One day after revealing the three permanent rivalries for every school in the new nine-game format, the SEC revealed every school’s league opponents, and where they’ll play them, from 2026 to 2029. Maybe this just comes with an extra game, but Tennessee football is about to put on a show at Neyland Stadium.
It’s safe to say Danny White now looks justified for his ticket price increase. In addition to hosting the Alabama Crimson Tide and Kentucky Wildcats as expected per their annual protected games, the Vols will now also host the Auburn Tigers, LSU Tigers and Texas Longhorns.
Yes. Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Texas are coming to town. All of them bring storylines.
Alabama brings one as just a traditional rivalry game. Auburn is an old rivalry with Tennessee football that wasn’t protected when the league split into two divisions way back in 1992. Texas could be bringing Arch Manning to face the Vols. All three of those teams plus LSU will be playoff contenders.
This isn’t to say the Vols’ road schedule is a walk in the park. They visit the Texas A&M Aggies, Arkansas Razorbacks, South Carolina Gamecocks and, as expected per the protected rivalries, Vanderbilt Commodores. A&M will certainly be a tough outing for them.
They also will visit the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, restoring an old rivalry, in non-conference play.
Still, the home slate is insane. Without any proof, it’s a safe bet to say the Vols have never had a home schedule as packed as this in the SEC. They have a great chance of hosting College GameDay four time, and all four games could have national championship implications.
Comparing their schedule to the rest of the league, UT doesn’t have it much easier or harder, it’s just where they’re playing the schools. As a result, this is a net win for the Vols too since when you’re a premier team you want your marquee games in front of your fans if you can help it.
That slate almost renders the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs irrelevant. Nobody is going to notice that they come off the Vols’ schedule for the first time in 33 years. With just seven home games on the season, it was probably necessary for them to maximize their revenue, and they certainly did that here.
Of course, while this will be exciting for the fans, it’s also a big risk for the SEC in general, not just Tennessee football. That ninth game affects your eyes and makes the slate look much harder, so reaching the CFP could seem much harder if the committee doesn’t truly value schedule strength. However, Vol fans will at least be entertained.
