Georgia, Florida State Mutually Agree to Cancel 2027 and 2028 Games — Florida State Seminoles Football
Florida State Seminoles Football and Georgia took their 2027 and 2028 games off the calendar after the schools mutually agreed to drop the matchup. The move removes a home-and-home between two major programs and fits the wider trend of top teams backing away from tougher non-conference schedules.
Georgia and Florida State
The cancellation hits two dates at once: 2027 and 2028. The schools had been considering moving the series to a mutual site, but instead the games are off the board entirely. That leaves both programs to reshape future scheduling without the pull of a high-profile crossover game.
Georgia and Florida State had been working toward a series that would have given both fan bases a marquee opponent, and its removal is one more sign that college football’s biggest brands are adjusting their calendars around the 12-team College Football Playoff. Easier schedules now carry a built-in incentive, because a loss against a non-conference power can still echo when the selection committee sorts through the field.
Steve Sarkisian and Texas
Steve Sarkisian’s frustration at missing the 2025-26 playoff field at 9-3 showed how much pressure the current format places on every game, even for strong teams. Texas’ 2026 schedule includes Texas State, Ohio State, UTSA, at Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, at Missouri, at LSU, Arkansas, and at Texas A&M, a slate that still leaves room for a likely SEC Championship Game against a team like Georgia or Alabama if the Longhorns finish well.
That is the same calculus pulling other schools in different directions. Notre Dame’s 2026 schedule includes Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, Rice, Michigan State, at Purdue, at North Carolina, Stanford, at BYU, Navy, Miami, Boston College, SMU, and at Syracuse, while the American Football Coaches Association backed expanding the playoff to 24 teams this month.
Marcus Freeman and the playoff
Marcus Freeman’s schedule example and Texas’ loaded slate point to the same problem for college football: top programs are building around access, not just prestige. The 12-team format already rewards risk management, and the push toward 24 teams would widen the field further, which helps explain why marquee non-conference games are becoming harder to keep on the calendar.
For Florida State and Georgia, the practical result is simple. Two future dates are gone, one more major non-conference series has been shelved, and the rest of the sport keeps adapting to a playoff structure that keeps changing the value of a loss.
