Do we know 2026 SEC opponents yet?

[MustardVol]

Years ago there was a rotation we could look ahead and know, but now I’m not sure and we should be wrapping up Home/Home series with Miss St, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

Update: I just checked and there is no schedule past this season with Sankey still pushing for 9 games but ADs being against it.

What do you all want to see happen?

Expansion? Stay 8 games? Go to 9?

 

[OrangeVolMan]

We know we will play Texas and drop Oklahoma. Other than that I don’t think we know because SEC has not decided on a 8 or 9 game schedule.

 

[Krunchi]

Even if they go 9 games they'll have to give everyone two years to cancel the extra out of conference game if they go 9 it'll start in 2028 season. For 26 they'll be two rival games and flip around the other six.

 

[WillisWG]

SEC will likely delay 2026 football schedule decision. Here's why.

SEC officials debated their future schedule format this week, but they're unlikely to reach a decision by the end of their spring meetings.

www.usatoday.com

can kicking

2026 Tennessee Volunteers Football Schedule

Check out the official 2026 Tennessee Volunteers Football Schedule here. In 2026 the Volunteers play many competitive games.

www.utvolstix.com

Saturday Sep 5, 2026 Furman Paladins
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

Saturday Sep 12, 2026 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta, GA

Saturday Sep 19, 2026 Kennesaw State Owls
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

 

[igotworms]

SEC will likely delay 2026 football schedule decision. Here's why.

SEC officials debated their future schedule format this week, but they're unlikely to reach a decision by the end of their spring meetings.

www.usatoday.com

can kicking

2026 Tennessee Volunteers Football Schedule

Check out the official 2026 Tennessee Volunteers Football Schedule here. In 2026 the Volunteers play many competitive games.

www.utvolstix.com

Saturday Sep 5, 2026 Furman Paladins
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

Saturday Sep 12, 2026 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta, GA

Saturday Sep 19, 2026 Kennesaw State Owls
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

3-0 start

 

[Rocky Top T]

Stay at 8.

 

[TNHopeful505]

There is no competitive reason to go to 9. It just cannibalizes the conference further. If you do well in the SEC, you get in the CFP. But adding that extra game, and potential extra loss doesn't help anyone's case. I'm okay with requiring a P4 game instead of a cupcake. But not sure that there's a reason to add a 9th conference game outside of money. Which, honestly, is the only reason that will matter in the end.

 

[Big Orange Captain]

SEC will likely delay 2026 football schedule decision. Here's why.

SEC officials debated their future schedule format this week, but they're unlikely to reach a decision by the end of their spring meetings.

www.usatoday.com

can kicking

2026 Tennessee Volunteers Football Schedule

Check out the official 2026 Tennessee Volunteers Football Schedule here. In 2026 the Volunteers play many competitive games.

www.utvolstix.com

Saturday Sep 5, 2026 Furman Paladins
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

Saturday Sep 12, 2026 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta, GA

Saturday Sep 19, 2026 Kennesaw State Owls
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

i thought we played Tech in Mercedes Benz Dome

 

[vegasvolfan]

Years ago there was a rotation we could look ahead and know, but now I’m not sure and we should be wrapping up Home/Home series with Miss St, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

Update: I just checked and there is no schedule past this season with Sankey still pushing for 9 games but ADs being against it.

What do you all want to see happen?

Expansion? Stay 8 games? Go to 9?

I was wondering the same thing as I was looking at 2026 potential roster. Oh well, looks like we will have to table this one.

 

[VOLdo Raine]

I notice that it always seems like Big 10 fans bragging about their 9 game conference schedule, and that the SEC schedules 4 cupcakes and therefore has it easier. They overlook the fact that the SEC schools usually schedule a decent, or even top-level, power 4 school and sometimes 2 of them (last year UF had Miami and FSU on their schedule- yeah FSU sucked but they had no way of knowing that before the season). I think there’s plenty of reasons to doubt the Indianas and Illinois and even the Penn States. I don’t believe they are as strong top to bottom as the SEC, so their 9 game schedule is not any more competitive than our 8 game schedules. SOS rankings seem to bear this out.

 

[WillisWG]

i thought we played Tech in Mercedes Benz Dome

Tech was exploring the idea but don't think it's a done deal. BDS is small like 52K

 

[NighthawkVol]

Tech was exploring the idea but don't think it's a done deal. BDS is small like 52K

Either way, that will be a tough game. That program is on the come up.

 

[NighthawkVol]

There is no competitive reason to go to 9. It just cannibalizes the conference further. If you do well in the SEC, you get in the CFP. But adding that extra game, and potential extra loss doesn't help anyone's case. I'm okay with requiring a P4 game instead of a cupcake. But not sure that there's a reason to add a 9th conference game outside of money. Which, honestly, is the only reason that will matter in the end.

There is every reason to go to 9. If you don’t, you’re going to end up destroying annual rivalries like the 3rd Saturday in October.

12 teams get into the CFP now. It’s about to be 16. If you’re in the top 4 in the SEC, you’re in. If not, you don’t deserve to be.

So drop the requirement to play another P4 opponent each year, add a 9th SEC game, and stop whining about how hard it is. The new format gives you every opportunity to win a NC with a couple of losses.

Otherwise, losing the Tennessee-Alabama, Georgia-Auburn, Etc. games on an annual basis further erodes the magic of the sport. We’re losing all the reasons we fell in love with it in the first place.

 

[WillisWG]

Either way, that will be a tough game. That program is on the come up.

Last year's 8 OT game against Georgia was wild. Tough way to lose

 

[Bigorangefaninga]

There is every reason to go to 9. If you don’t, you’re going to end up destroying annual rivalries like the 3rd Saturday in October.

12 teams get into the CFP now. It’s about to be 16. If you’re in the top 4 in the SEC, you’re in. If not, you don’t deserve to be.

So drop the requirement to play another P4 opponent each year, add a 9th SEC game, and stop whining about how hard it is. The new format gives you every opportunity to win a NC with a couple of losses.

Otherwise, losing the Tennessee-Alabama, Georgia-Auburn, Etc. games on an annual basis further erodes the magic of the sport. We’re losing all the reasons we fell in love with it in the first place.

F that, I don’t care about the “annual rivalries” anymore anyways! Even if Bama wasn’t bama for the past 15 years or whatever I do not care to play them every year. Now you old people maybe do, but as a guy in his 40’s and also kind of old, I could care less! To many teams in the SEC now and this isn’t old college football. Stay at 8 and play every single different team you can every few years and let’s see some good games against teams we don’t usually get to even play. I’d love to play little UT while saying screw Bama and it’s all because not everyone’s “rival” is up to snuff!

 

[Nicovfl8]

We know we will play Texas and drop Oklahoma. Other than that I don’t think we know because SEC has not decided on a 8 or 9 game schedule.

Just curious, how do we know this?

 

[HeuperDrive]

F that, I don’t care about the “annual rivalries” anymore anyways! Even if Bama wasn’t bama for the past 15 years or whatever I do not care to play them every year. Now you old people maybe do, but as a guy in his 40’s and also kind of old, I could care less! To many teams in the SEC now and this isn’t old college football. Stay at 8 and play every single different team you can every few years and let’s see some good games against teams we don’t usually get to even play. I’d love to play little UT while saying screw Bama and it’s all because not everyone’s “rival” is up to snuff!

ok, well as a guy in his 20s, f*** your outlook lmao. Rivalries are part of what makes this sport worth watching. If you take them away, it’s just another dumb sport.

Give me the Third Saturday. Beating some random team 52-49 in 2022 wouldn’t have been as special as finally beating Bama under the lights after 15 years. It’d just have been another game. Take away the rivalries and this sport is just a poor mans NFL.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

If the SEC goes to 9 conference games, and uses the most likely formula (6 rotating, 3 permanent rivals), and our 3 rivals end up being Bama, Kentucky, and Vandy (as they should), then the 2026 schedule probably looks a lot like this (not in chronological order):

Bama (permanent rival)
Kentucky (permanent rival)
Vandy (permanent rival)
Texas (have never played as conference rivals - last played in 1969)
Auburn (haven't played since 2020)
Ole Miss (haven't played since 2021)
LSU (haven't played since 2022)
South Carolina (haven't played since 2022)
Mizzou -or- A&M (haven't played since 2023)

On the other hand, if the SEC sticks with an 8-game schedule, the conference will finally have to declare an annual rival for each program (yeah, they haven't done that yet, waiting to see if ESPN will pony up the $$ for a ninth conference game). For us, that would probably be Vandy, though I'd personally prefer Bama. Then, our 2026 schedule would be as simple as Vandy + everyone we didn't play the past two seasons:

Vandy
Auburn
LSU
Mizzou
Ole Miss
USCe
A&M
Texas

Those two versions are pretty similar, almost all the same matches. Differences are: Bama and Kentucky games if we play 9 total ... versus both Mizzou _and_ A&M if we play 8 (in the 9-game version, it was Mizzou _or_ A&M, not both).

Go Vols!

 

[NighthawkVol]

F that, I don’t care about the “annual rivalries” anymore anyways! Even if Bama wasn’t bama for the past 15 years or whatever I do not care to play them every year. Now you old people maybe do, but as a guy in his 40’s and also kind of old, I could care less! To many teams in the SEC now and this isn’t old college football. Stay at 8 and play every single different team you can every few years and let’s see some good games against teams we don’t usually get to even play. I’d love to play little UT while saying screw Bama and it’s all because not everyone’s “rival” is up to snuff!

That’s a lot of words to say you don’t understand college football.

 

[NighthawkVol]

ok, well as a guy in his 20s, f*** your outlook lmao. Rivalries are part of what makes this sport worth watching. If you take them away, it’s just another dumb sport.

Give me the Third Saturday. Beating some random team 52-49 in 2022 wouldn’t have been as special as finally beating Bama under the lights after 15 years. It’d just have been another game. Take away the rivalries and this sport is just a poor mans NFL.

Bingo.

 

[WillisWG]

F that, I don’t care about the “annual rivalries” anymore anyways! Even if Bama wasn’t bama for the past 15 years or whatever I do not care to play them every year. Now you old people maybe do, but as a guy in his 40’s and also kind of old, I could care less! To many teams in the SEC now and this isn’t old college football. Stay at 8 and play every single different team you can every few years and let’s see some good games against teams we don’t usually get to even play. I’d love to play little UT while saying screw Bama and it’s all because not everyone’s “rival” is up to snuff!

Blasphemy. The erosion of our SEC rivals needs to stop. If the Vols never played another expansion team I would be happy. That's not going to happen but think about it...playing 9 games against the SEC founders, that would be something to behold.

 

[zeppelin128]

I'm good with whatever allows us to keep Bama, Kentucky, and Vandy as annual rivals. I don't care about the rest, but those 3 are a requirement for me. I would be royally pissed if we stopped playing any of those three for some game against teams that should still be in the Big12.

I don't care about playing Mizzou or whatever. I do care, very much, about the TSIO.

 

[jasonvol18]

We've honestly had it pretty easy the last 2 years.No Texas,Ole Miss,LSU,S.Carol,A'M,Mizzou....Vandy,Ky,Miss St and Arky should always be 4-0..Of course we learned last year that's not always the case. I'm betting in 26 it gets a lot less manageable. If we stick with the 1-7 format, who is our 1 permanent opponent? Vandy?

 

[jasonvol18]

If the SEC goes to 9 conference games, and uses the most likely formula (6 rotating, 3 permanent rivals), and our 3 rivals end up being Bama, Kentucky, and Vandy (as they should), then the 2026 schedule probably looks a lot like this (not in chronological order):

Bama (permanent rival)
Kentucky (permanent rival)
Vandy (permanent rival)
Texas (have never played as conference rivals - last played in 1969)
Auburn (haven't played since 2020)
Ole Miss (haven't played since 2021)
LSU (haven't played since 2022)
South Carolina (haven't played since 2022)
Mizzou -or- A&M (haven't played since 2023)

On the other hand, if the SEC sticks with an 8-game schedule, the conference will finally have to declare an annual rival for each program (yeah, they haven't done that yet, waiting to see if ESPN will pony up the $$ for a ninth conference game). For us, that would probably be Vandy, though I'd personally prefer Bama. Then, our 2026 schedule would be as simple as Vandy + everyone we didn't play the past two seasons:

Vandy
Auburn
LSU
Mizzou
Ole Miss
USCe
A&M
Texas

Those two versions are pretty similar, almost all the same matches. Differences are: Bama and Kentucky games if we play 9 total ... versus both Mizzou _and_ A&M if we play 8 (in the 9-game version, it was Mizzou _or_ A&M, not both).

Go Vols!

Agreed .but if we stick to 1-7, Ala will be Auburn's permanent rival. No way they break up the Iron Bowl. Gonna be weird and heartbreaking not playing Fla,GA and potentially Ala every year.

 

[VolPack22]

Neither, I want 10 SEC games.