GAINESVILLE — Florida will lose annual rivalry games with Tennessee and LSU going back decades, but there also will be benefits to the SEC’s new 9-game scheduling model.

The league announced the Gators will face rival Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina as their annual opponents during each of the next four years. UF then will rotate the other six schools in the 16-team conference each of the next two seasons.

Florida and LSU have met every season since 1971, with the Tigers leading the series 35-34-3 after a 20-10 win Sept. 13 in Baton Rouge. UF and Tennessee have met every season since 1990, with the Gators and Vols scheduled to square off Nov. 22 in Gainesville.

In 2026, the Gators will host Ole Miss, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Vanderbilt and visit Auburn, Missouri, Kentucky and Texas. Florida and Georgia will meet in Atlanta while Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium undergoes massive renovations.

In 2027, Arkansas, LSU, Kentucky and Texas A&M will visit the Swamp. Florida will visit Alabama, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Tennessee. UF and Georgia will square off in Tampa before the game returns to Jacksonville in 2028.

The ’28 slate will flip the ’26 schedules venues from home to away, with the 2027 home opponents hosting the Gators in 2029, and vice versa.

Florida quarterback Graham Mertz (15) dives for the goal as he’s hit by Tennessee defensive back Andre Turrentine (2) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. Mertz fumbled on the play. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Within a four-year window, SEC schools will face every school in the league both home and away, one of the key reasons for the schedule shake-up.

Some marquee games fans have grown accustomed to annually also will be lost.

Florida and LSU were the SEC’s best crossover game after the league moved to divisions in 1992, with the Gators in the East and Tigers in the West. The arrival of Texas and Oklahoma in 2024 eliminated divisions, but UF and LSU played each of the past two seasons.

UF and Tennessee served as the SEC’s biggest game during the Steve Spurrier era (1990-2001), but the Gators have turned it into a lopsided rivalry of late. Since 2005, UF has won every game but in 2015, 2022 and 2024.

Florida’s upcoming schedules (dates, times TBD):

2026

Home: Ole Miss, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Vanderbilt

Away: Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas

Georgia in Atlanta

2027

Home: Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, Texas A&M

Away: Alabama, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee

Georgia in Tampa

2028

Home: Auburn, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas

Away: Kentucky, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt

Georgia in Jacksonville

2029

Home: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee

Away: Arkansas, LSU, South Carolina, Texas A&M

Georgia in Jacksonville

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/09/23/florida-gators-football-2/