With the SEC moving to a 9-game conference slate in 2026, it's time to look at what protected rivalries the league could impose.

LSU football is looking to make the College Football Playoff this season. These handful of games will determine the Tigers' CFP fate in 2025.

Among the SEC’s current membership, Texas has 109 season-opening victories, Alabama has 106, Arkansas and Auburn 103 apiece, Georgia and Oklahoma 101 each, Ole Miss and Tennessee 96 apiece, Kentucky, LSU and Texas A&M 92 each, Mississippi State 90, Florida 88, Missouri and South Carolina 87 apiece and Vanderbilt 83.

Three key SEC games for South Carolina football are against LSU, Alabama, and Texas A&M. The Gamecocks aim to improve upon their close losses to LSU and Alabama during the 2024 season.

Week 1 features a series of marquee matchups, all of them in the eastern half of the country. On the West Coast, the intrigue level is low.

Joel Klatt gives LSU the edge over Alabama in his preseason rankings because of Tigers' quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

South Carolina won its second straight in Death Valley last year, but it's Clemson who owns the all-time series by a commanding margin. The Tigers have won eight of the past 10 meetings against the Gamecocks and haven't lost in Columbia since 2013. South Carolina is ranked No. 13 in the preseason top 25 polls.

With the college football season just a couple of weeks away, ESPN predicted the 12-team bracket and full bowl game slate this year. Writers Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach are back with their picks!