Paul Finebaum Sets SEC Hierarchy With Clear Top Two Teams

The longtime ESPN analyst puts Georgia and Texas at the top of the 2026 SEC, while Jake Crain breaks down which programs are climbing fast behind them.

ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum believes the SEC has a clear first tier composed of two powerhouse programs. | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

The 2026 SEC season is shaping up to be one of the more fascinating in recent memory, and not just at the top. The conference is loaded with new head coaches, veteran programs trying to find their footing again, and a handful of teams ready to make a real leap.

But before any of that conversation can begin, there is one point of order that ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum is not shy about.

There are two teams in a tier of their own right now, and everyone else is competing for the rest of the spots.

During an appearance on the Crain & Cone podcast, Finebaum opened the floor by framing the SEC's 2026 landscape in direct terms: "It seems like everybody has coalesced around two teams and after Texas and Georgia, it's anybody's guess."

That framing set the table for a wider conversation about what the rest of the conference might look like when the season actually kicks off.

Texas and Georgia as the SEC's top tier

The case for Georgia is hard to argue against on paper. Finebaum said, "Right now, Georgia to me probably looks like the best team in the SEC along with Texas." Kirby Smart's program has the coaching, the recruiting infrastructure and now a schedule that works in its favor.

Finebaum pointed out that Georgia's slate lacks the week-to-week gauntlet that can derail even elite teams, saying, "I like Georgia a lot... I like their schedule, frankly. I don't see that schedule doing them in."

Texas quarterback Arch Manning and the Longhorns are looking to build on the momentum they closed the 2025 season with after finishing with seven wins in their last eight contests. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Texas enters 2026 with its own momentum. Arch Manning is healthy after a cautious spring, declaring himself "100% right now" and adding, "if we had a game today, I'd be playing."

Manning threw for over 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2025, and the Longhorns are motivated after finishing 9-3 and missing the College Football Playoff entirely. The ceiling is obvious. The question is whether the offensive line and a retooled roster can hold up across a brutal SEC schedule.

The SEC teams with a real shot to climb

Podcast co-host Jake Crain did not shy away from naming names beyond the top two. He highlighted Texas A&M as a program that has genuinely turned something around under Mike Elko, pointing to the culture, the depth and the edge the Aggies play with.

That reputation was earned. Finebaum agreed, calling A&M "definitely a playoff team" and praising Elko as "one of the best coaches in the country." The key question for College Station is Marcel Reed.

Elko's message entering the spring was measured confidence: "He now has a full season under his belt. He has been through the wringer. He has 18, or probably close to it, career starts. That allows you to really hone in on him."

Crain also singled out Florida under first-year coach Jon Sumrall as a program worth watching. That optimism seems grounded. SEC Network analyst Chris Doering said on the Finebaum show that Sumrall "has won the offseason" by showing up everywhere and winning the room before a single regular-season snap.

Georgia, Texas, and who else for next season in the SEC? pic.twitter.com/sWBaqG8ypL

— Crain & Cone (@crainandcone) May 1, 2026

Sumrall himself has not sugarcoated the work ahead, particularly up front. "Those guys have to have a freaking great summer or we got no chance," he said of his offensive line after the spring game.

At Auburn, Crain's point about a program-wide mindset shift under Alex Golesh is something the coaching staff is actively reinforcing. The new standard, as Crain described it, is not surviving to the fourth quarter but owning it.

Golesh brought dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown with him from South Florida, and despite a rough spring game, the coach pushed back on the criticism. "That dude has been at Bryant-Denny, he's been in The Swamp, he's been at Miami," Golesh said. "The mental side and the environment is not going to get him."

Golesh also noted that Brown is seeing the game at a different level this spring: "When you see a quarterback where it slows down for him, especially when you're playing this defense, it's really slow to him."

The broad takeaway from Finebaum and Crain's conversation is that while Georgia and Texas are the clear standard in 2026, the SEC's middle tier has more intrigue than usual.