In August, the SEC announced that the league will officially be moving to a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026. The list of annual opponents has been leaked, and it looks like LSU got a favorable draw.
Per Chris Lowe of On3, LSU's three annual opponents in the new nine-game SEC schedule format will be the Arkansas Razorbacks, Ole Miss Rebels, and Texas A&M Aggies. The annual opponents for each team will be reviewed by the SEC every four years.
BREAKING: Annual SEC College Football opponents for the next 4 seasons per @clowfb👀 https://t.co/nm9NpSUTc2 pic.twitter.com/G0X3qkgJq7
— On3 (@On3sports) September 22, 2025
It's important to note that while these are the teams being listed by national college football reporters, the SEC is set to officially release the full list of annual opponents on Tuesday. The announcement will come during SEC Now on ESPN2 and SEC Network on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
LSU gets favorable draw with Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M as annual opponents
Things aren't going well in Fayetteville, and Arkansas could be moving on from Sam Pittman sooner rather than later. LSU has dominated the Battle for the Golden Boot in recent years, owning a strong 22-11 record against the Razorbacks since 1992. Furthermore, LSU has won eight of the last nine meetings.
Ole Miss has been a steady winner under Lane Kiffin, but the Rebels still have not played in an SEC title game of appeared in the College Football Playoff with Kiffin at the helm. Texas A&M has plenty of resources and is trending in the right direction under Mike Elko, but generally speaking, the program has underperformed since joining the SEC.
LSU has seen plenty of success against Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M historically. Here are the all-time records for LSU against their future annual opponents:
Arkansas: 45-23-2
Ole Miss: 66-43-4
Texas A&M: 36-24-3
The notable subtractions from LSU's future schedules are annual meetings with the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide. Instead, LSU will face Florida and Alabama every other year so that every SEC school visits every other opponent once in a four-year cycle. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey put an emphasis on maintaining historic rivalries, so seeing Alabama and Florida not on LSU's list of annual opponents is a bit surprising. LSU and Alabama have met every season since 1964, and LSU has played Florida every year since 1971.
"Adding a ninth SEC game underscores our universities' commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation. This format protects rivalries, increases competitive balance, and paired with our requirement to play an additional power opponent, ensures SEC teams are well prepared to compete and succeed in the College Football Playoff."Greg Sankey
All in all, there are no easy draws in the SEC, but LSU's three annual opponents of Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M seems to be pretty favorable for the Tigers.