Starting in 2026, each of the SEC programs will be required to play nine conference games instead of the eight that they were required to play in years past.
Well, the result of this is that Ohio State and Alabama’s home-and-home series for 2027 and 2028 is apparently on shaky ground. Rumors surfaced from Tuscaloosa that Alabama is likely going to pull out of the game, which will be a major disappointment for College Football.
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Two things can be true about this at once: first, Buckeye fans can have a gripe about this and call the move “soft” for pulling out of this game. Second, it can also be true that this is a no-brainer.
Disagree? Just look back to 2025.
No matter how you cut it, the 2025 Texas Longhorns were left out of the playoffs in part due to their loss to the Buckeyes in Week One.
Ohio State and Texas’s Week One kickoff was incredible for college football. It was the noon game in the first week of the season, and it was the perfect handshake to start the season for fans everywhere.
Well, fast forward four months, and that 14-7 loss was one of the reasons that Texas didn’t make the final College Football Playoff bracket. Yes, they had a bad loss to Florida, but compare that schedule to Miami’s schedule, and you’ll see a lot of similarities.
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The only difference is that Miami’s season ended in the National Championship game while Texas played in the Cheeze-Its Bowl.
This begs the question, why would teams schedule these very tough non-conference games? Sure, they are awesome in the moment, and the win could help catapult a team into the Playoffs. But a loss, on the other hand, could be catastrophic.
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Ultimately, many teams are going to decide that it simply isn’t worth the risk to play a game like that to start a season.
The cancellation of this series isn’t official quite yet, but where there is smoke, there is usually fire in these situations.
Add this to the list of issues in the way that college football is set up currently. This definitely isn’t at the top of the list, but the consequence of this will be a much more regionalized sport, more than what it already is.
The opportunity that is being lost is the inter-conference play, the Big Ten vs. SEC rivalries, and fun games between evenly matched, future playoff teams.
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It’s hard to argue the decision, but the result is yet another negative part of college football.
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