Florida’s setup with Kentucky just got changed again and it makes little sense

When the SEC expanded from 14 teams to 16 after adding Texas and Oklahoma, it created a bit of a headache for scheduling, and in basketball, for example, Florida didn’t get to host Kentucky during the 2025 SEC slate. That remedy was fixed ahead of the 2026 SEC slate, as Florida played Kentucky twice as part of its three “protected” opponents.

For whatever reason, that is set to change yet again, and while it looks like Florida will be hosting Kentucky in 2027, a return trip to Rupp Arena doesn’t appear to be on the table.

Florida might only be playing Kentucky once in 2027

Jon Rothenstein of CBS Sports tweeted out what he says will be the SEC home and road opponents for everyone in 2027. According to Rothenstein, the Gators will host:

Texas
Georgia
South Carolina
Kentucky
Ole Miss
Missouri
Oklahoma
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt

Rothenstein also claims that, per sources, the Gators will go on the road to face:

Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
LSU
Mississippi State
Tennessee
Texas
Georgia
South Carolina

For the most part, all of that is just a swap of what Florida did last year, and it is essentially a repeat of Florida’s 2025 SEC schedule when the conference moved to its new model. The SEC now has it where teams will play everyone once, alternating home and away each year, while having three opponents that they will play both home and away every year.

In 2025, those three opponents Florida played twice were Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It made logistical sense, but it also meant that Florida didn’t get a home game against Kentucky. So in 2026, Tennessee was swapped out with Kentucky to ensure the rivalry would get two games in a season.

When it was time to create three annual opponents for football, Florida was given an annual date with Georgia, South Carolina, and Kentucky.

We bring all that up because, if one is paying attention to the three teams that Florida will play twice in 2027, it’s Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas.

Texas.

The Longhorns are a perfectly respectable opponent and made it to the Sweet 16 last year after having to navigate their way out of the opening games in Dayton, but there is next to no connection with Texas.

And yes, Florida at least gets to host Kentucky this year, but the real question is why is that getting shuffled around once again? If this holds into 2028, that means Florida won’t be getting a home game against Kentucky.

It just makes one wonder why we have to keep tinkering with things for the sake of tinkering. If anything, Florida fans would probably have rather given South Carolina the boot in favor of two games with Tennessee.

But since the SEC insists on Texas, the only bright side is that it provides two chances at Horns Down.

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