SEC shake-up puts Florida in a scheduling bind — what it means now

The SEC has announced that the conference is going to move to a nine-game schedule in 2026, with three games against a permanent opponent and the other six games against a rotating slate.

In addition to the nine games, the conference also announced that everyone in the SEC is required to schedule at least one Power 4 opponent annually.

The Florida Gators already have an annual Power 4 opponent in FSU, but with the nine-game slate, there are other future matchups that might be at risk moving forward.

Will Florida cancel upcoming non-conference games?

Assuming Florida maintains its rivalry with FSU, the Gators will have some choices to make regarding their schedule in the upcoming years.

In 2028, the Gators are scheduled to play both Arizona State and Colorado. Florida is supposed to play Colorado again in 2029 and Arizona State again in 2031. This is on top of a home-and-home against UCF in 2030 and 2033 and a home-and-home against Notre Dame in 2031 and 2032.

Florida AD Scott Stirckling spoke to the Gainesville Sun on the upcoming challenges:

"We'll have to have some conversations. I think there is one year where we're over-booked as it is and there is some others where we'll have to make some adjustments. We'll figure that out. But we're committed to playing 10 power conference games every year going forward and we need to make sure we balance that with what makes sense for the Gators."

Translation: those games aren't happening.

Keep in mind, Florida already cancelled series it had planned with NC State and Cal.

Nine games in the SEC plus FSU also means that it is going to be next to impossible to slot in a team like Miami down the road.

The only reason this could be subject to change and Florida might stick with a second Power 4 school beyond FSU is if the Playoff Committee actually rewards schools for playing a challenging schedule.

They claim they have tweaked their formula this year, but until we see a 9-3 Florida leapfrog an 11-1 Indiana, we will believe it when we see it.

Realistically, Florida's schedule moving forward is going to look like the following:

• Game 1 - FCS school
• Game 2 - Group of Five school
• Game 3 through 11 - SEC
• Game 12 - FSU

The upside of the change to the SEC slate is that Florida finally gets to play Auburn with some consistency.

The downside is that the out-of-conference variety is about to take a major hit.