For well over a decade, one of the most head-scratching things about college football has been that different conferences continue to play a different number of conference games per season. While some leagues, most notably the Big Ten, play nine league contests each year, others, such as the SEC, only play eight.
At long last, that finally appears to be changing. On Thursday, it was announced that the SEC will move to an eight-game conference schedule in 2026, making it so that college football’s “Power Two” now finally play the same number of league contests each season.
The move is a long overdue one for the sport. The notion of each conference playing a different number of conference games makes absolutely zero sense. While things are still far from perfect, getting the sport’s two premier leagues on the same page is a great starting point.
As for how this will affect USC? While it will not impact the Trojans directly, they could still benefit from the change. Under the current system, USC could potentially be left out of the College Football Playoff in favor of an SEC team that had to play one fewer conference game—and this had one fewer loss. Starting in 2026, however, that will no longer be possible, potentially helping the Trojans get into the field.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: SEC announces shift to nine conference football games in landmark move for the sport
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
