Georgia cancels series with Louisville and NC State ahead of SEC’s 2026 schedule release

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Georgia announced Wednesday that Louisville agreed to cancel a home-and-home series starting in 2026 ahead of the Southeastern Conference announcing next year’s college football schedules on Thursday.

The Bulldogs also said N.C. State, another Atlantic Coast Conference team, agreed to cancel its home-and-home series for the 2033 and 2034 seasons.

“The teams will look to play each other in a neutral site game on a later date,” Georgia said.

Both the SEC and ACC will be playing nine league games starting in 2026.

“Recent changes to our home-and-home series with Georgia are another example of the scheduling adjustments that come with today’s evolving college football landscape,” Louisville athletic director Josh Heird said.

Hierd said Georgia told Louisville of its need to opt out of the 2026 game. Without a mutual agreement, Georgia would have owed Louisville a $1 million penalty for canceling the 2026 game and the Cardinals could have forced the Bulldogs to host Louisville in 2027 or pay another buyout.

Louisville also faced buying out another non-conference opponent to manage the expanded ACC slate. That’s why Georgia and Louisville will try to schedule one game at a neutral site in the early 2030s.

“This approach preserves a high-profile game for our fans, avoids unnecessary financial impact for both universities, and positions us well as the postseason landscape continues to evolve,” Heird said.

Louisville announced later Wednesday the Cardinals will open the 2026 season against Mississippi on either Sept. 5 or 6 in Nashville, Tennessee, at Nissan Stadium. Louisville played Western Kentucky at that stadium in 2019. Ole Miss beat Louisville in 2021 in Atlanta in the programs’ only other meeting.

“Jeff Brohm has never shied away from playing a challenging non-conference schedule and is always willing to face anyone in the country,” Heird said.

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