The SEC needs to do the Tennessee Vols a big favor, even though it would anger the rest of the conference

In the near future, the SEC will make a decision that could significantly impact the Tennessee Vols’ ability to compete for championships

The SEC recently announced that the conference will be moving to a nine game schedule beginning in 2026. This move means that SEC teams will play three permanent opponents each season and six rotating opponents.

As you can imagine, there's already been plenty of debate about who Tennessee's three permanent opponents should be.

Alabama and Vanderbilt are pretty much locks to be two of the Vols' permanent opponents. The Third Saturday in October rivalry deserves to be preserved. And it's a no brainer that in-state rivalries should be preserved.

The third game is where the debate gets heated.

Some folks think Tennessee's third permanent opponent should be Florida. Others think it should be Kentucky or South Carolina.

I think the choice is easy. It has to be Kentucky.

For starters, aside from Vanderbilt, Kentucky is the closest SEC school to Tennessee, so the geographic connection makes sense. Beyond that, the rivalry is one of the oldest in college sports. The two programs first met in 1893 and have played each other every year since 1944 (they've played each other 120 times total).

Tennessee and Florida, meanwhile, have played each other 54 times total. The two programs didn't start playing each other every year until 1990 (thanks to SEC divisions).

Historically and geographically, playing Kentucky each year makes more sense for Tennessee than playing Florida.

Playing Kentucky each season, though, would obviously make the Vols' path to the College Football Playoff a little easier -- which likely wouldn't sit well with other teams in the SEC.

But after playing Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama annually for the last few decades, doesn't Tennessee deserve a bit of a scheduling break? I mean, the only other SEC team that feels Tennessee's pain is Auburn, who also played Georgia and Alabama each year during Nick Saban's insane run and the Kirby Smart run at Georgia.

But it's not like playing Vanderbilt and Kentucky each year is going to give the Vols a free pass to the playoff. Tennessee will play either Alabama and Georgia or Alabama and Florida every year (depending on the rotation of the other six opponents). There will also be years where LSU, Texas, or Ole Miss is on the schedule with either Florida or Georgia (plus Alabama). Giving Tennessee the Commodores and the Wildcats as permanent opponents would just ensure that UT doesn't end up playing Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and either Texas or LSU (for example), all in the same season. It's just a very slight reprieve for Tennessee after they dealt with the Bama/UGA/Florida nightmare for years.

By the way, Florida shouldn't want Tennessee either. The Gators are probably going to end up with Georgia and LSU as two of their permanent opponents (definitely Georgia, we'll see on LSU). I doubt the Gators want a third College Football Playoff contender as a permanent opponent.

If anyone deserves a scheduling break, it's Tennessee and Auburn.

Unfortunately for Auburn, they're probably going to be stuck with Alabama and Georgia. But that doesn't mean Tennessee should get stuck with Florida. Sorry Auburn.