With the SEC officially moving to nine league games beginning in 2026, there's debate over which team should be Alabama's third permanent rival after Auburn and Tennessee.
The SEC has officially agreed to adopt a nine-game conference schedule for football, beginning with the 2026 season. It's a new era for the league, with hopes that an aggressive scheduling philosophy will curry favor for the league with the College Football Playoff committee. Along with a nine-game league schedule, the SEC also announced that its member institutions will be required to play at least one non-conference opponent from a power-four conference or Notre Dame.