LSU head coach Brian Kelly has never been one to shy away from sharing his vision for the future of college football, particularly when it comes to how the game is structured and played in the SEC. As conference realignment and scheduling debates intensify with the impending addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the Southeastern Conference, Kelly has become one of the loudest voices calling for a change to the league’s scheduling format—specifically, advocating for a permanent switch to a nine-game SEC schedule.
For Kelly, the logic is simple. The Southeastern Conference brands itself as the most competitive conference in college football. If that claim is to continue holding weight, Kelly believes the league must embrace scheduling practices that reflect its elite status. A nine-game conference schedule, he argues, is not just a necessity—it’s the next logical step in maintaining the SEC’s dominance while also embracing the evolving landscape of college football.
Since taking over at LSU, Kelly has consistently emphasized the importance of competition. In fact, it was one of the reasons he left a successful tenure at Notre Dame for a high-stakes position in Baton Rouge. In the SEC, every week is a battle, and Kelly thrives on that challenge. He wants to play the best, and he wants to do it often. That competitive fire is what drives his stance on scheduling. Under the current eight-game model, teams play six division opponents, one permanent cross-divisional rival, and one rotating cross-divisional opponent each year. That format, while functional in the past, has led to long gaps between marquee matchups. Traditional fanbases sometimes wait nearly a decade to see a storied opponent return to their stadium.
Kelly believes the conference—and the sport at large—needs to evolve past that. By adopting a nine-game conference schedule, teams would play more frequently against a wider range of opponents, giving fans better games and offering players more chances to prove themselves against the best. In Kelly’s view, it’s also a matter of fairness. In an expanded SEC with 16 teams, an eight-game schedule simply doesn’t allow for balanced competition. Some programs would avoid top-tier opponents for years, while others could face a gauntlet every season. A nine-game format, Kelly argues, offers a better equilibrium.
He’s also quick to point out that the switch would better serve the fans. SEC football is not just a sport—it’s a cultural cornerstone of the South. Every fall weekend, stadiums swell with noise and color, and the stakes feel as high in September as they do in November. A nine-game schedule would offer more meaningful, conference-defining matchups and fewer lackluster non-conference slates. For fans traveling thousands of miles and investing deeply in their teams, Kelly believes the product on the field should match the passion in the stands.
Additionally, Kelly understands that in today’s college football landscape, strength of schedule matters more than ever—particularly when it comes to the College Football Playoff. With the playoff expanding to 12 teams, a strong resume built on tough in-conference games could be the difference between a postseason berth and sitting at home. The days of inflating win totals with three non-conference cupcakes are fading. Voters, analysts, and fans alike are more attuned to context and competition than ever before. A win over Vanderbilt, he argues, doesn’t carry the same weight as a hard-fought loss to Georgia or Alabama. If the SEC is going to send multiple teams to the playoff—and potentially compete for multiple national titles in the same season—it needs to embrace a schedule that reflects those ambitions.
Of course, not every coach in the SEC shares Kelly’s perspective. Some have expressed reservations about the nine-game model. Critics argue that adding another conference game could result in more injuries, more wear and tear, and—perhaps most notably—more losses. In a league as competitive as the SEC, no game is a guaranteed win. For programs that hover near the playoff bubble every year, that extra game could be the one that pushes them out of contention. The risk is real, but for Kelly, so is the reward.
What separates Kelly’s argument is that he’s not simply talking from the position of power. He’s not looking for an easier path—if anything, he’s calling for a harder one. That mentality has already begun to shape the identity of LSU under his leadership. He wants his team to be battle-tested by the time postseason play arrives. He wants LSU to be the team that plays and beats the best, not avoids them. Kelly’s broader vision for the program doesn’t just revolve around wins—it’s about building a sustainable culture of competitiveness. The best way to do that, in his eyes, is to consistently challenge the roster with elite-level opponents.
Moreover, there’s a recruiting angle to all of this. Today’s top high school prospects want to play in big games on big stages. A nine-game SEC schedule offers more opportunities for prime-time matchups, more chances to impress NFL scouts, and more reasons for top recruits to come to Baton Rouge. When Kelly sits in living rooms across America, he wants to tell families that their sons will play in the best environment college football has to offer—week in and week out. He believes a stronger schedule is not a deterrent but a recruiting tool.
Financially, the idea makes sense as well. More marquee matchups mean more ticket sales, more television revenue, and more media attention. Networks are willing to pay a premium for high-stakes conference games. With the college football media rights landscape evolving rapidly, conferences are competing for leverage and visibility. The SEC’s strength has always been its product on the field, and Kelly knows that enhancing that product through better scheduling is a win for everyone involved—from administrators to fans to the players themselves.
Kelly has also made it clear that he supports keeping rivalries intact. Some worry that a scheduling change could put traditional matchups at risk. However, the proposed “3-6” model for a nine-game SEC schedule would allow each school to retain three permanent rivalries, while rotating the remaining six games against other conference teams. For LSU, that would mean continuing to play key rivals annually while also increasing the frequency of other exciting matchups. That structure, Kelly argues, strikes the right balance between tradition and progress.
He also knows that as a head coach at one of the premier programs in the country, his voice carries weight. Kelly doesn’t lobby for change lightly. He understands the magnitude of what he’s suggesting, but he also believes that clinging to outdated systems won’t serve the league or the sport going forward. The SEC has always prided itself on being ahead of the curve. Kelly wants it to stay that way.
As the conference continues to deliberate on the future of its scheduling model, Kelly’s viewpoint is resonating with many. His calls for reform are rooted in a deep respect for the game and a relentless desire to see it played at the highest level. Whether the league ultimately opts for an eight- or nine-game format remains to be seen, but what’s clear is that coaches like Brian Kelly are pushing the conversation in meaningful, forward-thinking directions.
For now, Kelly continues to prepare LSU for another brutal SEC gauntlet, one that could very well include an expanded conference slate in the near future. If it does, he’ll be ready—and so will his team. Because in the end, Brian Kelly didn’t come to Baton Rouge to take the easy route. He came to build a winner, the right way: by taking on all comers, every week, no excuses. In his mind, the best path forward for the SEC is one where the strongest not only survive, but face each other regularly, in a conference built on the backbone of competition. For Kelly and LSU, that’s not just a preference—it’s a philosophy.
