15. Mississippi State Bulldogs<\/p>\n
The Mississippi State Bulldogs<\/a> showed some flashes of improvement last year, finishing with a 5-8 overall record and a bowl appearance. That bowl appearance (a loss to Wake Forest in the Duke\u2019s Mayo Bowl) came about because of other teams opting out, but it was a bowl game for Jeff Lebby<\/a> nonetheless. The Kamario Taylor era is officially here. With a new deep threat in Mizzou transfer Marquis Johnson and a rebuilt defense, can the Bulldogs win more than 1 SEC game this season? That will likely decide whether or not Lebby gets a Year 4 in Starkville.<\/p>\n 14. Kentucky Wildcats<\/p>\n I really like what Will Stein<\/a> has done in his short time in Lexington thus far. He\u2019s brought in an top transfer class and has renewed some energy in the Kentucky<\/a> fan base that has been lacking in recent years. However, he has his work cut out for him if he wants to get the Wildcats back into the top half of the SEC. I don\u2019t believe that\u2019ll happen in Year 1.<\/p>\n RELATED: Get in on the DFS fun this fall. Click here<\/a> to sign up for Underdog today. Use Underdog promo code<\/a> SDS to claim $50 in fantasy entries when you play your first $5 fantasy contest.<\/p>\n 13. South Carolina Gamecocks<\/p>\n I just don\u2019t see the path for this team to be meaningfully better than it was last year. LaNorris Sellers, Nyck Harbor, Dylan Stewart, Vicari Swain and others were on the roster last year, too, and South Carolina<\/a> finished 4-8. This year\u2019s squad should be better coached, as Shane Beamer<\/a> made some meaningful changes to his staff, but the schedule is an absolute nightmare.<\/p>\n 12. Auburn Tigers<\/p>\n I liked Auburn\u2019s decision to hire Alex Golesh<\/a> this offseason more than probably any other SEC team\u2019s hire (outside of Lane Kiffin\u2019s messy jump from Ole Miss to LSU). His offensive system should play in the SEC, and Byrum Brown is absolutely an SEC-caliber quarterback. Where I get concerned is the schedule. Auburn<\/a> has a 5-week stretch starting in October that goes: at Tennessee, OFF, at Georgia, vs. LSU, at Ole Miss. That\u2019s brutal. If the Tigers can win even 1 of those games, it should be considered a success for Golesh and company.<\/p>\n 11. Vanderbilt Commodores<\/p>\n I think Vanderbilt<\/a> will take a step back this year. Not exactly a bold take, considering the Commodores lost Heisman runner-up Diego Pavia. But I do believe in the infrastructure Clark Lea<\/a> has built in Nashville. Expect this team to compete every week and pull off some victories it shouldn\u2019t. Especially keep an eye on Vandy later in the year, as star freshman QB Jared Curtis gets his feet under him.<\/p>\n 10. Tennessee Volunteers<\/p>\n The Tennessee Volunteers<\/a> already had a major question mark at quarterback after Joey Aguilar was denied another year of eligibility. Now, new DC Jim Knowles has some uncertainty on his side of the ball as well, as Penn State transfer edge rusher Chaz Coleman was medically disqualified<\/a> from this upcoming season. Josh Heupel<\/a> is going to have his work cut out for him to get this group into the top half of the SEC standings.<\/p>\n 9. Florida Gators<\/p>\n New head coach Jon Sumrall<\/a> has already established his hard-nosed identity with this Florida Gators<\/a> team. The defense is loaded, with several key players returning. WR Dallas Wilson and RB Jadan Baugh provide a solid foundation on offense. The offensive line lost a lot, and Aaron Philo (or Tramell Jones Jr.) will be an unproven commodity at QB, but I\u2019m cautiously optimistic for this year\u2019s squad. Talk I\u2019ve seen online about the Gators being a dark-horse Playoff contender goes a bit too far, though.<\/p>\n 8. Missouri Tigers<\/p>\n I picked Austin Simmons as a dark-horse Heisman Trophy contender last season. Turns out I picked the wrong Ole Miss QB. Anyway, I\u2019m still holding a lot of Austin Simmons stock. The Mizzou<\/a> offensive line is stout. Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts form perhaps the SEC\u2019s best running back tandem. The defense has some experienced contributors returning. Don\u2019t sleep on the Tigers, y\u2019all.<\/p>\n 7. Oklahoma Sooners<\/p>\n The Oklahoma<\/a> defense will once again be among the SEC\u2019s elite, even after losing R Mason Thomas and others. The question for Brent Venables<\/a> and company will be how healthy QB John Mateer can stay. There are weapons on offense, including WR Isaiah Sategna III. This is a squad that has all the pieces to make another Playoff push this fall.<\/p>\n Which SEC teams will make the College Football Playoff? Check out the latest Kalshi<\/a> market below and make sure to use Kalshi promo code<\/a> SDS to score an exclusive $10 bonus ahead of the 2026 season: <\/p>\n 6. Alabama Crimson Tide<\/p>\n I know it\u2019s a bit surprising to see a team that I predict will make the Playoff<\/a> in the 6 spot of these rankings, but power rankings are a measure of who I think would win if a game were to be played tomorrow on a neutral field. At this current moment, Alabama<\/a> has some things to figure out at QB, offensive line and linebacker, to name a few positions. I trust Kalen DeBoer<\/a> to figure it out, but there might be a bit of a learning curve at the start of the season. I expect the Tide won\u2019t be down at No. 6 for very long.<\/p>\n 5. Texas A&M Aggies<\/p>\n Texas A&M<\/a> rebuilt its offensive line this past offseason, bringing in Tyree Adams and Coen Echols from LSU, Wilkin Formby from Alabama and Trovon Baugh from South Carolina. It\u2019ll be interesting to see how that plays out, as those 3 schools didn\u2019t exactly have the best offensive line play in 2025. In fact, they were all disasters, for the most part. Can the offensive line hold up? That\u2019ll be the key for Mike Elko<\/a> and company if they want to return to the Playoff, as the skill positions are loaded with QB Marcel Reed, RB Rueben Owens II and WRs Mario Craver and Isaiah Horton.<\/p>\n 4. Ole Miss Rebels<\/p>\n Promoting Pete Golding<\/a> to the full-time job was the right move, as he quickly proved last year during the Playoff. Most of the team\u2019s key players who still had eligibility returned, too, including QB Trinidad Chambliss, RB Kewan Lacy, DT Will Echoles and edge rusher Suntarine Perkins. They all could have followed a certain someone to Baton Rouge, but they didn\u2019t. Ole Miss<\/a> will look a lot different in terms of offensive system this fall, but this is still a very dangerous team.<\/p>\n 3. LSU Tigers<\/p>\n I know this is the team I\u2019ll be hammered for being too high on, but I don\u2019t care. I\u2019m all in on Lane Kiffin<\/a> and the LSU Tigers<\/a>. I like Sam Leavitt at QB. Getting Jordan Seaton from Colorado was massive in more ways than one. Keeping Blake Baker as the defensive coordinator was important. The run game should be much better. Yes, the schedule is tough, but there\u2019s way too much money invested in this program to use that as an excuse. It\u2019s Playoff or bust in Baton Rouge and I think Kiffin will get the job done.<\/p>\n 2. Georgia Bulldogs<\/p>\n It came down to Georgia<\/a> and Texas for the last 2 spots in my rankings, and I\u2019m giving the Longhorns an ever-so-slight edge. Kirby Smart<\/a> will have Georgia in the mix, of course. Heck, he\u2019s won the last 2 SEC titles, after all. But I like Texas\u2019s top-tier talent over the Bulldogs\u2019 top players. I think Texas has 2 players on offense (Arch Manning and Cam Coleman) who are better than any Georgia offensive player. And I like Colin Simmons more than anyone on Georgia\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say this Georgia squad is devoid of talent, of course. The secondary is a nightmare for opposing QBs. Gunner Stockton should be fine. If he can get the offense to take a step forward from where it was last year, watch out.<\/p>\n 1. Texas Longhorns<\/p>\n I like the investments the Texas Longhorns<\/a> made in their roster this offseason. Rasheem Biles is a heck of a linebacker. Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown should be a fearsome RB duo. And, of course, getting WR Cam Coleman from Auburn was one of the best moves any team made in the portal. Bringing in Will Muschamp as the defensive coordinator was an\u2026 interesting\u2026 decision, but there\u2019s plenty of talent on that side of the ball for him to work with. But the story of the Longhorns this season will be written by QB Arch Manning. Can he lead Steve Sarkisian<\/a> and Texas to glory? I think he can. <\/p>\n
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