With conference play in the 2025 season now officially wrapped up, the SEC has released its football schedules for the 2026 season. Fans can now start marking their calendars, booking hotels and planning their road game trips.

The list of opponents were already known, but fans now have dates to plan how every Saturday of next fall is going to look. With the conference moving from an eight-game schedule to a nine-game schedule, it was never going to be an easy road.

For Alabama and Auburn, it’s a particular gauntlet during certain stretches of the season.

The Crimson Tide starts off relatively light with five games against East Carolina (home), Kentucky (away), Florida State (home), South Carolina (home) and Mississippi State (away). After that, it gets laughably difficult.

Starting on October 10, Alabama starts a five game gauntlet which has Georgia, a road trip to Knoxville and a return home to face Texas A&M before a bye week. After the bye, they will have to travel to both LSU and Vanderbilt before cupcake week against Chattanooga — all ahead of the Iron Bowl.

As for the Tigers, they will start the season with two home games against Southern Miss and Florida before a five-game onslaught of their own begins. First up will be Vanderbilt at home, coming off an equally difficult game against the Gators. Then a trip to Knoxville to face Tennessee. From there, Auburn will have a bye week before hitting the road again to face Georgia, returning home for LSU and traveling to Ole Miss before things lighten up down the stretch.

A nine game conference schedule in the best league in college football was always going to be extremely difficult, but Alabama and Auburn are facing the kind of run they perhaps have never seen before. Only time will tell how they handle it.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.