ESPN ranks every SEC Football team ahead of 2025 season

The 2025 college football season is rapidly approaching. It’s shaping up to be another excellent season, highlighted by what should be an incredibly competitive race to win the SEC.

Ahead of the season, ESPN has ranked every SEC football team. These rankings are coming from ESPN’s SP+ metric, which is based on three factors during the preseason. The first is returning production. After that, is each team’s recent recruiting success. That includes incoming transfers as well as high schoolers. Finally, the last metric SP+ uses is recent history over the past four seasons. Through that SP+ metric, ESPN ranked every FBS team for the upcoming season.

Unsurprisingly, the SEC is dominating the SP+ rankings. 12 out of the 16 teams in the conference are ranked in the Top 25 in the country. That means it’s going to be a crowded field in the SEC race and should open up the race not just for the conference championship but the College Football Playoff. After all, SP+ gives the SEC 0.799 for its average strength-of-schedule rating, top in the country. With that in mind, here’s a look at how the SEC shakes out in the preseason, according to ESPN’s SP+ rankings.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (2nd nationally)

The Alabama Crimson Tide are looking to be competitive not just for the SEC but for the College Football Playoff in 2025. This comes in the second season for head coach Kalen DeBoer in Tuscaloosa. It also comes when the Crimson Tide need to bounce back from missing out on the CFP in 2024.

SP+ has Alabama as the 29th team in the country in its post-spring returning production rankings. The Crimson Tide are also being given a 65 percent chance to go 10-2 or better. That’s against the 11th ranked strength of schedule.

2. Georgia Bulldogs (4th nationally)

The Georgia Bulldogs managed to win the SEC in 2024. However, quarterback Carson Beck went down in that game, and the Bulldogs quickly fell in the Playoff. Now, Beck has moved on and the Bulldogs are looking to make another deep run at a national championship.

Georgia currently sits at a 61 percent chance to go 10-2 or better. That’s against the 13th ranked strength of schedule in the country. With excellent recent success and recruiting, it’s not surprise that Georgia is rated so highly. The only question is the team’s returning production, which is ranked 96th, according to SP+. So, expect some new faces in Athens.

3. Texas Longhorns (5th nationally)

There are pretty big expectations in 2025 for the Texas Longhorns. After going to the Playoff for two seasons in a row, there’s a belief among many experts and fans that it’s time for the Longhorns to take another leap forward. With Arch Manning under center, it certainly seems like Texas is ready to roll.

Texas rounds out the top three teams in the SEC, per SP+. Nationally, they saw a slight change following the spring transfers, jumping up to fifth, from being seventh previously. Similar to Georgia, the Longhorns have the recruiting and recent success, but Texas’ returning production only ranks 82nd in the country.

4. LSU Tigers (9th nationally)

Now going into his fourth season as the head coach at LSU, Brian Kelly knows expectations are high. The Tigers have one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC with Garrett Nussmeier under center. A very talented roster overall, the Tigers haven’t yet made the Playoff under Kelly, but there’s a chance that changes next season.

The LSU Tigers see a bit of a drop off, with SP+ only offering a 30 percent chance the Tigers when 10 or more games. That’s in a year when they return plenty of production, sitting at 23rd nationally following spring. Certainly, that includes at the quarterback position but it goes well beyond that to the entire roster.

5. Ole Miss Rebels (11th nationally)

Ole Miss has found an amount of consistency and success under head coach Lane Kiffin that has had fans excited in Oxford. With double-digit wins in three of the last four seasons, Ole Miss has been just shy of the SEC Championship and the Playoff. Now, Kiffin is hoping to take a leap forward.

The big question for Ole Miss is going to be how the Rebels replace quarterback Jaxson Dart. He’s in the NFL now, and is a piece of why Ole Miss is coming in at just 95th in returning production. That’s with 47 percent of last season’s production coming back. So, Ole Miss might be a little difficult to predict next year.

6. Tennessee Volunteers (13th nationally)

It was an awkward offseason for Tennessee. After a season where quarterback Nico Iamaleava helped the Volunteers make the Playoff, he and the team ended up in a contract dispute. That ended with him leaving the school, and Tennessee needed to pivot to transfer Joey Aguilar. So, there are now major questions at a key position on an otherwise very talented team.

Losing Iamaleava was a major hit for Tennessee, particularly as it relates to their returning production. The Volunteers are down at 81st nationally there. Only 51 percent returns now. Still, this is a team that has recruited well and should still be a threat in the SEC. The Volunteers even have 33 percent odds they’ll win 10 games or better next season.

7. Florida Gators (14th nationally)

The Florida Gators came on strong late in 2024, seemingly building up a bit of momentum going into the 2025 season. Much of that had to do with the play of then-true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway. If he takes another step forward individually, then the Gators are potentially rising up the ranks of the SEC.

If there is an obvious strength for Florida according to SP+ rankings over several other similarly rated SEC schools, it’s their returning production. The Gators are 30th nationally, with 64 percent coming back. That’s helped give Florida an 18 percent chance of winning at least 10 games.

8. Texas A&M Aggies (15th nationally)

The Texas A&M Aggies ended up going 8-5 in Mike Elko‘s first season leading the program, even remaining competitive in the SEC race. However, that included losing four out of their final five games. That left some clear room for improvement, but there’s still plenty to really like about the Aggies going into the 2025 season.

Texas A&M is the highest-ranked SEC school that ESPN didn’t share odds to win 10 or more games for. That’s despite some excellent returning production. The Aggies are sitting at seventh nationally in returning production. A whopping 72 percent of last year’s production is back.

9. Oklahoma Sooners (16th nationally)

The Oklahoma Sooners had a difficult transition into the SEC last season. That included some major struggles on the offensive side of the ball. So, in response, head coach Brent Venables flipped that side of the ball, making a coordinator change and bringing in transfer quarterback John Mateer, among other moves.

In these post-spring rankings, ESPN played with a potential fourth projection factor. That’s coaching changes. It comes into play with Oklahoma after they made some major moves offensively, bringing in Ben Arbuckle, after a disaster of a season on that side of the ball in 2024. That’s helped the Sooners rise, though being 10th in returning production didn’t hurt either.

10. South Carolina Gamecocks (17th nationally)

The South Carolina Gamecocks were a major surprise nationally in 2024, getting to the edge of the CFP. That was thanks to some excellent defensive play. However, it also had to do with the emergence of quarterback LaNorris Sellers. With another season of development, he could become one of the SEC’s best players.

The biggest returning player for South Carolina is obviously going to be Sellers. There’s a ton of value there, but the Gamecocks have solid returning production on the whole. At 58th nationally, they return about 58 percent of what they had from last season.

11. Missouri Tigers (21st nationally)

Head coach Eli Drinkwitz has found some more consistent success at Missouri during recent seasons. That’s included double-digit win seasons in each of the last two years. So, 11th in the SEC may seem low but it’s worth remembering that ESPN still has the Tigers 21st nationally, and that even comes amid some considerable roster turnover.

After winning double-digit games for the last two seasons, ESPN is now giving Missouri just 5 percent odds to win at least 10 games next year. That comes as they look to replace quarterback Brady Cook with transfer Beau Pribula. Still, the Tigers are 56th in returning production, bringing back 58 percent from last year.

12. Auburn Tigers (25th nationally)

The Auburn Tigers need to find a way to turn things around under head coach Hugh Freeze. At just 11-14 overall and 5-11 in SEC play, the expectations for the Tigers are higher than what’s been produced. Finding a solution for Auburn’s inconsistent quarterback play is going to be vital to the Tigers next season.

The Auburn Tigers need a turnaround next year. That is, according to ESPN, on the table. SP+ is giving Auburn a 13 percent chance to win 10 games or better. Returning production is likely a key factor in that, with the Tigers sitting at 21st nationally with 65 percent of last year’s returning.

13. Arkansas Razorbacks (38th nationally)

The Arkansas Razorbacks went into 2024 with a hot seat situation. In the end, head coach Sam Pittman held onto his job, even winning the Liberty Bowl in the process. However, if ESPN is right and Arkansas finishes in the back half of the SEC, then there could very well be issues this upcoming season.

Coming into the season, Arkansas has solid returning production. The Razorbacks find themselves sitting at 45 percent nationally after 60 percent of last year’s production is coming back. If that production improves in another year under Pittman’s guidance, then Arkansas could take strides.

14. Kentucky Wildcats (43rd nationally)

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is currently the longest-tenured head coach in the SEC. However, after missing a bowl game in 2024, the pressure is on. Certainly, Stoops is going to be looking for a way to improve on where the Wildcats currently stand within the conference ranks.

The Wildcats are returning 59 percent of their production from last season. That’s 49th in the country. It also puts Kentucky in an interesting spot. If those returning players continue to develop, Stoops could see Kentucky get back to bowl season. If not, his seat may be getting warmer.

15. Vanderbilt Commodores (55th nationally)

The Vanderbilt Commodores return quarterback Diego Pavia after being the key offensive player for the Commodores in their first bowl season under head coach Clark Lea and their first as a team since 2018. Now, Lea wants to find a way to build on that success. It won’t be easy, though, and ESPN has Vanderbilt 15th in the SEC.

Vanderbilt is rarely a team with massive expectations going into a season. However, the Commodores are third nationally in returning production with 77 percent coming back from last season. That should give Vanderbilt a good chance to, at the very least, repeat the success that they had in 2024.

16. Mississippi State Bulldogs (71st nationally)

The 2024 season was the first for head coach Jeff Lebby at Mississippi State. Amid injuries and a rebuild, it was a difficult season, going just 2-10. With that, the Bulldogs missed out on a bowl game for the second season in a row. It’s still going to be a rebuild in 2025, but there is hope for this program as well.

If there is a good thing for the Bulldogs, it’s that they have some good returning production. So, this is not a rebuild from nothing. ESPN’s SP+ lists Mississippi State at 28th nationally in returning production. That is with 64 percent of last year’s team returning. So, Jeff Lebby should have a team more comfortable in his system.