Unc’s Rants: SEC Finally Adds a 9th Game

The SEC finally sobered up and did it. Starting in 2026, the league is moving to a nine-game conference schedule. After decades of talking tough while playing Mercer in November, the conference presidents voted to actually earn those playoff bids.

Greg Sankey spun it the way only a commissioner can: “commitment to competition, preserving rivalries, blah blah blah.” Translation: ESPN cut a fatter check and the College Football Playoff committee said “enough with Charleston Southern.”

The New Rules of the Game

Here’s the deal:

• No divisions. Just one big standings free-for-all.
• Three annual opponents, so the “real” rivalries get locked in.
• Six rotating matchups so everyone eventually plays everyone.
• Every SEC team will face each other home-and-away in a four-year cycle.

And on top of that? Every team still has to schedule at least one legit Power opponent outside the league — ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, or Notre Dame.

So yes, Florida still has Florida State. Georgia still has Tech. South Carolina still has Clemson. But if you were dreaming of seeing Bama-Ohio State or Georgia-Clemson on the regular? Put that hope in a shoebox and light it on fire.

RIP Cupcake Week

The real funeral here isn’t divisions or scheduling models. It’s Cupcake Saturday. That sacred November weekend when Alabama played Western Carolina, Auburn played Samford, and Georgia let Charleston Southern pay their rent.

Those million-dollar buy games funded small athletic departments, new soccer fields, and maybe an espresso machine in the AD’s office. Now? Mercer’s athletic department is about to fire up a GoFundMe.

Quality Losses Incoming

This move isn’t about “competitive balance.” It’s about playoff math. The SEC needed to make sure a 9–3 Ole Miss still looks sexier than a 10–2 Penn State.

• Georgia loses to LSU? Quality loss. Still in.
• Alabama trips at Neyland? Quality loss. Still #3 on Tuesday night.
• A&M goes 8–4? Quality losses all over the board, baby.

Get ready for “quality loss” to be the new “it just means more.”

History Lesson

The SEC’s been playing eight conference games since 1992. Before that? Seven. Before that? Six. Before that? “Whatever the hell we felt like.” The point is, they’ve been padding the schedule forever.

Now? No more hiding. No more Mercer Week. No more excuses.

Final Word from UNC

So here we are. The SEC finally added a ninth game, not because it was the right thing to do, but because ESPN and the CFP said, “play another one or stop crying.”

Fans will call it “big boy football.” Coaches will call it “a grind.” And Vanderbilt will call it “a war crime.”

This isn’t about tradition. This isn’t about fairness. It’s about TV money, playoff seeding, and one more reason for SEC fans to yell “quality losses” at Big Ten Twitter.

Nine games. No Mercer. No Samford. No Citadel. Just more rivalries, more excuses, and more Ole Miss fans explaining why their 7–5 deserves a playoff spot.