Projecting the SEC team-by-team, entering season with 10 ranked squads

The Southeastern Conference perennially yields some of the best teams in college football, and with the recent additions of Texas and Oklahoma, last year was no different. In the inaugural season of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, three SEC teams — Georgia, Texas and Tennessee — received berths. But with Ohio State’s championship and Michigan’s the year before, the SEC has not won the title for consecutive seasons for the first time since 2014.

While Florida was far from the playoff at 8-5, the Gators will be among those poised to thrust the conference back atop college football’s dais this year.

Here is a quick look at the SEC, which is as deep as it has ever been, with 10 teams ranked in the preseason Associated Press Top 25.

1. Texas Longhorns

Coach: Steve Sarkisian

Players to watch: QB Arch Manning, DL Colin Simmons, LB Anthony Hill, S Michael Taaffe.

Key games: at Ohio State, Aug. 30; at Florida, Oct. 4; at Georgia, Nov. 15; vs. Texas A&M, Nov.29.

Texas earned a second consecutive CFP semifinal berth last year, falling to eventual national champion Ohio State. In a twist of fate, the Longhorns open the Arch Manning era against the Buckeyes this year. With two of the nation’s best defensive players in Simmons and Hill, and Manning guiding a revamped offense, Texas should be among the best in the sport. UT debuting at No. 1 in the preseason AP Poll for the first time only solidifies that.

2. Georgia Bulldogs

Coach: Kirby Smart

Players to watch: WR Zachariah Branch, LB CJ Allen, S KJ Bolden

Key games: at Tennessee, Sept. 13; vs. Alabama, Sept. 27; vs. Texas, Nov. 15.

The Bulldogs have ruled the SEC since the pandemic, winning the conference or the national championship in all but one season (2023). While there are questions about quarterback Gunner Stockton, who looked shaky in Georgia’s CFP quarterfinal defeat against Notre Dame last year, the roster in Athens is of its typical depth, and a top 10 defense can buoy Stockton.

3. LSU Tigers

Coach: Brian Kelly

Players to watch: QB Garrett Nussmeier, WR Aaron Anderson, LB Whit Weeks, LB Harold Perkins

Key games: at Clemson, Aug. 30; Florida, Sept. 13; at Alabama, Nov. 8; at Oklahoma, Nov. 29.

The Tigers receive the gift of not facing Georgia or Texas, which may be the determinant in whether they can make their first CFP berth since the days of Joe Burrow. At quarterback, though, they’ll have another Heisman contender in Nussmeier. The question is the defense, which allowed 364.4 yards per game, but welcomes back the former All-American Perkins from injury.

4. Alabama Crimson Tide

Coach: Kalen Deboer

Players to watch: WR Ryan Williams, OL Parker Brailsford Jr., LB Deontae Lawson

Key games: at Florida State, Aug. 30; at Georgia, Sept. 27; vs. LSU, Nov. 8; at Auburn, Nov. 29.

A 9-3 season denotes failure in Tuscaloosa, and Deboer won’t have any more wiggle room if he does that for a second-straight year. The Crimson Tide’s success will depend on Ty Simpson, who has pulled away in the quarterback battle during camp. Fifteen returning starters surround him, and incoming offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has a proven track record of developing quarterbacks. But Simpson will need to orchestrate, and even improve, Alabama’s offense.

5. Florida Gators

Coach: Billy Napier

Players to watch: QB DJ Lagway, OL Jake Slaughter, DL Caleb Banks

Key games: at LSU, Sept. 13; at Miami, Sept. 20, vs. Texas, Oct. 4; vs. Georgia, Nov. 1.

Florida has one of the most challenging schedules in the nation, facing four teams featured in the preseason AP Poll top 10. To navigate that, the Gators’ offensive production will need to evolve from “Lagway, go do something cool,” into a well-organized attack. UF brought in new offensive weapons, which it will couple with a veteran defense. Florida will learn early if things have changed with top 10 matchups against LSU and Miami.

6. Tennessee Volunteers

Coach: Josh Heupel

Players to watch: WR Mike Matthews, LB Arion Carter, CB Jermod McCoy

Key games: vs. Georgia, Sept. 13; at Alabama, Oct. 18; at Florida, Nov. 22.

Tennessee made the playoff last year, but everything looks different. The Vols’ most notable contributors – Dylan Sampson, James Pearce and Nico Iamaleava – all hit the road. While losing a starting quarterback is never ideal, and the way Iamaleava departed is a story of its own, Tennessee rebounded well, picking up App State-via-UCLA transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar. The Volunteers also benefit from as soft an SEC schedule as they come, facing only four ranked opponents.

7. Oklahoma Sooners

Coach: Brent Venables

Players to watch: QB John Mateer, RB Jaydn Ott, DL R Mason Thomas.

Key games: vs. Michigan, Sept. 6; vs. Texas, Oct. 11; at Alabama, Nov. 15; vs. LSU, Nov. 29.

Venables’ time in Norman has been a rollercoaster, sandwiching a 10-win season between a pair of 6-7 campaigns. Last year was an offensive nightmare, with the Sooners only scoring 24 points per game. But Venables reset everything, snatching Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and Mateer. Returning most pieces of a top 10 defense, any improved offensive productivity could keep Oklahoma in the playoff hunt.

8. Ole Miss Rebels

Coach: Lane Kiffin

Players to watch: QB Austin Simmons, WR Cayden Lee, LB Suntarine Perkins

Key games: vs. LSU, Sept. 27; at Georgia, Oct. 18; at Oklahoma, Oct. 25; vs. Florida, Nov. 15.

Ole Miss only faces five currently ranked teams, and three of those meetings are in Oxford. The Rebels will be working with a new quarterback in Simmons after barely missing the playoff at 9-3 with Jaxson Dart. But Kiffin has proven he has no issue squeezing productivity out of whomever guides his offense. However, the defense, whose 52 sacks ranked third nationally, is replacing six starters.

9. Texas A&M Aggies

Coach: Mike Elko

Players to watch: RB Le’Veon Moss, WR KC Concepcion, LB Taurean York

Key games: at Notre Dame, Sept. 13; at LSU, Oct. 25; at Texas, Nov. 29.

Quarterback Marcel Reed will determine how the Aggies’ season goes. With Texas A&M’s talent, no game on its schedule, besides Texas, is unwinnable. (It holds the fourth-highest Blue-Chip Ratio — a recruiting representation of the past four seasons.) But Reed was up and down, starting half of the team’s games during an 8-5 year. With a talented defense, if he improves, A&M could push for playoff contention.

10. Missouri Tigers

Coach: Eli Drinkwitz

Players to watch: WR Kevin Coleman, DL Damon Wilson, S Jalen Catalon

Key games: vs. Alabama, Oct. 11; vs. Texas A&M, Nov. 8; at Oklahoma, Nov. 22.

The Tigers entered 2024 as a fringe top 10 team, but struggled in each of their ranked matchups. Now, most of their offense is gone, and Penn State transfer quarterback Beau Pribula will take the reins. All-Sun Belt transfer running back Ahmad Hardy and Mississippi State transfer Coleman, who led all returning SEC receivers with 932 yards last year, will aid his efforts to reset expectations in Columbia.

11. South Carolina Gamecocks

Coach: Shane Beamer

Players to watch: QB LaNorris Sellers, WR Nyck Harbor, DL Dylan Stewart, CB Jalen Kilgore

Key games: Virginia Tech, Aug. 31; at LSU, Oct. 11; vs. Alabama, Oct. 25; vs. Clemson, Nov. 29.

After a surprising 9-4 season in which Sellers went from unknown to a projected first-round pick in 2026, expectations are sky high in Columbia. But with a lack of defensive continuity (five returning starters) and a backloaded schedule with six ranked matchups in the final seven weeks, reality may set in quickly. If Sellers (6-foot-3, 240) has a Cam Newton-esque campaign, anything is possible. However, this is a bet on him doing a lot of heavy lifting in an offense that’s most productive skill-position player had 376 yards last year.

12. Auburn Tigers

Coach: Hugh Freeze

Players to watch: WR Cam Coleman, WR Eric Singleton, DL Keldric Faulk

Key games: at Baylor, Aug. 29; at Oklahoma, Sept. 20; vs. Georgia, Oct. 11; vs. Alabama, Nov. 29.

Hugh Freeze enters year three on The Plains without a winning season. Last year, the Tigers were one of just three SEC teams that didn’t make a bowl game, going 5-7. The offense figures to be more explosive this year, pairing Georgia Tech transfer Singleton (754 yards in 2024) with one of last year’s top receiver recruits, Coleman. But quarterback Jackson Arnold will distribute the ball, and he was run out of an Oklahoma offense that was among the SEC’s worst last season.

13. Vanderbilt Commodores

Coach: Clark Lea

Players to watch: QB Diego Pavia, TE Eli Stowers, LB Bryan Longwell

Key games: at Alabama, Oct. 4; at Texas, Nov. 1; at Tennessee, Nov. 29.

Oct. 5, 2024, is a date that will stick in Vanderbilt faithful’s minds for years. The legend of Diego Pavia was cemented as Vanderbilt defeated top-ranked Alabama, helping the Commodores earn their first winning season since 2013. Now, Pavia’s back with the most returning starters in the SEC, but the Commodores have four ranked road contests, leaving little optimism that they will replicate last year’s Cinderella story.

14. Kentucky Wildcats

Coach: Mark Stoops

Players to watch: QB Zach Calzada, WR Kendrick Law, S Jordan Lovett

Key games: at Georgia, Oct. 4; vs. Texas, Oct. 18; vs. Florida, Nov. 8; at Louisville, Nov. 29.

The brightest spot of their 4-8 season is that the Wildcats, with a 20-17 win, prevented Ole Miss from making the playoff. Otherwise, the year was a wash, trotting out an offense that was the seventh-worst among Power Four teams. This year, Calzada should infuse some life as a former starter at Texas A&M before a pair of FCS seasons, and the Wildcats’ defense remains sturdy.

15. Arkansas Razorbacks

Coach: Sam Pittman

Players to watch: QB Taylen Green, OL Fernando Carmona, LB Xavian Sorey.

Key games: vs. Notre Dame, Sept. 27; at LSU, Nov. 15; at Texas, Nov. 22.

The Razorbacks stumbled into a 7-6 season last year, and Pittman has a job for it. But losing five starters on each side of the ball, this team projects among the worst in the SEC. Green can be electric with his legs, but struggles to use his arm. When he does throw, though, it will be to a receiver room of transfers, which should help. Sorey, a former transfer from Georgia, is also a star. He leads Arkansas’ returners in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks and interceptions.

16. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Coach: Jeff Lebby

Players to watch: QB Blake Shapen, RB Davon Booth, LB Isaac Smith

Key games: vs. Arizona State, Sept. 6; at Florida, Oct. 18; vs. Texas, Oct. 25; vs. Georgia, Nov. 8.

There isn’t a lot that went right in Lebby’s first season at the helm, finishing last in the SEC at 2-10. Part of that’s due to Shapen suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 4. He started the season with eight touchdowns and just one interception, which provides hope that the offensive guru Lebby can lift the Bulldogs from 86th in scoring this year. But with one of the worst defenses in the nation, Mississippi State’s record shouldn’t improve mightily.

This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 9:29 AM.