois
• 2026 season: at West Virginia; USF; FSU
• 2027 season: West Virginia; at Ohio State
• 2028 season; Ohio State; UT Martin; at Oklahoma State
• 2029 season; at Notre Dame; Oklahoma State
• 2030 season: at Georgia Tech; Notre Dame
• 2031 season: Georgia Tech; at Boston College
• 2032 season: Arizona; at Minnesota
• 2033 season: at Arizona; Minnesota
• 2034 season: at Virginia Tech; Boston College
• 2035 season: Virginia Tech

How much will schedules change? Earlier this week, Nick Saban said if the SEC goes to nine games, Alabama will have to “unwind” future scheduling.

Not only will some potentially great games against top teams be lost, but less heralded programs like USF could lose their opportunity to a big home game.