When the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff were announced, Texas had a bone to pick with the committee. The Longhorns lost to Ohio State — the first of three losses — and argued that had they played an easier opponent, a two-loss Texas team would have been in the field.
This event has made coaches and athletic directors question whether big non-conference games are good for teams. For fans and media, a big game is a good change of pace,
For SEC teams, the new nine-game conference schedule is also a factor. Teams both have plenty of opportunities for a hard schedule and plenty of chances to lose a game. When the schedule is already that hard, why make it harder?
Under the new nine-game conference schedule that starts in 2026, SEC teams are still required to play at least one power-conference opponent in non-conference play. This effectively requires 10 power-conference opponents on every SEC schedule.
The dates of conference games get announced Thursday, but the Vols will play five teams that finished in the College Football Playoff rankings, including one out of conference when the Vols play Georgia Tech. Tennessee also hosts two new coaches in LSU’s Lane Kiffin and Auburn’s Alex Golesh.
Tennessee has a pretty consistent future non-conference scheduling plan. The Vols play one power-conference opponent per year through 2030, and any other scheduled games are against group of five or FCS opposition.
The Vols begin a home-and-home with Georgia Tech next season at Bobby Dodd Stadium and will host the return trip in 2027. In 2028, the Vols face West Virginia in Charlotte. The last scheduled game for Tennessee is a home-and-home with Washington in 2029 and 2030.
Tennessee isn’t expected to make changes to this lineup because of the SEC’s requirement to play a power-conference team. Other schools, like Georgia, may make changes.
The Bulldogs are different from Tennessee because of their yearly season-ending game against Georgia Tech, which completes the power-conference requirement. Even with this game scheduled, Georgia has non-conference series scheduled with Florida State, Clemson and Ohio State in the future.
On Wednesday, Georgia cancelled a series with Louisville that was set to start in 2026. The move was forced by the Bulldogs already having three non-conference games scheduled, a full slate under the nine-game schedule. Georgia will also have a choice to make in 2030 when the Bulldogs are scheduled to host Clemson and Ohio State in addition to their rivalry game against the Yellow Jackets.
Alabama also has tough future schedules with two power-conference teams scheduled every year from 2028 to 2034. While there are weak opponents mixed in with games against Oklahoma State and Boston College, the future slate also features games against Ohio State and Notre Dame. While some games need to be kept, others are at risk under the new schedule.
The Longhorns, whose loss started the discussion around these games, gets the return visit from the Buckeyes in 2026 and has a home game against Michigan in 2027, one left over from a series that started in 2024. While the Longhorns likely won’t lose out on the revenue from these big home games, a home-and-home with Notre Dame in 2028 and 2029 could be at risk, one that could be replaced with an inferior opponent.
Fans love big non-conference games. Texas and Ohio State got 16.62 million people to watch the Week 1 game on Fox, the second-highest viewership generated by a regular-season game this season. But with the reward of a playoff appearance on the line, big non-conference games could be a thing of the past.