The Georgia Bulldogs have a major problem with their 2026 schedule after a recent SEC schedule change. Commissioner Greg Sankey announced that all SEC teams will play nine conference opponents for the 2026 season. With Georgia already slated to play four nonconference opponents in 2026, the Bulldogs will have to drop one team from their schedule.
Georgia’s 2026 SEC schedule hasn’t been released yet, but it will be interesting to see which nonconference opponent Georgia drops.
Georgia always plays Georgia Tech in the Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate rivalry and there’s no way Georgia will drop that game. Georgia also has contracts to play Western Kentucky, Louisville, and Tennessee State in 2026. As it is currently situated, Georgia would have 13 games on their 2026 schedule.
We suspect Georgia will drop the Tennessee State game since the Bulldogs scheduled that most recently, but Georgia could also look to drop the Louisville game if they don’t want to play 11 Power Four opponents in 2026.
The scheduling change could pose a problem in 2027, since Georgia is scheduled to play Florida State. The Bulldogs are also scheduled to play Louisville and Georgia Tech. This moves makes their 2027 schedule significantly harder, since all 12 of Georgia’s opponents are in the Power Four.
According to the new format, Georgia will play three of the same SEC opponents every year. One of them is bound to be Florida, since Florida is Georgia’s top rival and is the Bulldogs’ only current permanent rival in the SEC (under the 2025 schedule format). Georgia has played Florida every single year since 1944.
It’s the same thing with Auburn. The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry has had a game in every college football season since 1944 as well. No doubt, that will continue past 2026.
Outside of Georgia likely having Auburn and Florida as their permanent opponents, it’s pretty open. Tennessee would be a logical opponent, since Georgia is rivals with the Volunteers and have played every year since 1992. Another logical permanent rival is South Carolina, who used to play Georgia annually in the SEC East.
The SEC is also required to play at least one high-quality nonconference opponent from a Power Four conference (or Notre Dame) each year. That won’t change anything for Georgia, since they play Georgia Tech every year.
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