Projecting what Kentucky’s future SEC schedule will look like in new 9-game model

The future we’ve all been waiting on will officially arrive in 2026. After years of kicking the can down the road, the SEC has finally locked in a permanent scheduling model. Following much debate, the league officially came to a decision this week in Birmingham and will move to a nine-game model next season.

What does this mean? A lot of things.

What a 9-game SEC schedule means for Kentucky

It gets us one step closer to College Football Playoff (CFP) expansion in 2026 that will likely include 16 teams. We will get through all of that at a later date. It also means that UK is not getting its preferred schedule model. The Cats put up a good fight but the inevitable finally arrived after ESPN threw the league some more revenue. There’s also the rule that every SEC must play at least one power league foe or Notre Dame in non-conference play staying in the conference. This also likely means that Louisville will stay on Kentucky’s schedule in the future. Part of the reason this move was made now could be due to a selection criteria change by the CFP committee that increases the value strength of schedule.

A schedule that includes 10 power conference teams is coming for Kentucky football. Remember the grind in the SEC-only season in 2020? That’s what the new world could look like. Now it’s time to figure out just who will show up on the schedule.

The SEC announced that this new model will be the expected 3+6 format that gives every team in the league three permanent opponents with the other 12 teams in the conference alternating off and on each individual schedule every other year. This format helps protect long-standing rivalries and gives each program a chance to host a home game with every team in the league at least once every four years. There will be no divisions but it will feel more like a real conference again.

How will the SEC make this permanent scheduling model? The first priority will be to protect rivalries but they will also likely consider some geography and try to balance out the schedule as much as possible by using some type of mathematical formula. That is what happened back in 2023 when the conference created the temporary 8-game alternating schedule without divisions.

• Alabama (88.8)
• Georgia (79)
• Oklahoma (78.2)
• LSU (63.4)
• Florida (57.3)
• Texas (54.3)
• Auburn (53.6)
• Texas A&M (53)
• SPLIT
• Missouri (47.5)
• Mississippi State (46.5)
• Ole Miss (44.4)
• Tennessee (41.4)
• South Carolina (41.4)
• Kentucky (39)
• Arkansas (25.6)
• Vanderbilt (19.7)

Kentucky drew four teams (Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Auburn) from the top tier and four teams (Ole Miss, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt) from the bottom tier. That 10-year metric could change some two years after this release but we’re keeping it locked in an effort to make this as easy as possible.

I have drawn up my own scheduling mock where I tried to protect rivalries, consider geography as much as possible, and keep schedules balanced. This is what I came up with.

Luckett’s Projection: Permanent SEC Opponents

Kentucky draws Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee giving the Wildcats two opponents in the bottom tier and one in the top tier. If they re-do some rankings and put Tennessee in the upper tier, I think there is a good chance that UGA could drop-off the schedule for someone else, but for now, Kentucky does not really have a crazy road trip locked into the permanent model and gets to keep its yearly series running with the Vols.

How accurate will this be? We will likely find out in December. A tough schedule is coming but this is what Kentucky’s 2026 slate could look like if they tried to get teams in places they haven’t played at recently.

• Kentucky at Tennessee
• Georgia at Kentucky
• Kentucky at Missouri
• Kentucky at Arkansas
• Texas A&M at Kentucky
• Mississippi State at Kentucky
• Kentucky at LSU
• Oklahoma at Kentucky
• Vanderbilt at Kentucky