The SEC on Thursday announced a historical change by switching from eight conference football games to nine in a season starting in 2026. The Big Ten and Big 12 already played nine conference games, but until the College Football Playoff recently announced it would use strength of schedule as a more important metric to decide the field, there was no need for the SEC to increase its members already difficult schedules.
The new SEC model will include three opponents that teams will play every year, meaning Oklahoma will have to add two more annual rivals to go along with Texas.