Conference realignment has brought major shakeups to college football schedules for teams across the country. In the SEC, the addition of Oklahoma and Texas a few years ago got rid of the divisional structure. Furthermore, the league will be moving to a 9-game conference schedule starting next season in 2026. Thus, the addition of an extra league game has the conference in the process of shaking up the conference schedules yet again.
Over the past several seasons, each team has had "permanent" opponents that they play on an annual basis while rotating through the other teams in the league. Under the new format, LSU would play three annual opponents focused on maintaining traditional rivalries. The other six league games would rotate among the remaining SEC schools.
SEC annual opponents to be announced on Tuesday
On Thursday, it was revealed that the SEC will announce the full 9-game league schedule for 2026 next week on Tuesday. According to CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello, the three "permanent" rivals will be referred to as "annual opponents." The list of annual opponents will then be reviewed every four years, which leaves the door open to further schedule changes in 2030 and beyond.
The SEC will reveal Tuesday *all* opponents for every team in its new 9-game schedule for football in 2026, sources tell @CBSSports. The 3 "permanent" rivals will be referred to as "annual opponents," which will be reviewed every 4 years. pic.twitter.com/yOf21Sdx4T
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) September 18, 2025
In his reporting, Marcello noted that most SEC athletic directors have not yet been told which teams will be assigned as annual opponents. However, the Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas has been confirmed to continue. The same goes for the Iron Bowl between Auburn and Alabama, as well as the Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Tuesday will be an exciting day for all SEC fans. Schedule reveals always make for an entertaining spectacle, and fans will undoubtedly be excited to learn who LSU is taking on next season.
The move to a 9-game conference schedule means fans can look forward to even more great matchups in SEC play. LSU entered the 2025 season with the 11th-toughest schedule in the country according to ESPN's College Football Power Index. Moving forward, LSU's future schedules could very well be within the top-10 of that metric year-in and year-out.