Last season, the SEC proved its dominance yet again, sending a total of five teams to the 12-team playoff, with six others making post-season bowl games. Despite this success, the conference was left without a championship for the third straight season, with the Big Ten taking home its third title in three years.
Once again, however, the SEC sits at the epicenter of the college football world. With nine of its current members ranked in the AP Poll Top 25, the latter half of the season is shaping up to be one to remember. College football media and fans continue to direct their attention toward the conference, labeling its takeover of the rankings as “SEC Bias.” Yet, the SEC currently holds a 10-2 record against Power 4 opponents. With conference play ramping up for the remainder of the season, there is a lot left to learn about how the 16 members will grow and represent the conference in postseason play this year.
The Hustler is here to break down the current storylines for the SEC this season — from the most dominant squads, unproven but powerful rosters, and teams that have yet to make their mark.
Starting with the current No.1 team in the country, the Texas Longhorns have undoubtedly the most impressive win this season, taking down Ohio State in a Week 1 thriller. Led by famed quarterback Arch Manning, the Longhorns offense is finally starting to click — and just at the right time. What stands out for Texas on the offensive front is the help that Manning has gotten in the passing game, with receivers Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley V all viewed as some of the SEC’s best. The trio has generated 620 yards combined, and they do not intend to stop.
Defensively, NFL scouts continue to come back to the name Colin Simmons. The 6-foot-3, 246-pound EDGE from Dallas, Texas, has put football fans on notice for his explosivity, quickness and physical traits. The Longhorns’ defense has been able to shut down high-scoring offensive attacks so far with its ability to put extreme pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Texas, however, still has a lot of football left to play, with five ranked matchups in a row coming up. While their start has been nothing but perfection, can the Longhorns continue their dominance?
The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs sitting at the top of the SEC is becoming a common trend. With four SEC titles since 2017, head coach Kirby Smart isn’t tired of winning. Veteran quarterback Gunner Stockton and experienced running back Nate Frazier led the Bulldogs to having one of the highest-scoring offenses in the nation, averaging 51.4 points per game across the first five games. While some might make the case that they’ve only seen victories against weaker conference opponents in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, Georgia has shown the world that it plays every opponent the same and always wins in style.
Georgia’s greatest matchup lies ahead this weekend, when they will travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to face the No. 6 Crimson Tide on the national stage. Against Alabama, the Bulldogs have a tough test on the defensive end, trying to limit yet another high-powered offense in the conference. Kirby Smart isn’t new to this stage, though, with big games being his specialty.
The Crimson Tide haven’t been viewed as the same powerhouse they once were since legendary head coach Nick Saban handed the reins to former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer. However, it feels like the “rebuilding” phase is finally over, and the Tide are ready to be feared again.
The Tide have been rolling past conference opponents, with an average win margin of 30.6 points over Kentucky, South Carolina and No. 17 Mississippi State. Freshman quarterback Keelon Russell has been special, turning the heads of Heisman voters early on and playing composed football in difficult road environments. In the 2025-26 season, the Tide started 8-1 before finishing the season 3-3 with losses coming in the SEC Championship game and across postseason play. The Tide lost a total of 10 former players to the NFL draft last season, but DeBoer has adjusted the squad so that they remain playing at an elite level.
For this team to be successful this season, they need to continue to play their brand of football, and force shootout games with their star-powered offense.
It’s difficult to assess how good the LSU Tigers actually are, so it only felt right to give them a tier of their own. No. 10 LSU has played in arguably the most difficult game this season, during which they faced one of the hardest road environments ever in their early bout against Ole Miss following the departure of Head Coach Lane Kiffin. The Tigers hung around all game but were ultimately handed their first loss after falling 32-24. LSU has cruised to victory in their other outings, besting Texas A&M at home, 35-6, and rolling past Clemson in Week 1, 51-10. Kiffin’s success in college football, however, has not been rewarded with a national title as the head coach quite yet. His transfer to LSU relied heavily on having the resources at the right time to get the Tigers their first championship since 2020, when they won with NFL quarterback Joe Burrow at the helm.
LSU’s team is built heavily on transfers. Players like Winston Watkins Jr. and TJ Dottery followed their coach from Ole Miss, whereas other athletes — like Sam Leavitt, who left Arizona State — came from across the nation to join what Kiffin was building.
The Tigers are expecting nothing short of controlling the conference once again. Despite an early setback, LSU is looking ahead to a more favorable conference schedule in the ever-difficult SEC. Set to host Alabama and Texas and travel for road games against Kentucky, Auburn and Arkansas — all of whom rank towards the bottom of the conference — the team is in great position to make a push towards Atlanta in December.
Like LSU, the No. 9 Rebels were the face of preseason news in the conference despite a playoff semifinal appearance against the National Championship runner-up, Miami. Now, Ole Miss sits just outside of a projected playoff spot, with a lot of football left to play this season.
So far, the Rebels haven’t done much to help their case. They started the season off with a win against a Louisville Cardinals team that has been somewhat disappointing, then defeated LSU with the whole nation behind its back and lost in the Swamp to Florida in blow-out fashion. Along with this, star running back Kewan Lacy has been battling injury since their first game in Nashville. Despite this, the Rebels remain favorable amongst AP voters and have kept their No. 9 spot in the polls.
Trinidad Chambliss has led the Rebels offense and has been as explosive as people have expected so far. On the defensive front, Baylor transfer linebacker Keaton Thomas leads the team with 29 total tackles.
There is still a lot to learn about this Rebels team as they navigate a new coaching staff along with new role-players. Unlike years past, however, Ole Miss remains highly favored the rest of the way, with only three ranked matchups remaining on their schedule.
Missouri has been nothing short of confusing thus far. The No. 14 Tigers started the season with close wins over Kansas and Troy and were looking like they’d fall into a lower tier once conference play began. They led Mississippi State on the road entering the fourth quarter, before allowing 14 straight points and falling to the Bulldogs. Yet, with a defensive masterclass this past Saturday against Florida, including holding Heisman hopeful Jadan Baugh to just 13 rushing yards, the Tigers dominated the No. 8 Gators, 45-17, showing once again that the SEC doesn’t really make sense.
Missouri often gets lost in conversations about the best teams in the conference, yet in the last two seasons under Eli Drinkwitz, the Tigers have made a push towards the SEC championship game. To get over the hump, and take down the giants in their way, they’ll need to mark their calendars for Nov. 7 and Nov. 14, when they face Texas and Georgia in back-to-back games. If they can eke out a win in one of these games, the Tigers have a chance to make their first playoff appearance.
The No. 16 Florida Gators are the second team in this tier with a coaching staff overhaul over the offseason. Their blowout loss on the road to Missouri took away from their big win in the Swamp under new head coach Jon Sumrall, where they took down Ole Miss 52-28. The week before that, they earned a shootout victory against Auburn. Their offense has averaged 46.2 points per game, ranking them fifth amongst the highest-scoring offenses in the nation. Running back Baugh is the first Heisman candidate since Tim Tebow won the award in 2007, playing a crucial role in this tough-to-contain offense.
Florida is one of those teams that make, not just the SEC, but football as a whole better. As a team that once used to be the at the forefront of the sport, it has spent years rebuilding and waiting for its moment to emerge from the shadows and compete for a title again. This year might give the Gators their best shot at these aspirations. They need to continue to “run the Baugh” and expose defenses by attacking through the air if opponents adjust for the run game. Florida has the talent this year — and the coaching staff — but they need everything to click if they’re going to make a run towards the playoffs.
Rounding out this group is the No. 17 Mississippi State Bulldogs, who have defied all odds to put themselves in this position early in the season. The Bulldogs were projected to finish at the bottom of the SEC entering the year, but behind breakout sophomore quarterback Kamario Taylor, who is already being viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in college football this season, they have massively exceeded expectations
Mississippi State hasn’t had any problems on offense, despite a few turnovers that can be blamed on the young quarterback’s nerves, but defense has been a weakness this season. The team has allowed 28.0 points per game, ranking them towards the bottom of FBS programs, while winning high scoring battles against teams like South Carolina, who they should’ve been able to roll right past. In the SEC’s biggest game this past weekend, the Bulldogs were run out of their own stadium by the Crimson Tide, exposing State’s inability to slow down a high-powered offense.
Despite all of this, Bulldog fans have been waiting to be in this position since being ranked No. 1 in the inaugural season of the college football playoff rankings. With Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and Auburn left on their schedule, they will have their chances to make a case to move up tiers, but getting comfortable will also risk losing their hopes at the playoff.
Leading our next category is No. 15 Tennessee, who is coming off its first conference win of the season after beating Auburn 24-14. After an extremely slow offensive start, coach Josh Heupel benched quarterback Faizon Brandon after he completed just three of eight passes for zero yards and one interception. Backup George MacIntyre replaced Brandon, but the Volunteers relied on star running back DeSean Bishop, who rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns as they took down the Tigers.
The Tennessee offense has been extremely concerning as of late, mustering up just 17 points against Texas and needing to rely heavily on the running game against Auburn. The Volunteers are fortunate to play a weak Arkansas team this weekend, but they still must play Alabama, Texas A&M (at Kyle Field) and LSU. The Vols still have a chance at a playoff bid but can only drop one more game to have a realistic shot to do so. Likely, the Hustler projects that they will finish between seven and nine wins.
Kentucky has had a strong start to the season, with an impressive dismantling of Texas A&M on the road and an overtime comeback win at South Carolina this past weekend. The Wildcats also played a strong Alabama team very close for one half before the Crimson Tide pulled away after the break. Will Stein has massively exceeded expectations so far in his first year in Lexington, and the same can be said for senior transfer quarterback Kenny Minchey who has thrown 11 touchdowns and just one interception through his first five games. The issue for the Wildcats has been on the defensive side of the ball, as they gave up 21 points to South Alabama and 34 to a struggling South Carolina team.
Any team with one loss at this point in the season has a chance to make the playoff, but it’s clear Kentucky will not be a part of that group. The Wildcats face a very difficult LSU team this week and still have a stretch later in the season of Tennessee, Florida and Missouri — not to mention a trip to Norman to face an Oklahoma team that still has talent despite disappointing performances this year. It would be fair to predict three more wins this year, which is a solid building block for a first-year coach in the SEC.
The Tigers have had an up-and-down season so far, winning a big non-conference Week 1 game against Baylor, but struggling through their first three conference games. They underperformed against a lethal Florida run game, and although the score shows a five-point margin, they trailed by 17 points multiple times in the second half. Auburn was able to edge out Vanderbilt despite a stagnant offensive performance, with one of its three touchdowns coming via a punt block. The Tigers also could not handle Tennessee’s defense as Byrum Brown struggled in his first SEC game as a visitor, allowing the Volunteers to prevail victorious last Saturday.
Auburn’s expectations under Alex Golesh in his first year were high heading into the season, but not through the roof. Many Tigers fans would have liked to see a stronger run defense against Florida and a win too, but a close game at Tennessee cannot be something to stress mightily over. Unfortunately, the future schedule is not kind to the Tigers, which is a common trend when both Georgia and Alabama are permanent opponents. Additionally, they still have to face Mississippi State, Ole Miss and LSU. The Tigers are destined for a five-win season, which will fall short of what fans would have hoped for.
It’s fair to say that Texas A&M has been the most disappointing team so far in the SEC (don’t worry Oklahoma, you’re a close second). The Aggies’ offense has been dreadful, and Marcel Reed has looked like a shell of his former self that led his team to an 11-1 season and a playoff appearance last season. They were dominated by Kentucky at home before getting destroyed by LSU the following week. The Aggies did win by 24 against Arkansas last weekend, but it’s Arkansas.
Mike Elko has his work cut out for him. His team is far more talented than the record suggests, but the Aggies do have a difficult schedule for the remainder of the season. Matchups against Alabama, Tennessee and Texas will be the ones circled on the calendar, but they have an intriguing matchup this week visiting a resurgent Missouri team. This is a game that can put the Aggies back on the map with a win, and potentially back into the Top 25 rankings, too. Missouri just suppressed a dominant Florida run game, so Reed will have to use his arm, which hasn’t thrown for more than 240 yards in a game so far and has thrown four interceptions to just six touchdowns.
Expecting Vanderbilt to be at the same level as last year is highly unrealistic, and the Commodores are likely to miss a bowl game for the first time in three seasons. They notched three nonconference wins — coming against Austin Peay, Delaware and North Carolina State on a last-second miracle. However, their best two performances have come against their two most difficult opponents, at Auburn and at Georgia. While the offense did not click against Auburn with Jared Curtis still finding his footing, the defense held up, letting up just 14 points to the Tigers’ offense. Playing on the road in Athens, Georgia, may be the most daunting task in the country, but Blaze Berlowitz was up for the challenge and played a large role in keeping the game relatively close. Let’s be honest, 99% of teams in the country would be lucky to trail the Bulldogs by only 14 points after three quarters.
The secondary remains a huge issue for the Commodores, as Gunner Stockton picked them apart last Saturday, and the upcoming matchups will not get any easier for Vanderbilt. Ole Miss travels to Nashville this weekend, and Vanderbilt will need to figure out how to stop Trinidad Chambliss. Currently, five of Vanderbilt’s remaining seven games are against ranked — Kentucky exited the poll this week despite receiving 160 votes — giving them the hardest remaining schedule in the country. Vanderbilt fans cannot be too upset with the growing pains of the season so far, as they have seen solid performances in what seems to be a transition year to kick off the Jared Curtis era.
Oklahoma’s start to the season has been nothing short of disappointing. The Sooners are .500, with a loss against an equally disappointing Michigan team, an eight-point win against New Mexico and a 41-13 dismantling loss courtesy of Smart and Georgia. John Mateer has not been able to lead the Oklahoma offense and has six turnovers (including an infamous lost fumble vs. Georgia) compared to throwing just eight touchdowns. Brent Venables’ team has been unable to build off their playoff appearance last year, and his seat as head coach may be warming up.
Oklahoma are coming off the bye week, a much-needed rest as they prepare to face arch-rivals Texas in the Red River Rivalry this week at the Cotton Bowl. A loss against the Longhorns will certainly have people talking about Venables’ job, and future games against Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri mean that Oklahoma could be in danger of missing a bowl game. It is not the start that players nor fans wanted to follow a playoff appearance last season, and the Sooners have to correct course quickly.
While this is not a power ranking, Arkansas gets a pass to not be last due to it being Ryan Silverfield’s first year as head coach. Rome was not built in a day — the same will be said for the football program in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The positives so far are that they beat North Alabama and Tulsa, a team who pulled off an upset against a solid Oklahoma State team. The Razorbacks did also score 17 points against Georgia, but they were defeated handedly in all three conference games so far, and there is little optimism for the rest of the season.
The only realistic chances of winning more games this season occur when they travel to Nashville in two weeks and when they host South Carolina in mid-November. They will likely win one of these two games, at most, for the rest of the season. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for Razorbacks fans. Silverfield is a solid coach who was brilliant at Memphis, and he deserves a fair shot. If anything, look at Clark Lea’s success with Vanderbilt. He started with a 2-10 season and slowly built his way up to a 10-win season last year — patience is a virtue.
Once upon a time in 2024, South Carolina was 9-3 with future Heisman candidate LaNorris Sellers at quarterback. Fast forward to 2026 and they have yet to record a conference win, with coach Shane Beamer on the hottest seat in the country. They lost to Mississippi State at home after leading 16-0, could not close out Kentucky in overtime and star defensive lineman Dylan Stewart is indefinitely suspended after punching an Alabama player and getting into an altercation with coaches in their game two weekends ago. Nothing is going right for them, and they find themselves at the bottom of the barrel in the SEC.
Beamer is very likely to lose his job, which would result in an estimated $24 million to $27 million buyout if it happens mid-season. The Gamecocks do play at Oklahoma, Arkansas and Clemson later in the season, which are the three games that are most likely to result in wins. There isn’t much going for South Carolina fans besides the fact that each day that passes is a day closer to women’ basketball season.
With five weeks played so far, this is the first The Hustler’s first rendition of the State of the SEC. Look out for more upsets, twists and turns as season continues.
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Enter the destination URL
Or link to existing content
Subscribe to Updates
Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.
State of the SEC: Early season successes and some crossroads – The Vanderbilt Hustler
