SEC Moves Closer to 9-Game Conference Schedule, Implications for ACC?
By: Jason Priester August 21, 2025

The college football landscape is continually shifting.

With the Big 10 and Big 12 already playing a nine-game conference schedule, the SEC has been in the midst of negotiations to do the same. Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported on Thursday that the league appears to be heading in that direction.

The move would be a major shift for the conference, which has traditionally played an eight-game schedule. Under the new proposal, each SEC team would have three permanent opponents with six rotating opponents each year. The change could go into effect as soon as the 2026 season.

The talks to expand to a nine-game league schedule really gained steam back in the spring, with commissioner Greg Sankey commenting on the subject during SEC Media Days.

“It’s absolutely, fully and 100% correct that we play eight conference games, while others play nine conference games,” Sankey said. “It’s also correct that last season, all 16 (of our) members played at least nine games against what you would label power opponents.”

The move could ultimately have major implications for the ACC, with Dellenger noting that if the SEC does, in fact, adopt the new nine-game league schedule, ACC leaders have suggested they would follow suit. Like the SEC, the ACC also plays an eight-game league schedule.

If the ACC were to move to a nine-game conference schedule, it would absolutely impact how Clemson conducts its out-of-conference scheduling. The Tigers currently play four out-of-conference games each season, with one coming against an in-state FCS school, one against a Group of 5 school, one against rival South Carolina and one more against another Power-4 opponent.

This year and next, that opponent is LSU, as the two programs are set to begin a home-and-home series on August 30 in Clemson. While those games are safe, the Tigers also have future home-and-home series scheduled with Georgia (2029-30) and Oklahoma (2035-36).

Clemson also recently announced a 12-year scheduling agreement with Notre Dame that is set to begin in 2027.

With the Notre Dame yearly series added to the mix beginning in 2027, those future series against Georgia and Oklahoma could be in jeopardy. If the league does ultimately choose to move to a nine-game league schedule, the chances of those games being played decrease even more.