NCAAF · 22 minutes ago

Phil Steele Predicts SEC Order of Finish Ahead of Week 1

Bo Marchionte

Host · Writer

16) Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas Team Profile
- Head Coach: Ryan Silverfield (1st Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Tim Cramsey
- Defensive Coordinator: Ron Roberts
- 2025 Record: 2-10 (0-8)
- 2025 Finish: 16th in the SEC
Someone has to finish last in a 16-team SEC, and that label looks uglier than the actual football team might be. Arkansas will have enough size and talent to make Saturdays uncomfortable. The problem is finding victories on a schedule filled with programs possessing more depth and considerably greater margin for error. The Razorbacks need games played on their terms. A physical, controlled fourth quarter for one possession to decide everything. But projecting an entire season requires identifying where the wins consistently come from. In this conference, that's a difficult answer, which leaves the Razorbacks at No. 16.

Arkansas Razorbacks 2025 Stats
- 454.8 yards per game
- 425.2 yards allowed per game
Arkansas Key Additions
- OT Bryant Williams
- LB Khmori House
- CB Jahiem Johnson
T-1) Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia Team Profile
- AP Top 25 Ranking: 3
- Head Coach: Kirby Smart (11th Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Mike Bobo
- Defensive Coordinator: Glenn Schumann
- 2025 Record: 12-2 (7-1)
- 2025 Finish: Lost in College Football Playoff Quarterfinal
- Conference: SEC
- Location: Athens, Georgia
Georgia remains the safest bet in the SEC because Kirby Smart has turned roster turnover into routine maintenance. The Bulldogs rarely enter a season without NFL departures, yet the next wave is usually already standing behind them. The difference between Georgia and most contenders is found beyond the headline names: size, depth, and legitimate Sunday talent across the two-deep. There will be questions to answer offensively, but Georgia doesn’t need everything clicking in September to survive. The defense should provide that margin.

Georgia Bulldogs 2025 Stats
- 402.4 yards per game
- 298.0 yards allowed per game
Georgia Key Additions
- WR Isiah Canion
- Edge Amaris Williams
- S Khalil Barnes
T-1) Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorns Team Profile
- AP Top 25 Ranking: 5
- Head Coach: Steve Sarkisian (6th Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Kyle Flood
- Defensive Coordinator: Will Muschamp
- 2025 Record: 10–3 (6-2)
- 2025 Finish: 5th in the SEC
- Conference: SEC
- Location: Austin, Texas
Texas has reached the point where simply being talented isn’t the story anymore. The Longhorns are expected to win the SEC. Steve Sarkisian has assembled the speed, length and depth necessary to play against the conference’s heavyweights without looking like a visitor. Now comes the harder part: turning a loaded roster into a championship season. Texas should again be explosive enough offensively to make defenses defend every blade of grass, while the roster has become considerably more SEC-looking along the line of scrimmage.

Texas Longhorns 2025 Stats
- 388.5 yards per game
- 338.5 yards allowed per game
Texas Longhorns Key Additions
- WR Cam Coleman
- RB Hollywood Smothers
- LB Rasheem Biles
T-3) Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama sitting third almost feels disrespectful until you look at the two teams above it. The Crimson Tide still have enough blue-chip talent to win the conference, and the standard in Tuscaloosa hasn’t changed simply because the SEC has become deeper. The fascinating part is whether Alabama can regain the week-to-week brutality that once made it feel inevitable. There is little concern about athletic ability. The separation will come from quarterback play, offensive consistency and whether the Tide can dominate games rather than merely escape them.

Alabama Team Profile
- AP Top 25 Ranking: 13
- Head Coach: Kalen DeBoer (3rd Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Ryan Grubb
- Defensive Coordinator: Kane Wommack
- 2025 Record: 11-4 (7-1)
- 2025 Finish: Lost in College Football Playoff Quarterfinal
- Conference: SEC
- Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Alabama Crimson Tide 2025 Stats
- 367.7 yards per game
- 296.8 yards allowed per game
Alabama Key Additions
- DT Devan Thompkins
- DT Terrance Green
- WR Noah Rogers
T-3) Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Team Profile
- AP Top 25 Ranking: 10
- Head Coach: Brent Venables (5th Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Ben Arbuckle
- Defensive Coordinator: Todd Bates
- 2025 Record: 10-3 (6-2)
- 2025 Finish: Lost in College Football Playoff First Round
- Conference: SEC
- Location: Norman, Oklahoma
This is where the SEC prediction gets interesting. Oklahoma isn't being treated as a cute sleeper here; the Sooners are being placed directly among the conference heavyweights. For that to hold, they need to consistently win the physical portions of games that often decide November football in this league. Oklahoma has never lacked athletes or offensive imagination. The SEC demands something more: surviving when the game becomes ugly, condensed, and decided five yards at a time. The roster has been built with that transition in mind.

Oklahoma Sooners 2025 Stats
- 354.3 yards per game
- 272.5 yards allowed per game
Oklahoma Key Additions
- WR Trell Harris
- OL E'Marion Harris
- LB Cole Sullivan
T-5) Ole Miss Rebels
Ole Miss Rebels Team Profile
- AP Top 25 Ranking: 9
- Head Coach: Pete Golding (1st Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: John David Baker
- Defensive Coordinator: Bryan Brown
- 2025 Record: 13-2 (7-1)
- 2025 Finish: Lost in College Football Playoff Semifinals
- Conference: SEC
- Location: Oxford, Mississippi
Ole Miss has become one of the SEC’s most fascinating roster laboratories. Lane Kiffin has never been shy about using the portal, and the Rebels have built themselves to compete immediately rather than patiently wait for recruiting classes to mature. That approach creates volatility, but it also gives Ole Miss a roster capable of punching above traditional expectations. Offensively, creativity is rarely the concern. The larger question is whether the Rebels can consistently hold up against the conference's most physical teams when explosives disappear, and possessions become precious.

Ole Miss Rebels 2025 Stats
- 489.7 yards per game
- 348.0 yards allowed per game
Ole Miss Key Additions
- LB Keaton Thomas
- DE Jonathan Maldonado
- LB Luke Ferrelli
T-5) Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M Team Profile
- AP Top 25 Ranking: 8
- Head Coach: Mike Elko (3rd Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Holmon Wiggins
- Defensive Coordinator: Lyle Hemphill
- 2025 Record: 11-2 (7-1)
- 2025 Finish: Lost in College Football Playoff First Round
- Conference: SEC
- Location: College Station, Texas
Nobody needs another offseason sermon about Texas A&M’s talent. We’ve heard it for years. Eventually, the collection of recruiting stars has to become a football team capable of navigating an SEC schedule without disappearing for stretches. The Aggies have the bodies. They have enough speed. They have the resources and depth expected from a program with championship ambitions. What they need is consistency, particularly when games tighten in the fourth quarter. This ranking gives A&M considerable respect without blindly buying the hype. The Aggies can absolutely finish higher than fifth, but they need to prove they can stack quality Saturdays instead of producing one impressive performance followed by a head-scratcher. The ceiling remains enormous. So does the burden of proof.

Texas A&M Aggies 2025 Stats
- 444.5 yards per game
- 307.4 yards allowed per game
Texas A&M Key Additions
- WR Isaiah Horton
- CB Rickey Gibson III
- OT Wilkin Formby
T-7) Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee Team Profile
- AP Top 25 Ranking: 20
- Head Coach: Josh Heupel (6th Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Joey Halzle
- Defensive Coordinator: Jim Knowles
- 2025 Record: 8-5 (4-4)
- 2025 Finish: 9th in the SEC
- Conference: SEC
- Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Tennessee is dangerous because its style can turn an ordinary Saturday into a track meet before the opponent realizes what happened. Tempo, spacing, and vertical pressure remain central to the Volunteers' identity, but finishing seventh suggests there are enough questions elsewhere to keep them below the conference’s first tier. The offense can erase mistakes quickly. Defensive consistency and line play against the SEC’s biggest rosters will determine whether this is an eight-win type of season or something considerably more interesting.

Tennessee Volunteers 2025 Stats
- 466.3 yards per game
- 396.9 yards allowed per game
Tennessee Key Additions
- Edge Chaz Coleman
- CB Kayin Lee
- DT Xavier Gilliam
T-7) LSU Tigers
LSU Tigers Team Profile
- AP Top 25 Ranking: 11
- Head Coach: Lane Kiffin (1st Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Charlie Weis Jr.
- Defensive Coordinator: Blake Baker
- 2025 Record: 7-6 (3-5)
- 2025 Finish: 10th in the SEC
- Conference: SEC
- Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
LSU finishing seventh would be considered disappointing in Baton Rouge, which says plenty about both the program and the conference. The Tigers possess the recruiting footprint and athletic profile to be near the top of the SEC, but talent alone doesn't guarantee survival anymore. LSU needs its defense to become something opponents actually worry about rather than something the offense continually has to rescue. There should be enough skill talent to manufacture points, and Tiger Stadium remains one of college football’s nastiest road environments. The issue is consistency away from home and against teams capable of matching LSU athlete-for-athlete.

LSU Tigers 2025 Stats
- 333.5 yards per game
- 328.7 yards allowed per game
LSU Tigers Key Additions
- QB Sam Leavitt
- OT Jordan Seaton
- DE Princewill Umanmielen
T-9) South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina Team Profile
- Head Coach: Shane Beamer (6th Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Kendal Briles
- Defensive Coordinator: Clayton White
- 2025 Record: 4-8 (1-7)
- 2025 Finish: 13th in the SEC
- Conference: SEC
South Carolina is the team nobody should casually pencil in as a win. The Gamecocks have steadily developed an identity built around toughness, athleticism, and making opponents uncomfortable, especially at home. They may not possess the ridiculous two-deep depth of Georgia or Texas, but their best football is absolutely capable of beating teams ranked above them. The challenge is sustaining it over an SEC schedule. There is considerably less room for injuries, offensive droughts or a bad turnover afternoon when the roster isn't overflowing with five-stars. Ninth may look pedestrian on paper, yet South Carolina could be considerably better than its finish suggests. This feels like a team capable of producing one of those Saturdays that completely changes the conference race.

South Carolina Gamecocks 2025 Stats
- 336.3 yards per game
- 353.0 yards allowed per game
South Carolina Key Additions
- OT Jacarrius Peak
- DT Tomiwa Durojaiye
- Edge Caleb Herring
T-9) Auburn Tigers
Auburn Team Profile
- Head Coach: Alex Golesh (1st Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Joel Gordon
- Defensive Coordinator: DJ Durkin
- 2025 Record: 5-7 (1-7)
- 2025 Finish: 13th in the SEC
- Conference: SEC
- Location: Auburn, Alabama
Auburn remains one of the SEC’s great wild cards. The environment, recruiting territory, and expectations scream contender, but the Tigers still need the product on Saturdays to catch up with everything surrounding the program. There are encouraging pieces, particularly as the roster continues to get faster and deeper. The question is whether Auburn can generate enough dependable offense to avoid asking its defense to win every uncomfortable game. Jordan-Hare can create absolute chaos, and that alone makes Auburn dangerous against anyone who arrives sleepy. But climbing from ninth into the conference’s upper tier requires winning away from home and eliminating the self-inflicted mistakes that turn winnable games into losses. There’s upside here. There’s also plenty left to prove.

Auburn Tigers 2025 Stats
- 373.9 yards per game
- 329.2 yards allowed per game
Auburn Key additions
- QB Byrum Brown
- RB Bryson Washington
- Edge Da'Shawn Womack
T-11) Florida Gators
Florida Team Profile
- Head Coach: Jon Sumrall (1st Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Buster Faulkner
- Defensive Coordinator: Brad White
- 2025 Record: 4-8 (2-6)
- 2025 Finish: 11th in the SEC
- Conference: SEC
- Location: Gainesville, Florida
There may not be a more uncomfortable neighborhood in college football than the middle of the SEC. Florida could be legitimately improved and still finish 11th. That's the reality of a league with almost no soft landing spots. The Gators continue to have access to elite talent, and there are enough promising pieces to envision a breakthrough if everything falls into place. But projection is different from production. Florida needs stability, cleaner offensive football, and a defense capable of getting off the field when the stadium knows exactly what is coming. The brand still carries national weight. Saturdays care considerably less about the logo.

Florida Gators 2025 Stats
- 341.3 yards per game
- 376.8 yards allowed per game
Florida Key Additions
- QB Aaron Philo
- WR Eric Singleton Jr.
- S DJ Coleman
T-11) Vanderbilt Commodores
Vanderbilt Team Profile
- Head Coach: Clark Lea (5th Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Tim Beck
- Defensive Coordinator: Steve Gregory
- 2025 Record: 10-3 (6-2)
- 2025 Finish: 5th in the SEC
- Conference: SEC
Vanderbilt is no longer the automatic SEC win people reflexively circle in August. That matters. The Commodores have become tougher, more organized, and considerably less interested in playing the role of conference punching bag. They still operate with a talent disadvantage against much of the league, so their formula has to be cleaner: protect the football, steal possessions, limit explosives, and make opponents work deeper into games than they expected. The longer Vanderbilt hangs around, the more uncomfortable things become. An 11th-place projection might not generate national attention, but it represents meaningful progress if the Commodores are competitive throughout the schedule.

Vanderbilt Commodores 2025 Stats
- 462.8 yards per game
- 357.5 yards allowed per game
Vanderbilt Key Additions
- S Ricardo Jones
- WR Ja'Cory Thomas
- DT Talan Carter
T-11) Missouri Tigers
Missouri Team Profile
- AP Top 25 Ranking: 25
- Head Coach: Eliah Drinkwitz (7th Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Chip Lindsey
- Defensive Coordinator: Corey Batoon
- 2025 Record: 8-5 (4-4)
- 2025 Finish: 8th in the SEC
- Conference: SEC
- Location: Columbia, Missouri
Missouri landing in a tie for 11th demonstrates just how compressed the SEC middle class can become. The Tigers have shown they can develop players, find useful pieces outside traditional recruiting lanes, and create teams better than the sum of their recruiting rankings. That formula keeps Missouri dangerous. What becomes harder is replacing proven production while competing against programs that reload with NFL-caliber talent annually. Missouri doesn’t need to dominate physically to win; it needs efficiency, disciplined football, and enough explosive plays to force opponents out of their comfortable scripts. There is a plausible path to finishing several spots higher than this. But when separating a crowded middle tier, Missouri has fewer built-in advantages than the teams projected near the top.

Missouri Tigers 2025 Stats
- 416.3 yards per game
- 277.3 yards allowed per game
Missouri Key Additions
- QB Austin Simmons
- WR Cayden Lee
- OL Josh Atkins
14) Mississippi State Tigers
Mississippi State Team Profile
- Head Coach: Jeff Lebby (2nd Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: N/A
- Defensive Coordinator: Zach Arnett
- 2025 Record: 5-8 (1-7)
- 2025 Finish: 13th in the SEC
Mississippi State faces one of the SEC’s toughest construction jobs. The Bulldogs aren't simply chasing Georgia, Texas, and Alabama; they’re trying to gain ground while nearly everybody around them is spending, recruiting, and attacking the portal with urgency. That doesn't make Mississippi State hopeless. It makes roster development absolutely critical. The Bulldogs need to identify players before they become household names and develop them faster than their wealthier conference rivals do.

Mississippi State Bulldogs 2025 Stats
- 399.2 yards per game
- 409.3 yards allowed per game
Mississippi State Key Additions
- WR Marquis Johnson
- Edge Amaree Williams
- S Jardin Gilbert
15. Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky Team Profile
- Head Coach: Will Stein (1st Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Joe Sloan
- Defensive Coordinator: Jay Bateman
- 2025 Record: 5-7 (2-6)
- 2025 Finish: 11th in the SEC
- Conference: SEC
Kentucky has spent years making opponents miserable with a pretty straightforward philosophy: get physical, shorten games, and make you earn everything. That identity remains valuable, but the SEC around Kentucky has become faster, deeper, and more expensive. The Wildcats need more offensive punch to climb this list. Living exclusively in one-score games is dangerous when nearly every conference opponent has athletes capable of changing the afternoon with one snap.

Kentucky Wildcats 2025 Stats
- 341.1 yards per game
- 374.2 yards allowed per game
Kentucky Key Additions
- QB Kenny Minchey
- OT Lance Heard
- RB CJ Baxter
16) Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas Team Profile
- Head Coach: Ryan Silverfield (1st Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Tim Cramsey
- Defensive Coordinator: Ron Roberts
- 2025 Record: 2-10 (0-8)
- 2025 Finish: 16th in the SEC
Someone has to finish last in a 16-team SEC, and that label looks uglier than the actual football team might be. Arkansas will have enough size and talent to make Saturdays uncomfortable. The problem is finding victories on a schedule filled with programs possessing more depth and considerably greater margin for error. The Razorbacks need games played on their terms. A physical, controlled fourth quarter for one possession to decide everything. But projecting an entire season requires identifying where the wins consistently come from. In this conference, that's a difficult answer, which leaves the Razorbacks at No. 16.

Arkansas Razorbacks 2025 Stats
- 454.8 yards per game
- 425.2 yards allowed per game
Arkansas Key Additions
- OT Bryant Williams
- LB Khmori House
- CB Jahiem Johnson
T-1) Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia Team Profile
- AP Top 25 Ranking: 3
- Head Coach: Kirby Smart (11th Season)
- Offensive Coordinator: Mike Bobo
- Defensive Coordinator: Glenn Schumann
- 2025 Record: 12-2 (7-1)
- 2025 Finish: Lost in College Football Playoff Quarterfinal
- Conference: SEC
- Location: Athens, Georgia
Georgia remains the safest bet in the SEC because Kirby Smart has turned roster turnover into routine maintenance. The Bulldogs rarely enter a season without NFL departures, yet the next wave is usually already standing behind them. The difference between Georgia and most contenders is found beyond the headline names: size, depth, and legitimate Sunday talent across the two-deep. There will be questions to answer offensively, but Georgia doesn’t need everything clicking in September to survive. The defense should provide that margin.

Georgia Bulldogs 2025 Stats
- 402.4 yards per game
- 298.0 yards allowed per game
Georgia Key Additions
- WR Isiah Canion
- Edge Amaris Williams
- S Khalil Barnes