On Thursday, word quickly circulated that after years of debate, the SEC appears to be moving to a 9-game conference schedule. If the news is correct, Alabama Football will have one opponent every season with a significant schedule advantage over the Crimson Tide. UPDATE: Thursday afternoon, the SEC made the change to a 9-game schedule official, effective in the 2026 season.
Alabama Football would be expected to have three every season opponents, LSU, Auburn, and Tennessee. The remaining SEC games would be six rotating opponents each season.
While Alabama plays LSU and Auburn every season, the Tennessee Vols would play Kentucky and Vanderbilt every season. Stopping short of calling such scheduling unfair to Alabama, an obvious conclusion is unavoidable. Tennessee would have an easier path in SEC standings than the Crimson Tide.
Alabama Football Schedule Tougher Than Tennessee
Game results from the last 25 seasons show how much easier success would be for Tennessee. In the 25 games Tennessee and Kentucky have played going back to the 2000 season, the Vols won 88% of the time (22-3). In Tennessee's 25 games against the Vanderbilt Commodores, Tennessee won 76% of the time (19-6).
In the 2000-2024 seasons, including the 2012 BCS Championship, Alabama and LSU have competed in 26 games. Alabama won 57.7% of those games (15-11). In the Crimson Tide's 25 Iron Bowl games, Alabama has beaten the Auburn Tigers 56% of the time (14-11).
Why, despite entrenched pushback from SEC head coaches, is a 9-game conference schedule suddenly viable? Both an easy and a bad answer is money. More SEC games mean more dollars in media contracts. Another answer is that it may be an acceptable compromise position that gains the SEC what it wants in the next CFB Playoff format. Ross Dellenger tweeted, "If the SEC decides to move to a 9-game schedule, ACC leaders have said that they would likely follow suit - a move that puts all four power conferences at 9-game league schedules."
Dellenger suggested that the SEC giving in to a 9-game schedule could expedite future Playoff format decisions. If the current SEC and Big Ten playoff format impasse ends, the Power Two are likely to agree on the next format. The rest of college football will have to accept it.
Note: Team records provided by mcubed.net