Where the SEC Stands: On SI's Preseason SEC Football Poll

SEC Media Days starts next week and with it talking season will begin in the world of SEC football. Here's on SI's projection of the league's finish.

1. Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia has been the model of developing elite talent across the board and subsequently getting elite results and that doesn’t appear to have changed much. The Bulldogs will put plenty of trust in quarterback Gunnar Stockton, but appear to have reloaded around him.

2. Texas Longhorns

Expectations are high in Austin as Arch Manning finally gets the keys to Texas’ offense, but whether Texas can find a way to win the league will be determined by its reformed offensive line and its replacements for the group of players that left it in favor of heading to the NFL Draft.

3. LSU Tigers

This feels like Brian Kelly’s best team yet at LSU with Garrett Nussmeier’s return to school as well as a transfer class that stacks up as one of the bets in the league. The question will always be whether Kelly can get over the hump, but he’s certainly got a chance this year.

4. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama’s quarterback competition has distracted from the fact that Kalen DeBoer’s group was right on the fringe of the College Football Playoff last season and returns star wide receiver Ryan Williams. It appears that they’ll be right in the mix again as long as the dust settles favorably on the quarterback competition.

5. Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss loses plenty of returning talent–including quarterback Jason Dart–but Lane Kiffin has reloaded through a large transfer class. There’s some significant upside here, but five feels like the spot until transfers are proven.

6. South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina is as appealing a team to project a leap from as any in the league after it won six in a row before a loss to Illinois in the Cheez-It Bowl. The Gamecocks return starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers. They also return plenty of key pieces on defense. It feels like a potential window of success for head coach Shane Beamer.

7. Tennessee Volunteers

Tim Banks’ defense is appealing, but the questions surrounding Joey Aguilar in the fallout of Nico Iamleava’s departure are concerning enough to be skeptical about how this thing ends for Tennessee.

8. Florida Gators

Florida could easily finish higher than eighth in the league if sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway takes the step forward that many around the Florida program believe he could, but it’s risky to project it as a College Football Playoff contender after an 8-5 finish in 2024.

9. Texas A&M Aggies

Mike Elko’s culture was easy to see in the way it operated and the toughness that it possessed. Its physical identity will be on display again and perhaps it could be a more explosive offense in 2025 if talented quarterback Marcel Reed takes a significant step forward. It will have to finish stronger than it did last season as it dropped three of four last season, though.

10. Missouri Tigers

Missouri loses plenty of returning talent, including starting quarterback Brady Cook and wide receiver Luther Burden. A lot will be on the plate of Penn State transfer Beau Pribula. It’s hard to count out Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and the infrastructure of his program finding a way to grind out a few wins, too.

11. Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma has high hopes in 2025 after adding Washington State offensive coordinator and high-dollar transfer quarterback John Mateer from Washington State, but it will have to improve significantly after a 6-7 season in which it finished 2-6 in SEC play. Three of its losses came by over 20 points. It’s got to be better, but perhaps it could be.

12. Auburn Tigers

The pressure is on for Auburn coach Hugh Freeze after a 5-7 season, in which the Tigers finished 2-6 in SEC play and failed to make a bowl game. It does appear that Auburn has a significantly increased level of talent–headlined by talented Oklahoma transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold–though.

13. Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt was one of college football’s best turnaround stories in 2024, but now it experiences the challenge of sustaining success in an unforgiving league. It does return quarterback Diego Paiva, tight end Eli Stowers and most of its defensive playmakers, which will help. It will have to be a more explosive group to take a step forward from last season’s 7-6 finish.

14. Arkansas Razorbacks

Arkansas’ defense needs to improve in 2025 if it’s going to take a step forward after a 7-6 season. Returning quarterback Taylen Green should give head coach Sam Pittman some comfortability, but he’ll have to have some things go right to get his program rolling.

15. Kentucky Wildcats

Momentum isn’t exactly on Kentucky’s side after Vince Marrow’s departure from the program and a 4-8 season in which it finished 1-7 in SEC play. Mark Stoops insists that he likes what he has this season, but the pressure is on him as he’s looking to improve despite losing a few defensive playmakers and having to navigate a quarterback battle.

16. Mississippi State Bulldogs

It’s a summer of turnover for Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby after his first season at the helm saw the Bulldogs go 0-8 in league play and 2-10 overall. It’s hard to be confident in his group finishing anywhere but last in the league.