The anticipation surrounding Auburn's 2026 season schedule is about to get a lot more interesting.
Instead of getting easier schedules, the Tigers will have three permanent SEC opponents and six other conference foes on a rotational basis under SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey's latest nine-game conference-wide schedule model.
The model, which is to be implemented from 2026, will give the Tigers a lot of potential to capitalize on their many storied rivalries, and possibly set the records straight with each of them.
Montgomery Advisor's Auburn reporter Adam Cole believes two of the three permanent SEC contenders against Auburn will be their most storied rivalries of them all: Alabama and Georgia, aka the Iron Bowl and the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.
"There's 2 no-brainers front and center in this list, and that's Alabama and Georgia. Both the Iron Bowl and the Deep South's oldest rivalry are some of the SEC's best annual matchups, and under this new model, both can and, quite frankly, should remain on Auburn's new schedule," Cole says.
Who the Tigers will have as their third opponent becomes the million-dollar question now. South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt are the top favorites to be Auburn's permanent SEC opponent.
USA Today's Paul Myerberg believes the Commodores fit the bill perfectly.
"Auburn can't avoid Alabama and Georgia as annual rivals. Honestly, rounding things out with the Commodores would be the only fair thing to do," Myerberg wrote.
As crazy as it sounds, a permanent SEC matchup between Auburn and Vanderbilt may mark the start of another possibly great rivalry. Head coach Hugh Freeze might be struggling to save his job this season, but if he does, he knows he will be signing up for a lot more of that in the next year.