ESPN ranks SEC Football teams from first to last after Week 14

There final week of the regular season has gone by the wayside for college football. Ahead of conference championship weekend, ESPN has ranked the SEC teams from first to last.

How’d they do it? Utilizing the Football Power Index, of course. It doesn’t always match the current standings in the conference, and they’re as controversial as ever, but this is what the algorithm has come to.

Only Alabama and Georgia will square off, as the rest of the teams in the SEC will await which bowl goal they’re headed to, provided they reached the six-win mark. Regardless, here’s what ESPN came to for their rankings after Week 14.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama took a 17-0 lead in the contest at Jordan-Hare Stadium, at least temporarily quieting the crowd. But Auburn would fight its way back into the contest by scoring 13 unanswered points between the second and third quarters, cutting the deficit to just four.

The Crimson Tide buckled down from there and started to play their brand of ball again. The team rallied to win, sending Alabama to the SEC Championship Game for a meeting with Georgia. That result will be important given how close Alabama is to the playoff cut line.

2. Georgia Bulldogs

Any time you can beat a top 25 rival on the road it’s a good win, and Georgia secured a good win on Friday afternoon. The Bulldogs scored 13 points in the second quarter and then simply let the defense go to work the rest of the day.

Neither team was able to pile up huge yardage totals, and it certainly wasn’t Georgia’s cleanest game of the year. Still, it’s a win. Now the SEC Championship Game is up for a team that has designs on a first-round bye.

3. Texas A&M Aggies

Texas A&M handled the road environment well early on Friday night but seemed to let it affect it late. The Texas defense was the story of the second half, limiting the Texas A&M ground game outside of quarterback Marcel Reed for the most part.

The question now is where the Aggies will fall. They certainly won’t fall out of playoff range with their first loss, to a top 25 team, at that, though they’re probably out of the mix for a first-round bye at this point. Still, even that’s not a total given.

4. Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss was consistent throughout the game at Mississippi State, scoring 14 points in the first quarter and the fourth quarter to take charge and then put the game on ice. Trinidad Chambliss was simply superb, throwing for 359 yards and four touchdowns.

While the Lane Kiffin saga has added plenty of drama for the Top 25 Rebels, the team hasn’t let it affect its play so far. Can that continue going forward? We’ll see.

5. Texas Longhorns

Texas finished their regular season with a massive home win over Texas A&M. It was sweet for multiple reasons, as the Longhorns made sure their in-state rival wouldn’t compete for the SEC title this weekend.

At 9-3, Steve Sarkisian’s team has an impressive resume. Unfortunately, it might not be enough to get them into the College Football Playoff, no matter how much campaigning their head coach is doing at the moment.

6. Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt finished up a landmark season with an impressive win over Tennessee in Week 14. The Commodores amassed a 10-2 record in 2025, led by quarterback Diego Pavia at the forefront of it all.

They’re in a similar boat as Texas as it pertains to the College Football Playoff. The two teams were ranked No. 13 and No. 14 in the latest rankings, and that won’t be enough to get them to the 12-team dance.

7. Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma got everything it could handle against LSU, but the Sooners managed to clutch up down the stretch to pull out the win. John Mateer found Isaiah Sategna for a 58-yard touchdown pass with five minutes to play to take the lead, and the defense did the rest from there.

The win preserved Oklahoma’s playoff chances and almost certainly ensures that the Sooners will be in the final playoff field. A loss would have made for some nervous last days ahead of the final selections for the playoff.

8. Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee couldn’t finish their season with a bang and deliver a defeat to Vanderbilt. It was certainly one of the more disappointing results in recent memory for Volunteers fans, as the Commodores walked out of Neyland victorious by a large margin.

Josh Heupel did what he could this season, but Tennessee was missing that signature win, as they accumulated four losses inside the SEC. He’ll be hoping to finish the season strong with a bowl win, and return the Vols to the Playoff in 2026.

9. Missouri Tigers

Missouri notched a 14-point win over Arkansas this past weekend. That advanced their record to 8-4 on the season, as a disappointing second half of 2025 came to a close for the Tigers.

They came out of the gates like a bat out of hell, but Mizzou couldn’t keep up that momentum throughout the entire year. Perhaps Eli Drinkwitz will figure it all out in 2026, as he’s inked a longterm extension with the program.

10. LSU Tigers

LSU is going to a bowl game, but they had a golden opportunity to end their regular season by playing spoiler for the College Football Playoff. The Tigers led late against Oklahoma, but the Sooners figured it out and got the win in Week 14.

Regardless, the focus wasn’t on the field this weekend in Baton Rouge. They were more interested in landing Lane Kiffin, and they’re hoping he can turn things around for LSU in short order.

11. Auburn Tigers
12. South Carolina Gamecocks
13. Florida Gators
14. Arkansas Razorbacks
15. Kentucky Wildcats
16. Mississippi State Bulldogs