The SEC announced that it’s expanding its conference schedule to nine games beginning with the 2026 season on Thursday evening. The conference is adopting a 3-6 scheduling model with each team having three permanent opponents and then six rotating opponents.
This allows each team to play every other in the league at least every two seasons with a home and road game against every team at least every four seasons.
Who could Tennessee football’s three permanent opponents be? Taking a look at the most likely options here.
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The All But Guaranteed Opponents
Alabama
Tennessee first played the Crimson Tide in 1901 and the two teams have faced off 107 total times. The Third Saturday in October is not only one of the SEC’s best rivalries but one of the best rivalries in the entire sport.
The rivalry is white hot again with Tennessee winning two of the last three matchups after Alabama won the 15 previous meetings. There’s no world where the SEC doesn’t make Tennessee-Alabama a permanent game.
Vanderbilt
Tennessee has faced Vanderbilt 118 times total with the first meeting coming in 1892. The two teams have faced off every season since 1945. It’s a historical rivalry but a one-sided one with Tennessee owning an 81-32-5 advantage in the series.
But the two teams are instate foes. When you look at the other instate rivalries in the SEC, every one will be a permanent opponent. Expect this one to remain.
There’s A Bunch Of Options For The Third Permanent Opponent
Kentucky
This seems like the most likely third opponent. The two schools are separated by just 172 miles and have played 120 times. It’s hard to think of three logical permanent opponents for Kentucky without including Tennessee.
But the knock on this game is how one-sided it is. Will the SEC give Tennessee two soft permanent opponents in Kentucky and Vanderbilt? Politicking will be big here and others won’t like Tennessee getting Vanderbilt and Kentucky every year.
Of note, Josh Heupel said that he thought Tennessee’s three permanent opponents should be Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt back in 2022.
Florida
Florida is Tennessee’s second biggest rival behind Alabama, making them a logical choice. But there’s a number of reasons why this matchup won’t happen annually.
The Gators will certainly play Georgia every season and also has a traditional rivalry with LSU. South Carolina is much closer to Gainesville than Tennessee. This also isn’t a traditional rivalry. Tennessee didn’t play Florida annually until the teams split into divisions back in 1992.
Georgia
Another Tennessee rival in the modern era, this one seems unlikely to continue permanently. The Bulldogs have longstanding rivalry games with Florida and Auburn. It’s unlikely that the SEC would make them play Tennessee every season too. It’s unlikely that Tennessee would want to play the SEC’s top program every season too.
Like the Florida series, Tennessee didn’t play the Bulldogs every season until 1992.
Auburn
Tennessee has played Auburn only 11 times since the SEC split into divisions back in 1992. But the Vols and Tigers were longtime rivals before then, playing every season from 1956-91. Just a five-hour drive, an annual matchup makes sense from a geographical standpoint.
However, Auburn will already face Georgia and Alabama every season. It would be a brutal draw for the SEC to make them play Tennessee every season too.
South Carolina
The Vols and Gamecocks played every season from 1992-2023 after South Carolina joined the SEC. The two schools are also just a four hour drive from one another. Back when the SEC first announced that Oklahoma and Texas were joining the league, South Carolina and Kentucky were the two most popular third options to be the Vols’ third permanent opponent.
The furthest eastern school in the league and having joined in just 1992, South Carolina doesn’t have many traditional rivals also making this possible. Florida and Georgia seem like likely annual foes for the Gamecocks. It would be a tough task for them to face Tennessee every season too.
