SEC’s Title Drought Is League’s Longest in More Than Two Decades With Ole Miss Loss

The league’s last title came in 2022, when Georgia won the second of back-to-back national championships.

Ole Miss was the final SEC team remaining in a field that included five of them before the Rebels’ College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Miami. / Erick W. Rasco/ Sports Illustrated

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss got off a clean look on a Hail Mary from the Miami 35-yard-line, hitting his top wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling in the hand. There was plenty of contact on the play in both directions, but not quite enough for the officials to justify throwing a flag for pass interference against the Hurricanes defense, securing a win for The U.

The Rebels, who lost coach Lane Kiffin to the LSU job at the end of the regular season, had an impressive run to the College Football Playoff semifinal, dominating Tulane and upsetting Georgia to reach Thursday’s Fiesta Bowl. The loss eliminates the final SEC program from the field, and with Big Ten teams Indiana and Oregon facing off in Friday’s semifinal at the Peach Bowl, it ensures that no SEC team will capture the national title for a third consecutive season.

It wasn’t long ago that the SEC was considered the dominant conference in the sport. Conventional wisdom is that it remains college football’s deepest league, especially with the recent additions of Oklahoma and Texas, but the Big Ten has had far more success on the biggest stage of late. In fact, a title-less end to the 2025–26 season marks the first time in more than two decades that the SEC will go three or more years without winning a national championship, as noted by Ralph Russo of The Athletic.

Three straight seasons without an SEC team in the national title game.

Last time the SEC went at least three straight seasons w/o winning a title was 1999-2002

— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) January 9, 2026

Georgia dominated TCU for its second of back-to-back national championships in 2022–23. In the three years since, no SEC team has even made the national title game; Michigan (Big Ten) beat Washington (Pac-12) in 2023–24, the final year of the four-team playoff and Ohio State (Big Ten) defeated Notre Dame (Independent) last season.

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The SEC dominated much of the two-plus decades between these two droughts

After Tennessee took home the 1998 national title, the first determined by the BCS, Florida State (ACC), Oklahoma (Big 12), Miami (Big East) and Ohio State (Big Ten) won the next four national championships.

From there, the SEC became the true powerhouse conference of the BCS and four-team CFP eras.

Season	National Champion	Conference
2003	LSU*	SEC
2004	USC*	Pac-10
2005	Texas	Big 12
2006	Florida	SEC
2007	LSU	SEC
2008	Florida	SEC
2009	Alabama	SEC
2010	Auburn	SEC
2011	Alabama	SEC
2012	Alabama	SEC
2013	Florida State	ACC
2014	Ohio State	Big Ten
2015	Alabama	SEC
2016	Clemson	ACC
2017	Alabama	SEC
2018	Clemson	ACC
2019	LSU	SEC
2020	Alabama	SEC
2021	Georgia	SEC
2022	Georgia	SEC

*Indicates split claims to the national championship

The SEC captured 14 of the 20 official national titles during that stretch. The league was certainly aided by Nick Saban’s dynastic run at Alabama (and first title, at LSU in 2003) as well as dominant stretches for Urban Meyer at Florida and Kirby Smart at Georgia. Even so, its supremacy was rarely questioned.

There are numerous theories as to why the modern game, brought on by the advent of the transfer portal and legal NIL legislation, has stripped some power away from the SEC and has seemingly benefitted top Big Ten programs. A three-year sample size may not be enough to determine that the SEC’s run of dominance is over for good, but it seems pretty clear that the playing field has been leveled to some extent.

The SEC led the 2025–26 College Football Playoff with five teams included, but all have been eliminated

No. 3-seed Georgia earned one of the CFP’s four byes, while No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 9 Alabama each made the field as at-large teams.

There was a fair amount of friendly fire between SEC programs, with the Crimson Tide taking down the Sooners in the first round, a rematch of a regular season Oklahoma win. The Aggies fell to Miami in the opening round.

Alabama was dominated by Indiana in the quarterfinals, while Ole Miss won a regular season rematch against Georgia in a classic, making the Rebels the last SEC team standing in the field. Unfortunately for Greg Sankey’s offense, the Hurricanes—led by former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and a former Saban assistant in coach Mario Cristobal—have taken down a pair of SEC programs en route to their national championship appearance.

2025–26 College Football Playoff bracket

The College Football Playoff bracket heading into Friday night’s Peach Bowl. / via Sports Illustrated

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