SEC Votes to End 'Cupcake Weekend' for 2027 CFB Schedule amid Criticism

SEC football teams will no longer get to use the second-to-last weekend of the season as a tune-up week.

Per CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello, SEC athletic directors voted to play a conference game on the next-to-last weekend of the season rather than playing a non-conference foe.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey joked that the vote is "the end of Cupcake Weekend."

For years, SEC teams used the second-to-last week of the season to play lower-level opponents, giving them the chance to get right and avoid playing their starters big minutes before the postseason.

For example, Georgia played Charlotte during that weekend of the 2025 season, while Alabama played Eastern Illinois.

Getting such an easy opponent has long been one of the criticisms other leagues have of the SEC. Another criticism has been the fact that the SEC previously played just eight conference opponents, while leagues like the Big Ten have nine conference games.

Last August, the SEC voted to move to a nine-game conference schedule, starting with the 2026 season. Each team will have three repeat opponents for the next four years.