Ranking every SEC Football team’s 2026 strength of schedule

A schedule can make or break a season in the 12-team playoff era. A power conference team needs nine or 10 wins to earn at-large consideration from the playoff committee, and the chances of reaching double-digit wins are largely dependent on who you play.

For the elite of the elite, it doesn’t matter. 2026 Indiana was making the playoff no matter who was on the schedule. For the teams on the margin, an easy schedule can be the difference between going 8-4 and missing the cut or going 10-2 and earning a chance to compete for the national title.

Of course, you don’t want the schedule to be too easy to the point that it harms the chances of making the CFP. But that’s usually not a problem for SEC teams. Any SEC team with 10 wins typically has a respected enough schedule.

Today, we’ll look at the SEC’s hardest schedules for 2026. For methodology, I used the national title odds of opponents. There are few better power rankings than the Vegas consensus of a team and national title odds are a good way to gauge a team’s true quality.

16. Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia’s schedule lines up for the Dawgs to make a run in 2026. Ole Miss, Alabama, and Oklahoma are Georgia’s three toughest opponents, but aside from those games, UGA should be favorites in the rest of their contests. Georgia faces Oklahoma in Athens while making trips to Oxford and Tuscaloosa.

The true strength of Georgia’s schedule will ultimately be determined by how good schools like Florida, Arkansas, and Auburn are with first-year coaches. Georgia faces Vanderbilt, too, but with Diego Pavia leaving, its hard to say if Vandy will be as tough an out as it has been.

15. Vanderbilt Commodores

Speaking of Vanderbilt, the schedule gives them a chance to weather the loss of Pavia. Alabama, Georgia, and Ole Miss are on the schedule (All three made the playoff in 2025) but two of those games are at home and Vanderbilt catches breaks elsewhere. There’s no LSU, Texas, or Texas A&M on the slate and Vandy gets to play Kentucky, Arkansas, and Mississippi State, three teams projected to finish near the bottom of the SEC.

14. South Carolina Gamecocks

The Gamecocks have faced some brutal schedules in recent seasons, but Shane Beamer’s group catches a relative break in 2026. Alabama, Georgia, and Texas A&M are the three toughest games on the slate, but two of those contests will be played in Williams-Brice Stadium. That home crowd has allowed South Carolina to pull off some massive upsets over the years.

South Carolina should be the favorites vs. the likes of Kentucky and Arkansas and gets two automatic wins in the nonconerence facing Towson and Kent State.

13. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama will face Georgia again in 2026, a game that always promises to be one of the SEC’s most entertaining. The Crimson Tide gets the luck of hosting the Bulldogs. Other tough contests include meetings with LSU and Texas A&M. Alabama faces A&M at home while making the trip to Baton Rouge. Alabama’s conference schedule includes a handful of games where the Tide should be easy favorites, including Kentucky, Mississippi State, and South Carolina.

Lane Kiffin signed the top-ranked portal class in the sport and with LSU’s schedule, Kiffin will have a chance to push for the CFP in year one. LSU plays bottom-of-the-barrel SEC teams like Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Arkansas. The three toughest games on LSU’s schedule are Alabama, Texas A&M, and Texas, and all three games are at home. A road trip to Ole Miss won’t be easy, but LSU can manage this slate.

2026 Football Schedule & Opponent National Title Odds

Sept. 5

vs Clemson

0.99% Natty Odds

Sept. 12

vs Louisiana Tech

0.04% Natty Odds

Sept. 19

vs Ole Miss

1.73% Natty Odds

Sept. 26

vs Texas A&M

3.89% Natty Odds

Oct. 3

vs McNeese

N/A Natty Odds

Oct. 10

vs Kentucky

0.23% Natty Odds

Oct. 17

vs Mississippi State

0.19% Natty Odds

Oct. 24

vs Auburn

1.02% Natty Odds

Nov. 7

vs Alabama

3.56% Natty Odds

Nov. 14

vs Texas

8.49% Natty Odds

Nov. 21

vs Tennessee

1.19% Natty Odds

Nov. 28

vs Arkansas

0.24% Natty Odds

11. Auburn Tigers

Auburn plays Baylor in the non-conference schedule, which gives new head coach Alex Golesh a chance to go 3-0 outside of the SEC. Conference play won’t be easy, but the Tigers have winnable games vs. Arkansas, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Florida. The bad news? Auburn makes trips to Georgia and Alabama.

10. Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky faces its fair share of top SEC teams, including dates with LSU, Alabama, and Texas A&M. The odds of an upset in those games are long, but at least the Wildcats get LSU and Alabama at home. If new head coach Will Stein can get an impressive transfer class to gel, Kentucky has winnable games vs. South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Missouri. Kentucky will notch nonconference wins vs. South Alabama and Youngstown State.

9. Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies avoid a massive non-con showdown and will be favored in all three games outside the SEC. Within the conference, A&M gets to play Kentucky, South Carolina, Missouri, and Arkansas. A tough road trip to LSU awaits, but the Aggies get Texas in College Station this year.

8. Missouri Tigers

The first five weeks set up well for Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri — it’s not hard to see this group starting 5-0. Then the road gets tougher. October presents meetings with Texas A&M and Ole Miss and in November, Missouri must face Texas and Georgia in back-to-back weeks.

7. Tennessee Volunteers

Now that we’re well into the top half of this list, the rest of these schedules are among the toughest in the country. Tennessee must face Alabama, Texas A&M, LSU, and Texas. The Vols figure to be underdogs in all four games at this point. The bottom of the schedule offers a reprieve, though, with Tennessee facing Arkansas, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt. Tennessee could be favored in all four of those.

6. Florida Gators

Jon Sumrall doesn’t have many gimmes on his first Florida schedule — the Gators must play Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss. The rest of UF’s schedule isn’t brutal, but road trips to Auburn and Missouri won’t be easy for this Gators team. The nonconference could work in Florida’s favor, especially if Florida State remains down.

5. Mississippi State Bulldogs

The top of this schedule is brutal. Mississippi State plays Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, and Ole Miss. Head coach Jeff Lebby has made progress in Starkville, but it might not show up in the win total this year, given the slate of opponents. Mississippi State will need to handle business vs. Minnesota in the nonconference slate and take advantage of home games vs. Missouri and Vanderbilt within the SEC.

4. Texas Longhorns

Texas missed the CFP in 2025, but the Longhorns are a candidate to be ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls. A national title is the expectation, even with this schedule. Texas faces Ohio State in the nonconference slate while making road trips to Texas A&M, LSU, and Tennessee in SEC play. Meetings with Ole Miss and Oklahoma await, too.

3. Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners’ schedule was tough in 2025 and the path is equally difficult in 2026. Texas, Texas A&M, and Georgia are on the SEC slate and the Sooners must travel to Michigan in the nonconference. Oklahoma plays Ole Miss, but at-least its at home. The Sooners travel to Florida, where the Gators will see an opportunity for an upset.

2. Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss made the playoff in 2025 and Pete Golding looks to keep it rolling in 2026 in his first full year as head coach. The schedule will make it hard to reach the heights of 2026, though. Ole Miss plays Texas, Georgia, and LSU while making a road trip to Florida. Ole Miss’s nonconference contest vs. Louisville (at a neutral site) isn’t a gimme either.

1. Arkansas Razorbacks

Ryan Silverfield left Memphis to take over Arkansas and he won’t be catching any breaks in year one. This schedule includes Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, and Georgia. Out of conference, Arkansas travels to Utah, a notoriously tough place to play. The middle of Arkansas’s SEC schedule isn’t much easier with the Razorbacks facing Tennessee on Oct. 10.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Ranking every SEC Football team’s 2026 strength of schedule

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