Last month, the SEC announced that it’s making a move to a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2026. The conference will follow a 3-6 model, with each team playing the same three permanent opponents every season while facing the rest of the league every two years.
The decision recharged debates about who each team should play every season with teams politicking to get more favorable yearly matchups. The arguments and speculation will come to a close next Tuesday when the SEC releases its 2026 conference football schedules, and with it, each team’s three permanent opponents.
According to CBS Sports Brandon Marcello, the SEC will review the permanent opponents every four years and will make subtle adjustments to them for the sake of parity.
Who will be Tennessee football’s three permanent opponents? There’s a near consensus on the first two with Tennessee set to play Alabama and Vanderbilt every season. The debate is around who the third permanent opponent will be.
The most favorable draw for Tennessee would be Kentucky. Knoxville and Lexington are just 172 miles apart, making it the closest school in the SEC to Tennessee. The Vols have played the Wildcats 120 total times making it one of their most traditional rivals.
And with Kentucky’s recent and traditional struggles on the gridiron, it would make for an easier schedule for Tennessee. But with Vanderbilt likely on the schedule every season, that could work against the Vols’ chances of getting Kentucky as an annual opponent.
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South Carolina has been another popular suggestion. Knoxville and Columbia are close geographically and the two teams played every season from 1992-2023— from when the Gamecocks joined the SEC to when the conference got rid of divisions.
As a later addition and the conference’s eastern most based team, South Carolina does not have many traditional rivals making them a potential yearly opponent.
The last potential annual opponent is Florida. The Gators have become one of Tennessee’s biggest rivals since the formation of divisions in 1992. Tennessee has played Florida every year since with the annual game being the SEC’s biggest in the 1990s and in the early 2000s.
Florida will play Georgia every season and then will likely face either Tennessee or LSU but it is unlikely that they would face both every season.
Tennessee will find out its annual opponents and its complete 2026 conference schedule next Tuesday. Stay tuned to RockyTopInsider.com for updates on boTh.
