SEC Schedule Breakdown: What Kentucky Football Fans Need to Know for 2026–2029

We cannot look into a crystal ball to determine the strength of the Wildcats’ future schedules. We do know who exactly Kentucky will be playing each year through 2029, and the 9-game conference slate will not be a walk in the park.

On Tuesday night, the SEC revealed which opponents each SEC team will play for the next four years. Each team has three annual rivalry games, while the other 12 teams will rotate over two seasons, before flipping home and away. After taking a closer look at the slate, here are a few things we learned.

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A Stoops Bowl in Norman

In Oklahoma’s storied football history, nobody has won more games for the Sooners than Bob Stoops. His younger brother, Mark Stoops, is the winningest coach in Kentucky football history. Next fall, the younger Stoops will have a chance to play at Bob’s place in Norman.

Buckle Up in 2028

Each SEC team will be required to play one other Power Conference opponent each year. For Kentucky, that team is Louisville. When the Wildcats host the Cards for the Battle for the Governor’s Cup, they will play five road games. The five road games in 2028 aren’t walks in the park.

Kentucky will play in some of the most difficult venues in all of college football: Death Valley (LSU), T-Town (Alabama), The Swamp (Florida), and Rocky Top (Tennessee). Even though Nick Saban said that Vanderbilt is the easiest venue to play at in the SEC, we also learned shortly after he said that in 2024 that a win in Nashville is not a given.

Kentucky Splits Vandy and Miss. State

When we learned that each SEC team would get three annual rivals, everyone in the league wanted to see Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. It’s worth noting that it may be a short-sighted request. We don’t know what these teams will look like four years from now or who will be leading each program.

Casting that caveat aside, Kentucky will get to see at least one of the two in each of the next four years, which should hopefully add some balance to the schedule. Road trips to Bama and LSU will be counter-balanced with a game at Vandy. Kentucky gets to host Miss. State in the same year they travel to Austin, Gainesville, and Oxford.

Texas A&M’s Long Wait to Kentucky Lingers

Before Texas and Oklahoma joined the SEC, teams played every team in their respective division and one annual cross-divisional opponent, while rotating among the rest of the teams in the opposite division. Kentucky played the entire SEC East, Mississippi State, and rotated around the rest of the SEC West.

Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012. They will make their first SEC road trip to Lexington in 2028. Kentucky’s only previous matchup against the Aggies was an overtime loss in 2018.

Ending a Long Kentucky Drought at Arkansas

Mark Stoops became Kentucky’s coach in 2013. He is the longest-tenured coach in the SEC. Only three Power Conference coaches have held their posts longer.

Mark Stoops has never coached a game at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. If he maintains his post in Lexington, he will not get a chance to coach a game in Fayetteville until 2027. The Wildcats’ last road trip to Arkansas was an embarrassing 49-7 loss in 2012 that ended in the third quarter thanks to a weather delay.

This is Hard, but Fun

A 9-game SEC slate is not for the faint of heart. While the schedule is challenging, it’s also exciting. Kentucky fans can take road trips to the most storied venues in all of college football on a regular basis, while season-ticket holders are rewarded with multiple marquee matchups every year.

Finding wins for the Kentucky Wildcats will not be easy, but Stoops is embracing the challenge. “Put the ball down and let’s play,” he said on Monday.