Kentucky will find out all nine '26 SEC opponents -- including permanent rivals -- next week

A nine-game SEC football schedule is coming for all league members in 2026 — including Kentucky, unfortunately, despite pushback from Mark Stoops and Mitch Barnhart.

Those opponents will be revealed by the SEC on Tuesday, according to Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports. That announcement will also include each team’s three permanent rivals, which will be reviewed every four years.

The SEC will reveal Tuesday *all* opponents for every team in its new 9-game schedule for football in 2026, sources tell @CBSSports. The 3 "permanent" rivals will be referred to as "annual opponents," which will be reviewed every 4 years. pic.twitter.com/yOf21Sdx4T

— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) September 18, 2025

The move to a nine-game SEC model will allow Kentucky to make more TV money with traditional rivalries also preserved. That means the Governor’s Cup will survive, thanks to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey requiring every team to schedule at least one additional high-quality non-conference foe from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 or Notre Dame each year. It also increases the likelihood of an expanded College Football Playoff.

On the other hand, it means just two cupcakes for the Wildcats each year, despite already playing one of the toughest schedules in college football.

“I was vocal about eight. I think that’s best for Kentucky,” Barnhart said of the nine-game model in the SEC. “Having said that, I’ve heard, ‘Oh, you’re afraid to play.’ No, I’m not. I just think it’s what’s best for us. I think every team had to schedule the way they needed to schedule, what was best. … That’s the space we’re now in (with nine), and that’s what we’ve taken on. So now let’s go figure out how to do that effectively and well.

“Let’s adjust the way we schedule, and we’ll adjust the things that we’re doing to make sure that we give our team the best chance to compete, the best chance to be healthy, and that’s really, really important. It is a long grind, and if you put nine plus a (Power Four) game in there, that is a long grind for our young people.”

As for the specific opponent possibilities, the new 3+6 format guarantees every school will be able to host a home game with every team in the league at least once every four years. Rivalries will be protected first, but they will also likely consider geography while also balancing winning percentages.

When the nine-game SEC format was first announced, national talking heads shared their permanent rival projections with results all over the place for Kentucky:

• Andy Staples: Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina
• Ross Dellenger: Mississippi State, Arkansas, Georgia
• Seth Emerson: Tennessee, Mississippi State, Arkansas
• SEC Mike: Tennessee, Mississippi State, South Carolina
• Bill Connelly: Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
• Brandon Marcello: Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina

We won’t have to wait too much longer to find out officially, Tuesday marking the SEC’s big reveal.

Please be easy on us, football gods.