The SEC is now going to nine conference games, starting in 2026, as has long been discussed. The Big 10 and Big 12 have been at that point for quite some time, but the SEC, thanks to their depth top-to-bottom, has not really needed to— they still routinely top the strength of schedule metrics year in and year out.
This move, though, heralds a likely shift in the format for the College Football Playoff in the upcoming years. There's been a lot of change on that front in the last few years, and it looks like such shifts are far from over.
More specifically to Texas A&M, though, the new SEC scheduling philosophy could have some major ripple effects. Even though this move to nine conference games increases the average strength of schedule, teams are still required to schedule one quality game against other Power 4 competition— or Notre Dame— out of conference every year. So, how does that affect Texas A&M's future scheduling?
How new SEC scheduling affects Texas A&M's future scheduling philosophy
In one sense, it looks like the Aggies were ready for this eventuality. They only have three scheduled non-conference games for 2026— Tarleton, Arizona State, and Missouri State— with one of those obviously being against a Power 4 team. They have no need to shift any of this scheduling at this point.
2027 is the same story. They conclude their home-and-home with the Sun Devils with a trip to Tempe, and they will also face off with Texas State and New Mexico in College Station.
In 2028 and 2029, however, there will be a little more needed. They have a series scheduled with the Louisville Cardinals to fulfill the Power 4 requirement, but other than that, they only have a game with Abilene Christian scheduled for 2028.
With the strength of schedule that this provides the SEC, however, fans are wondering just how necessary it is to put premier out-of-conference games on the docket. Could the Aggies, say, schedule a game with a Purdue, a Boston College, or a Stanford to minimize the chances of a costly loss?
That's the strategy that Curt Cignetti and Indiana have taken, after all— and they made it to the playoff last year on the back of such a strategy. Could we see A&M scale back how big their OOC games are with this new announcement? We'll just have to wait and see.