Mississippi State football 2026 schedule unveiled

Mississippi State football's 2025 season isn't over, but preparations are already underway for the 2026 season.

Now a big piece of next season's puzzle has been revealed with the SEC announcing team schedules Thursday night.

Although the SEC doesn’t control non-conference scheduling, its recent schedule reveal clarified several matchups.

Under the new league format, one of Mississippi State’s four contracted non-conference games for 2026 had to be removed, and Troy ended up being the odd one out. Troy had been scheduled to visit Scott Field on September 19, but that date will now mark the Bulldogs’ SEC opener at South Carolina. It remains unclear whether this change also affects the contracted return trip to Troy in 2027.

Rather than simply flipping the 2026 home-and-away lineup for 2027, the SEC’s new rotation forces a complete overhaul.

Mississippi State will face seven league opponents it does not play in the first year of the updated system.

Only the Ole Miss rivalry remains a constant—at least as constant as anything can be amid the fluid realities of modern college football. That matchup will return to Oxford regardless of other changes.

With these adjustments, Mississippi State’s 2026 conference schedule is nearly complete. The only remaining details are kickoff times.