5 SEC lure video games in 2026 that might upend the faculty soccer playoff race, from LSU to Georgia

Any school soccer fan value their salt is aware of a factor or two about “trap games.”

Also generally known as “lookahead games,” lure video games are difficult spots on a group’s schedule the place the extra gifted group is often overlooking their present opponent due to an upcoming sport in opposition to a extra important opponent.

They could also be wanting previous a lesser opponent in anticipation of a bitter rival that they have not overwhelmed shortly, or possibly it is a group they really feel like they should dispatch with a purpose to acquire the within monitor to a convention championship.

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Either method, overlooking anybody in a league as aggressive because the SEC is a recipe for catastrophe, however each group is responsible of it occasionally.

Right now, we’re, by definition, technically committing the mortal sin of “looking ahead,” however I assumed it might be a enjoyable offseason train to spotlight 5 potential lure video games that might shake the very basis of the 2026 SEC season.

Now that we have gotten the preamble out of the best way, let’s dive in.

5. Mississippi State at LSU (Week 7)

Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels seems to be on earlier than the sport in opposition to the South Carolina Gamecocks at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss., on Nov. 1, 2025. (Justin Ford/Getty Images)

We begin off with one that may be a bit off the radar, however aren’t all lure video games “off the radar” by their very nature?

Anyway, the LSU Tigers could have their shiny, shiny new toy of a head coach in Lane Kiffin at their disposal, and if all goes in line with plan, the Bayou Bengals will likely be proper within the thick of the SEC and College Football Playoff race at this level within the season.

LSU could have an early check within the type of a non-conference sport in opposition to Clemson, and two very worthy opponents in Texas A&M and Kiffin’s outdated flame, the Ole Miss Rebels.

They additionally end the season on a four-game run of getting to face Alabama, Texas, Tennessee and rival Arkansas.

Sandwiched in between all these Goliaths is lowly Mississippi State, led by third-year coach Jeff Lebby.

There is an effective probability Kiffin and crew view this as a spot to calm down in between the 2 peaks of their season, however that may be silly for a mess of causes.

For starters, Kiffin cultivated a little bit of a status whereas in Oxford of dropping a minimum of one sport a season that he should not have (see: 2024 Kentucky), and though the expertise profile has ratcheted up significantly for him in Baton Rouge, there’s an opportunity the “lookahead” remains to be in his DNA.

For the Bulldogs’ half, they’ve been a tricky out for ranked groups relationship again to final season, as they knocked off Twelfth-ranked Arizona State and took each Fifteenth-ranked Tennessee and Twenty second-ranked Texas to time beyond regulation earlier than gracefully bowing out.

Keep your eye on this one, as issues might get furry if LSU and Kiffin do not respect their opponent.

4. Ole Miss at Florida (Week 4)

Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding reacts in the course of the third quarter in opposition to Georgia on the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal on the Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 1, 2026. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

From one finish of the Magnolia State to the opposite, the Ole Miss Rebels will likely be trying to show that their success within the first half of the 2020s was extra than simply the product of getting Lane Kiffin as their coach, and fortunately for them, they may have an opportunity to show it in Week 3, when the Tigers of LSU come to city.

The drawback with such an emotional showdown is that there’s at all times one other sport to play afterward, and the Rebels will likely be hitting the highway to tackle the Florida Gators in The Swamp.

Any sport would most likely be a lure sport the week after “welcoming” the coach who burned you for supposedly greener pastures, however taking part in Florida in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium presents a novel problem.

Rebels followers most likely keep in mind their final journey there, a 2024 upset loss that each one however knocked their group out of the Playoff image, however that wasn’t an remoted incident.

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Even with an underachieving coach like Billy Napier on the helm, the Gators knocked a minimum of one top-10 group off its perch every season he was in Gainesville (2022 Utah, 2023 Tennessee, 2024 Ole Miss and 2025 Texas).

The Gators, shockingly, have a slight expertise benefit over the Rebels when going purely off of recruiting courses and retention efforts, and that coupled with the emotional exhaustion from the week prior and the magic of The Swamp will make this a basic lure sport for Ole Miss.

3. Arkansas at Texas (Week 12)

Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns holds the Horns Up gesture as he walks into Darrell Ok Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium earlier than the SEC soccer sport in opposition to Texas A&M on Nov. 28, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (David Buono/Icon Sportswire)

Yes, I do know this one is technically a rivalry sport, however hear me out.

Wedged in between conferences with the LSU Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies, the Texas Longhorns will welcome the Arkansas Razorbacks to Austin.

The Hogs will likely be breaking in first-year head coach Ryan Silverfield and will likely be working at a big expertise drawback, however that is perhaps to Texas’ detriment.

The Longhorns will little question be taking part in the 2026 season with the burden of expectations positioned upon them, and a win over LSU the earlier week will solely make that regular-season finale with the Aggies all of the extra vital.

What higher spot to leap up and chew them than the week in between two of the most important video games of their season?

To their credit score, the Razorbacks have been plucky final 12 months in opposition to each ranked opponent on their schedule not named Notre Dame, so it isn’t like Texas goes in opposition to some FCS college as a tune-up in between bodily matchups in opposition to playoff-caliber groups.

I’m not saying Arkansas will win this one, however do not be shocked if you happen to verify your cellphone and it is a one-possession sport late within the second half.

2. Kentucky at Oklahoma (Week 7)

The Oklahoma Sooners have a good time after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. (David Leong/Imagn Images)

I could not discuss Texas with out throwing Oklahoma into the combination, and Texas is a giant cause for this sport being on the listing within the first place.

Much just like the Longhorns, the Sooners could have sky-high expectations positioned upon them heading into the 2026 season, and that neutral-site rivalry sport in opposition to Texas might be the launch level for an excellent season.

But the week after hasn’t been too type to Oklahoma, traditionally.

Since Brent Venables took the pinnacle teaching job in Norman again in 2022, the sport after the Red River Shootout has been a shaky one at greatest for the Sooners, together with a sleepy two-point victory over a under .500 UCF Knights group in 2023 and a blowout loss to South Carolina the next 12 months.

Kentucky could have new coach Will Stein manning the headset, which might imply some renewed vigor within the Bluegrass State, so the Sooners could be smart to not let Texas “beat them twice” on this one.

Oklahoma faces a assassin’s row of video games to begin their season, together with a Week 2 showdown in opposition to Michigan, on the highway in opposition to Georgia and the aforementioned Red River sport in Dallas.

If the Sooners suppose they’ll view this date on the calendar as an opportunity to catch their breath, I do not suppose it is going to be that simple.

1. Vanderbilt at Georgia (Week 5)

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart yells to his gamers in the course of the first half of an NCAA school soccer sport in opposition to Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 13, 2025. (George Walker IV/AP)

For all of his accomplishments as the pinnacle coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, there may be one program that continues to stay within the craw of Kirby Smart.

The two-time nationwide championship-winning head coach is simply 2-7 in opposition to the Alabama Crimson Tide in his tenure in Athens, and he hasn’t fared significantly better in opposition to the Tide since Nick Saban retired, sporting a 1-2 report in opposition to Kalen DeBoer after he took over for the legendary Saban in Tuscaloosa.

But why am I speaking this a lot about Alabama if Georgia performs Vandy in Week 5?

Well, as you may most likely guess, this sport falls proper earlier than the Dawgs journey to T-Town to tackle the Tide, and Smart will little question have that sport circled with each purple Sharpie he owns.

Vanderbilt loses a ton of expertise from final 12 months’s upstart 10-win group, together with quarterback and Heisman finalist Diego Pavia and second-round draft choose Eli Stowers, however Clark Lea’s squad shouldn’t be missed.

If the Bulldogs get caught waiting for their showdown with Bama (and Oklahoma the week after that), it might spell bother for Kirby and the boys.

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Smart desires that Alabama sport badly, and can possible be game-planning for it weeks upfront, however will that include a price?

The Commodores have slain giants in current reminiscence, and a little bit schedule luck might have them in place to do all of it once more in 2026.