ESPN’s Bill Connelly has already circled the SEC games that could shape the 2026 college football season, and the list is loaded with the kind of matchups that can tilt a playoff race fast.
The first one that jumps out is Texas A&M’s trip to LSU in Week 4. It will be the Aggies’ first road game of the season and probably their first true stress test, with Kellen Mond and a strong A&M team walking into a situation that could look very different depending on what LSU does the week before against Lane Kiffin’s former stop at Ole Miss. The Tigers could be climbing in the rankings, or they could be dealing with a crisis of confidence.
There’s recent history behind this one, too. LSU hosted Texas A&M last season as a slight underdog, trying to steady a season that was sliding, and instead got blasted 49-25.
That loss set off the chain of events that pushed Brian Kelly out and brought Lane Kiffin in. This meeting feels like one that could matter a lot when the College Football Playoff picture starts taking shape.
Georgia also gets multiple entries on Connelly’s list, starting with a trip to Alabama. There was a time when Alabama was the wall Kirby Smart couldn’t get past when it counted most.
Then Georgia won a national title over the Tide and changed the conversation. Nick Saban is gone, Kalen DeBoer has taken over, and he has already beaten Smart and Georgia twice in a row, including last year’s Week 4 win over the Bulldogs.
But Georgia answered back in a big way, beating Alabama by three scores in the SEC title game and looking like the team back on top in the rivalry. Still, the Bulldogs are carrying the weight of two disappointing CFP losses over the last two seasons, and a win in Tuscaloosa would give them a real edge in the SEC race.
Georgia’s other featured trip is to Ole Miss, and that one comes with its own fresh wounds. The Rebels pulled off the biggest win in program history with a 39-34 Playoff victory over Georgia last season.
The Bulldogs also lost badly the last time they played in Oxford, falling 28-10 in 2024. That’s plenty of fuel for a game that already has Playoff implications written all over it.
Texas makes the list as well, which is no surprise in a season where the Longhorns may be better off chasing than being chased after entering the previous year as preseason No. 1.
Their path doesn’t get too brutal until the final three weeks, but Arch Manning’s biggest chance to prove himself may come in Baton Rouge. Texas hasn’t played at LSU since 1953, so the past offers almost nothing here.
And then there’s the rivalry game that should keep the late-November slate from getting overlooked. Texas has won the last three meetings with Texas A&M, and last season’s upset in Austin knocked the Aggies out of a perfect regular season. It’s easy to see both teams still fighting for playoff position when they meet again to close the regular season.
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