Today we conclude our SEC Football preview for 2025, as we profile the top four teams with two of them being playoff teams a year ago.
( Georgia, Texas) The other two missed the post-season last year but all four have a legitimate chance of being there this fall. The biggest problem I see is the equality and depth in the SEC. Just about any of the sixteen teams in the league can beat any other on any given day. The teams that stay healthy and don't beat themselves will come out on top.
4. Florida
The Gators won their last four games including a bowl win over Tulane. They finished 8-5 after losing two of their first three games to start the season. Coach Billy Napier has a top-notch quarterback in D.J. Lagway who came to Florida as the nation's highest rated QB in the nation. Keeping Lagway healthy could be a problem after he missed spring practice with a sore shoulder. This is the best roster that Napier has had since he took over the job three years ago. The Gators' defense should be better and there are plenty of playmakers on campus. Florida has a very tough schedule with road games at Ole Miss, Texas A&M, LSU and Miami. That's a tough gauntlet to go through but the Gators will be good enough to get the job done.
3. Alabama
The Crimson Tide barely missed the playoffs in 2024, going 8-4 with losses at Vanderbilt and Tennessee. Coach Kalen DeBoer took some heat last year simply because he wasn't Nick Saban. 'Bama had a great recruiting year and the biggest quest is to replace Jalen Milroe and it appears that junior Ty Simpson is the guy. Crimson Tide fans were willing to give DeBoer a pass through a mediocre season ( by Alabama standards ) But ten wins would keep them satisfied. That's very possible though the schedule is a tough one. Road games at Florida State, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina and Auburn makes things very difficult, not to mention home games with Tennessee, LSU and Oklahoma. Add that tough schedule to having Nick Saban breathing down your neck and DeBoer has his work cut out.
2. Georgia
No team has been consistently better than Georgia in the last decade. Coach Kirby Smart made the playoffs last year despite losing starting quarterback Carson Beck to an arm injury. Beck has transferred to Miami and that leaves Gunner Stockton to run the show and he is more than capable. The Bulldogs have one of the most talented teams in college football and when you add in a really weak schedule there is no way the 'Dawgs can miss the playoffs. The toughest road game for Georgia is at Tennessee, and they open their season at home with Marshall and Austin Peay. Not exactly what you consider tough contests. The schedule maker has smiled down on Georgia in 2025 with both Alabama and Texas playing in Athens. Establishing a running attack is imperative for the Bulldogs and while the defense may not be what we're used to seeing, it will be good enough to win a national title.
1. Texas
I read a piece recently that said the SEC should regret allowing Texas to join the league. That may be true but the Longhorns are a quality college program and the 2025 version is very likely the best in the country. Of course, there is more hype about Texas because of quarterback Arch Manning. Steve Sarkisian has become one of the biggest coaching names in college football and while most people don't remember he was once fired as the offensive coordinator of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, he seems to have found a home in Austin, TX. Head coaching stints at Washington and Southern Cal were fairly mediocre at best but he seems to be suited at Texas. Manning has a lot of pressure on him after sitting and watching Quinn Ewers run the show for two seasons. Manning has become a millionaire as the 'Horns back-up quarterback thanks to a huge NIL deal. It doesn't hurt that Sarkisian turned in the top recruiting class for 2025. How the Longhorns handle their season opener at defending national champ Ohio State will be a big indicator but my prediction is this: Texas will win the SEC Championship and the national title as well.