The SEC announced its full list of annual opponents for teams in the conference over the next four seasons, designating three yearly rivalry matchups that will be played each year through the 2029 campaign.
It's an exciting development for the conference, revitalizing some of the longstanding rivalries between SEC foes. Of course, mandating three set opponents each year also eliminates some other potential fun showdowns between rival schools, as there are a handful of exciting head-to-head clashes that weren't included in the designated annual matchups.
We're going to take a look at some of the SEC's biggest missed opportunities following the new annual matchup reveal, discussing the best head-to-head matchups that were left out of the annual slate.
LSU vs. Alabama
When these teams meet, the games tend to be high-energy and extremely exciting. LSU and Alabama, like many matchups in the conference, are not friendly. They've also been among the top teams in the country throughout much of their histories—especially the last 20-plus years. It would have been a big statement by the conference to enlist these schools to meet on an annual basis, offering some can't-miss action to each fan base. This is a matchup that has often played a big role in determining the winner of the SEC West, so missing out on making it annual occurrence is definitely a loss for the conference.
Instead, LSU has annual clashes against Arkansas, Texas A&M and Ole Miss, none of which offer quite the same level of thrill as a Tigers-Crimson Tide spectacle. Alabama, on the other hand, is set for yearly meetings with Auburn, Tennessee and Mississippi State.
Florida vs. Tennessee
The Gators and the Vols have one of the best rivalries in all of the SEC, but fans won't get the chance to see that on an annual basis after the reveal of the new yearly matchups. The two SEC East foes faced off 30 years straight from 1992 to 2021, and would be perfect contenders to continue that tradition as part of the changes coming to the SEC. Unfortunately, they were overlooked in favor of other rivalries.
Florida will instead play Kentucky, Georgia and South Carolina annually over the next four years, while Tennessee is slated for yearly matchups with Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
No New Rivalry for Texas
This isn't a specific matchup, but the SEC missed an opportunity to create a fresh new rivalry for the Longhorns as they adapt to life in their new conference. Texas jumped from the Big 12 to the SEC along with Oklahoma in 2024, but rather than try to instill them deep into the mix with a matchup against one of the foundational teams of the conference, such as Florida, Alabama, Georgia, LSU or Tennessee, the Longhorns are slated to face Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M, with whom they have a longstanding rivalries, but not as SEC foes.
It certainly would have been a statement to entrench Texas in an annual clash with one of the conference's top teams, though Oklahoma and Texas A&M will still bring plenty of sparks to the Longhorns' schedule each year.
Georgia vs. Alabama
This isn't a rivalry that's been played annually in the past, but it's undoubtedly a game that every college football fan, whether a supporter of an SEC team or not, marks down on their calendar. Making it an annual occurrence would only strengthen the rivalry and provide another A-class matchup for both teams each year. As it stands, they're due to meet in 2026 and '28, but if these teams met every season, it would be a Game of the Year contender on an annual basis.
This weekend's matchup will be an indication of how big a miss the SEC had with not scheduling these two top programs to meet on a yearly basis. But it's common knowledge that when Georgia and Alabama play, headlines are made.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as SEC's Four Biggest Missed Opportunities With Reveal of New Annual Rivalry Games.
