re: Predict the 3 annual rivals

1. Bama is NOT getting Tenn, AU, AND LSU every year. Therefore, LSU will NOT be getting Bama. ESPN will NOT change that fact.
2. Auburn is NOT getting UGA, Bama, AND LSU every year. Therefore Auburn will NOT be getting LSU.
3. Texas will NOT be getting Oklahoma, A&M, AND LSU as perms. So, LSU will NOT be getting Texas as a perm.

Now, just who will we get? One team/perm is for sure: Texas A&M. Book that. Actually they are already our perm for 24 and 25.

As for the other two perms? Likely Ole Miss and either Oklahoma or Arkansas. Those are my best guesses.

This is geographical and is ultimately the least biased way. So they definitely won't do it.

I've screamed this for a while now.

There is no way Bama will be a permanent for LSU. They already have Tennessee and Auburn.

Switch A&M and Arkansas and I think you’ve got it.

Are we getting 3 annual rivals? I don’t see that reported anywhere I’ve looked. Can someone post a link to this?

quote:

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As the league works to nail down the details, here’s who Alabama could begin seeing on a yearly basis.

Auburn
This one was almost certainly going to remain, even if the SEC had remained at eight conference games in perpetuity. The Iron Bowl is potentially the league’s strongest rivalry, and the game is a marquee matchup each and every year.

“That’s going to be a game the whole state, us, Auburn, pour everything into,” Kalen DeBoer said before his first matchup with the Tigers. “Just such great history over the many years. It’s a big game. A big game for a lot of reasons. The focus for us will be hopefully we’re playing for something.”

Alabama fans have pointed out that given the Crimson Tide’s regular status as favorites in the game, Auburn perhaps has more fun with the Iron Bowl. However, recent years haven’t been enjoyable for the Tiger faithful, as AU enters the 2025 matchup having lost five straight.

Even if the SEC could only preserve one rivalry across the league, it’s likely that Alabama and Auburn would continue on a yearly basis.

Tennessee
This is the other no-brainer. The SEC worked its schedule for years to feature a cross-division rivalry for each team, largely to protect games like the Third Saturday in October.

That’s not going away with the new system. Speaking at SEC spring meetings in May, UA athletics director Greg Byrne spoke of wanting to preserve the Tennessee game, but acknowledged it might be on the chopping block had the old system remained.

“If you go to nine, you might have some more flexibility with what that looks like,” Byrne told reporters. “But I wouldn’t like to see (the Tennessee rivalry go away). But I also realize that things are going to evolve and change. It would be a sad time if that were to happen, but also, you have to deal with reality.”

So the first two are no-brainers. However, the third game on the list could be a fight waiting to happen.

LSU
A yearly game with LSU makes a lot of sense. Especially during Nick Saban’s tenure, the two schools developed a rivalry.


However, when it was reported that the Crimson Tide would have to keep facing the Bayou Bengals during a previous attempt at moving to nine SEC games, Saban cried foul.

“I’ve always been an advocate for playing more (conference) games,” Saban told Sports Illustrated in a 2023 story. “But if you play more games, I think you have to get the three fixed (opponents) right. They’re giving us Tennessee, Auburn and LSU. I don’t know how they come to that (decision).”

While it’s true that could be a difficult slate, Alabama might just have to deal with it. Nobody’s schedule is going to be easy, and the TV powers might balk at losing what tends to be one of the year’s biggest games.

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AL.com

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Dunno, but I don't want to lose Bama as a permanent.

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I do

Bama Aggies Arkansas

Bama, Florida, OM.

If SEC wants to have LSU play an SEC team last game, they keep OU instead of Florida as permanent.

This is how I see each team permanent opponent

Bama Auburn, LSU, Tenn
Arkansas A&M, Missouri, Texas
Auburn Bama, Georgia, Ole Miss
Florida UGA, LSU, Tenn
Georgia Auburn, Fla, Tenn
Kentucky Missouri, Vandy, South Carolina
LSU Bama, Florida, Ole Miss
Ole Miss Auburn,LSU, Miss St
Miss St Ole Miss, Vandy, South Carolina
Missouri Arkansas, Kentucky, OU
Oklahoma Missouri, Texas, A&M
South Carolina. Kentucky, Vandy, Miss St
Tennessee Bama, UGA, Fla
Texas Arkansas, OU, A&M
A&M Arkansas, OU, Texas
Vanderbilt Kentucky, Miss St, South Carolina