SEC Football Preview and Predictions for the 2026 Season

Is the SEC the nation's deepest conference? Absolutely, it should be once again. But is it the best? Well, anyone who says that would have a hard time backing it up.

The Big Ten could just use the old playground comeback: "Scoreboard!" 

The past three national champions all hail from that rival league to the north with Michigan, Ohio State, and last year's unbeaten Indiana Hoosiers hoisting the trophy. Before that run, the SEC had won 13 of the past 17 titles.

Now, though, the league with the most NFL talent year-in and year-out is looking to get back to the podium. It's not going to get any easier, either, with the conference moving to a nine-game schedule and the argument that the teams "just beat up on themselves" strengthening.

The SEC is, however, loaded with potentially elite teams once again. Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas A&M will be very good. Others like Oklahoma, LSU, Alabama, and possibly even Tennessee and South Carolina could be strong, too. 

But can one of them reach the top? Let's take a look at what to expect from southern-fried football in '26.

Best Players

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It's impossible to zero in on just who is going to steal the show in the SEC. There's just so much talent, and it's an inexact science as last year's predictions of Garrett Nussmeier, DJ Lagway and LaNorris Sellers fell flat.

Sellers is back under center at South Carolina, and Arch Manning overcame a rough start a season ago at Texas to have a nice season, so both of those guys could flash. Georgia's Gunner Stockton, Oklahoma's John Mateer and Texas A&M's Marcel Reed are household-name field generals, and there are high hopes for Sam Leavitt at LSU. 

But Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss is going to set the pace at quarterback, and Kewan Lacy forms one of the league's top offensive duos with the signal-caller.

Still, though, there are so many weapons across the league like runners Ahmad Hardy (Missouri), DeSean Bishop (Tennessee), Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown (Texas) and Jadan Baugh (Florida). Catching passes will be some of the nation's top weapons like Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo (Texas), Ryan Coleman-Williams (Alabama), TreyDez Green (LSU), Mario Craver (Texas A&M), Isaiah Satenga (Oklahoma), Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews (Tennessee) and Nyck Harbor (South Carolina).

Road-grading linemen include Trevor Goosby at Texas, Mizzou's Cayden Green, South Carolina's Jacarrius Peak, LSU's Jordan Seaton and returning Georgia standouts Earnest Greene III, Dontrell Glover and Drew Bobo. Tennessee's line should be strong, too, led by David Sanders Jr.

Defensive playmakers Colin Simmons and Rasheem Biles (Texas), Dylan Stewart (South Carolina), Princewill Umanmielen and Whit Weeks (LSU), Xavier Atkins (Auburn), DJ Hicks and Marcus Ratcliffe (Texas A&M), Arion Carter and Xavier Gilliam (Tennessee), Will Echoles and Suntarine Perkins (Ole Miss) will be elite. 

Alabama (Zabien Brown, Bray Hubbard, Keon Sabb), Georgia (KJ Bolden, Ellis Robinson IV, Khalil Barnes), Oklahoma (Eli Bowen and Peyton Bowen) and LSU (DJ Pickett, Ty Benefield) have superstars in the secondary too.

Once again, the talent in the SEC is absurd. 

Top Storylines

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Will Nine Be Fine?

Without a doubt, the biggest thing to watch this year is the league moving to nine conference games and how that will affect the title contenders.

Will they be more beat up? More prepared? Potentially, would an extra loss impact an SEC team that otherwise would have made the College Football Playoff with a cupcake win instead of the setback?

It's obviously a major money-maker for Greg Sankey and Co. to add the extra game, but the residual effects are at least worth monitoring.

Pontchartrain Lane

OK, we know Lake Pontchartrain is 50 or so miles from Baton Rouge, but you get the point. Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss for hated rival LSU, and it's the biggest buzz in the league.

Everybody's got the Bayou Bengals' September 19 trip to Oxford on the schedule of must-watch TV, and Kiffin went out and added major reinforcements to the Tigers roster through the transfer portal and recruiting. Whether it's enough to turn LSU into an immediate contender remains to be seen.

The expectations are massive, though. When you make a move with these shockwaves, you want results right now. Everybody's watching.

Massive Turnover at the Top

Everybody's talking about Kiffin, of course. But this is the most turnover in the SEC coaching ranks in the modern era. 

An astounding six teams changed head coaches – three of those coming from the AAC. Alex Golesh left South Florida for Auburn, Jon Sumrall exited Tulane for Florida and Ryan Silverfield headed up the road from Memphis to Arkansas.

Will Stein returns to his home state of Kentucky to coach the Wildcats, leaving his offensive coordinator perch at Oregon. And Pete Golding, who took over before the postseason run for the departed Kiffin, inherits a roster goldmine at Ole Miss.

It was a whirlwind of turnover.

Lone Star Takeover

Preseason prognostications indicate the league title could run through the Lone Star State.

Texas is deep, talented and the likely favorite in the league. Texas A&M is also coming off a playoff run and fortified some gaps through the transfer portal. 

Georgia, Ole Miss, Oklahoma and others will have something to say about who's going to come out on top, but both of the SEC teams from Texas are loaded.

Youth Under Center

Several SEC teams will probably stake their hopes on youngsters at quarterback.

At Alabama, it's either going to be Keelon Russell or Austin Mack, so if Russell (a former 5-star redshirt freshman with very limited experience) wins the job, he'll be handed the keys to a potential title contender.

In the Volunteer State, it's going to be either true freshman Faizon Brandon or redshirt freshman George Macintyre calling the shots for Josh Heupel at Tennessee, and Vanderbilt likely will replace Diego Pavia with former 5-star true freshman Jared Curtis.

Then, at Florida, it's going to either be redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr., or Georgia Tech sophomore transfer Aaron Philo. Those are some good programs with uncertainty leading the way.

Top Challengers

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Tier 1: Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, LSU

The expected top five in the league are pretty clear right now, but everything after that is just a matter of how you think it's going to shake out. Also, if a couple of young quarterbacks hit in that second tier, things could change.

Texas is deep, and even though new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has some turnover on that side of the ball, the Longhorns outfitted the roster through the portal with massive reinforcements.

At Georgia, titles are the benchmark, and coach Kirby Smart has a dynamic defense once again and a veteran quarterback in Gunner Stockton. He's won national titles with that same formula. 

After last year's deep College Football Playoff run, folks in Oxford think this could be the year the Rebels break the SEC championship game drought, and oh what fun would that be in the first full year of the post-Lane Kiffin era? Speaking of Kiffin, he's got a roster at LSU built to win right now.

Texas A&M is kind of laying in the weeds with all this Longhorn buzz, but don't sleep on the Aggies, either. There are several teams in this group that can win it all.

Tier 2: Oklahoma, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee

Fans of two teams in this group aren't going to be happy to be here, and two others will be thrilled.

At Alabama, it's all about finding a viable running game and the right quarterback to lead Kalen DeBoer's offense. The defense is going to be one of the nation's best and terrific at all levels. But there have been offensive issues, and now they're replacing Ty Simpson? Questions abound.

Oklahoma made it to the playoffs a year ago with a magical run through a gauntlet schedule, and the Sooners return John Mateer at quarterback and playmakers on both sides of the ball. But can they catch magic twice? Sooners fans think they're a playoff lock.

For South Carolina and Tennessee, the season's a toss-up. The Vols have a lot to like on that roster if a young quarterback steps up. New defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has transformed things on that side of the ball.

In Columbia, it's now or never for Shane Beamer, but with LaNorris Sellers a prime pick for a rebound campaign with Kendal Briles calling the plays, a turnaround could be in the cards.

Coaches on the Hot Seat

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With six new coaches leading the charge in the league, there are really just a couple of coaches with warm bottoms entering the season.

Of course, if they have poor years, Tennessee's Josh Heupel and Alabama's Kalen DeBoer could possibly exit 2026 sweating a bit, but neither of those guys are in any danger of losing their jobs in the next calendar year. A couple of their peers are.

Shane Beamer, South Carolina Gamecocks

Last year, South Carolina was a College Football Playoff sleeper and crashed to a 4-8 record, winning just one SEC game and blowing a massive late-season lead against Texas A&M.

Now, after hiring Kendal Briles, Beamer, quarterback LaNorris Sellers and Co. are again on many minds as a possible turnaround team. The Gamecocks have talent, and they've got several opportunities to grab statement wins in the national spotlight.

If they don't, they'll be looking for a new coach. Beamer won't survive another losing season.

Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mississippi State made it to a bowl game with a losing record a season ago and was promptly dismantled by Wake Forest. It was a disastrous end to a frustrating season.

Early on, the Bulldogs were the league's tough-luck loser. 

After starting 4-0, MSU lost 41-34 at home against Tennessee in overtime, then after a lopsided loss to Texas A&M, fell 23-21 at Florida and took Texas to the brink in Starkville before losing 45-38 in overtime.

They fell apart after that, ending the year (following a close win over Arkansas) getting dismantled by Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss and Wake Forest. 

What does that mean for Lebby? He's coaching in a traditionally tough place to win. But 7-18 isn't going to cut it for long, and the Bulldogs aren't expected to make much noise this year, either.

Best Games on Tap

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Nonconference Superlatives

Sep. 5: Clemson at LSU, Baylor vs. Auburn (in Atlanta)

Sep. 6: Louisville vs. Ole Miss (in Nashville)

Sep. 12: Oklahoma at Michigan, Tennessee at Georgia Tech, Ohio State at Texas, Arkansas at Utah

Sep. 19: Florida State at Alabama

Nov. 27: Florida at Florida State

Nov. 28: Georgia Tech at Georgia, Louisville at Kentucky, South Carolina at Clemson

College football hits us with some nice little warmups during Week 1 to whet our appetites with Clemson traveling to LSU as well as Baylor meeting Auburn in Atlanta, and we'll know a bit about both sets of Tigers after those tilts. Louisville and Ole Miss meeting in Nashville is a sneaky showdown, too.

The next weekend, though, is massive. 

Everybody wants to watch Ohio State head to Austin to take on Texas in a rematch of national title contenders. Oklahoma heads to the Big House to face Michigan in another SEC/Big Ten showdown, and Tennessee travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech. Ryan Silverfield's first game at Arkansas will be in Salt Lake City against Utah in a tough test, too.

After those first two weekends, though, all we have in the way of marquee out-of-conference matchups is Florida State coming to Alabama in Week 3. Rivalry weekend gives us the next taste of non-SEC grudge matches.

SEC Heavyweight Showdowns

Sep. 19: LSU at Ole Miss, Florida at Auburn

Sep. 26: Oklahoma at Georgia, Texas A&M at LSU, South Carolina at Alabama, Texas at Tennessee

Oct. 10: Georgia at Alabama, Texas A&M at Missouri, Texas vs. Oklahoma (Dallas)

Oct. 17: Missouri at Ole Miss, Alabama at Tennessee

Oct. 24: Ole Miss at Texas, Texas A&M at Alabama, Tennessee at South Carolina

Oct. 31: Florida vs. Georgia (Jacksonville)

Nov. 7: Georgia at Ole Miss, Texas at Missouri, Texas A&M at South Carolina, Alabama at LSU

Nov. 14: Missouri at Georgia, Texas at LSU, Tennessee at Texas A&M, Ole Miss at Oklahoma

Nov. 21: Georgia at South Carolina, Texas A&M at Oklahoma, LSU at Tennessee

Nov. 27: Texas at Texas A&M

Nov. 28: Oklahoma at Missouri, Auburn at Alabama

It's almost as if the SEC scheduling gods knew we simply couldn't wait.

Right off the bat on September 19, we've got the game we all want to see: Lane Kiffin heading back to Oxford as LSU coach to take on the Ole Miss team he built into a playoff program a season ago. That game will captivate the entire nation, but it's only the beginning.

The very next weekend may be the biggest of the year as the Sooners head to Athens, the Aggies descend on Death Valley, South Carolina gets tested right away in Tuscaloosa and Texas enters a hostile Neyland Stadium environment.

Following a bit of a "down" weekend October 3, Georgia plays at Alabama the next weekend, and we get the Red River Rivalry, too. In a nine-game schedule, there are no cakewalks, and that means high-quality games for us fans every single weekend.

If you love SEC football, you'll get a heaping helping of it this year. Game after game of intensity dot the calendar all the way through October and November.

Best Offense: Texas

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The easiest answer here perhaps would be Ole Miss, which returns potentially the nation's top quarterback (Trinidad Chambliss) and running back (Kewan Lacy) along with plenty of capable pass-catchers.

But losing coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. to LSU won't be easy to replace, so those growing pains the team could face adjusting to new play-caller John David Baker could stunt the potency a bit.

That's why we're rolling with Texas here. 

Sure, a season ago, it took Arch Manning more than half the season to get going, but coach Steve Sarkisian went out in the transfer portal and surrounded his budding star signal-caller with elite talent in what is sure to be his final season in Austin.

The biggest prize for Texas is former Auburn receiver Cam Coleman who may be the most physically gifted receiver in the nation. He will team with Ryan Wingo for an elite 1-2 punch.

Beating Alabama for former North Carolina State running back Hollywood Smothers and pairing him with former Arizona State game-breaker Raleek Brown gives the Longhorns a top-tier running back duo, too.

Add in an offensive line with a lot of strong pieces, and Texas is going to score a bunch of points.

Best Defense: Georgia

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This is where the SEC could truly flex this year. 

It wouldn't be surprising to see retooled Texas, which added players like Rasheem Biles to a roster that already featured Colin Simmons, an Alabama unit full of returning talent, a hard-nosed Texas A&M group taking on the persona of head coach Mike Elko or an Oklahoma group that led the league a year ago be the top defensive dog.

We're rolling with Georgia here, though. 

The Bulldogs are going to have to replace a bunch of starts up front alongside Gabe Harris Jr., but the second and third levels of Glenn Schumann's defense will be nationally stout. Elijah Griffin is a potential All-American inside.

Georgia also has a deep and talented linebacking corps that features Raylen Wilson and Chris Cole, both of whom could be first-round picks. However, Quintavius Johnson has just as much talent at the Jack spot, too.

On the back end, KJ Bolden and Ellis Robinson IV also have the potential to be the best players in the nation at their position, and there are other veterans all over the place like Khalil Barnes and Demello Jones.

This will be a tough unit.

Projected Standings

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Bowl-Eligible Teams

Texas Longhorns (11-1, 9-0)

Georgia Bulldogs (10-2, 7-2)

Ole Miss Rebels (10-2, 7-2)

Texas A&M Aggies (9-3, 6-3)

LSU Tigers (9-3, 6-3)

Oklahoma Sooners (8-4, 5-4)

South Carolina Gamecocks (8-4, 5-4)

Alabama Crimson Tide (8-4, 5-4)

Tennessee Volunteers (8-4, 5-4)

Auburn Tigers (7-5, 4-5)

Florida Gators (6-6, 3-6)

Missouri Tigers (6-6, 3-6)

Watching Postseason

Vanderbilt Commodores (5-7, 2-7)

Kentucky Wildcats (3-9, 1-8)

Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-9, 1-8)

Arkansas Razorbacks (2-10, 0-9)

Projected SEC Championship: Texas vs. Ole Miss

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This is the year the Ole Miss Rebels break the streak and make it to their first SEC championship game. Doing so in the wake of the Lane Kiffin era's abrupt end will be extra sweet, too.

Coach Pete Golding's team will be 10-2 heading into the conference title game, making it to the title game after beating their old coach and besting UGA on November 7 in a rematch of last year's playoff game.

Unfortunately for the Rebels, they won't be able to get past a Texas juggernaut clicking at the end of the season on both sides of the ball.

Everybody thought the Longhorns were going to compete for all the marbles a season ago, but an early-season struggle proved too much for them to overcome, and despite coach Steve Sarkisian's pleas, the College Football Playoff committee kept them out of the final 12.

That won't happen again this year. The 'Horns defense will be clicking under first-year coordinator Will Muschamp, and the offense will score enough to get by a strong Ole Miss team, propelling them to the playoffs.

Don't worry, Rebs. Your team is going, too.