ESPN ranks SEC Football teams from first to last ahead of Week 6

Five weeks into the regular season and the SEC race is already heating up in a major way. Some of the top contenders have already lost games, leaving the race entirely wide open as we head into Week 6 — and the Football Power Index is adjusting accordingly.

According to ESPN, The FPI is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.

With that in mind, let’s check out how the FPI has the SEC sorted through the first four weeks of the season. We dive in below.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-1) – 23.1

Alabama secured the biggest victory of the weekend in knocking off a top-five Georgia squad on the road. That was an absolutely monumental win that re-establishes the Crimson Tide as one of the favorites to win the league.

The road remains tough, though. The SEC powerhouse will face ranked teams in five of the next six games, starting with this week’s rematch against Vanderbilt. Revenge will be on the mind.

2. Texas Longhorns (3-1) – 21.6

After a shaky start to the season offensively, Texas seemed to dust off some cobwebs in a 55-0 win over Sam Houston a week ago. The team had a bye week this week to prepare for what could be a tricky trip to Florida, with the Gators having their backs against the wall.

Which version of Texas will we see? The confident, swagger-filled Arch Manning from a week ago? Or the struggling unit that couldn’t quite hit on all cylinders in the few weeks prior? Big stakes in Gainesville.

3. Georgia Bulldogs (3-1) – 20.8

Georgia’s narrow loss to Alabama won’t knock the Bulldogs out of SEC contention or the College Football Playoff picture. But it does shrink the margin for error for the team going forward.

That said, the remaining schedule is pretty navigable. There are only three ranked opponents left and all of them come at home. Georgia remains a strong favorite to earn a solid postseason spot.

4. Ole Miss Rebels (5-0) – 19.5

While each of the three SEC teams above Ole Miss in the FPI have already taken a loss, the Rebels remain as one of the league’s unbeatens. But there have been some close calls in recent weeks, and the win over LSU was a huge one.

There are question marks at quarterback, but the good kind. Trinidad Chambliss has taken over and he very well may have Wally Pipp’d starter Austin Simmons. It’ll be interesting to see how Lane Kiffin handles the position going forward.

5. Tennessee Volunteers (4-1) – 18.1

Tennessee has bounced back from the heartbreak of the overtime loss to Georgia nicely, taking care of business against UAB and then outlasting Mississippi State in a thrilling contest. The team will now get a bye week before facing an Arkansas team with an interim coach.

The are some tricky games on the schedule still — a road trip to Alabama and home dates with Oklahoma and Vanderbilt stand out in SEC play — but it’s a slate that Tennessee can handle. Do that and it’ll be a repeat trip to the College Football Playoffs.

6. Vanderbilt Commodores (5-0) – 16.5

Another of the SEC’s unbeatens, Vanderbilt has only played one league game so far. So the going is about to get a whole lot tougher for the Commodores, starting with this week’s road trip to Alabama.

In fact, the next four games will be against ranked opponents. So we’re about to find out just how real Diego Pavia and the Commodores are in 2025.

7. Oklahoma Sooners (4-0) – 16.2

Another unbeaten SEC team, Oklahoma has now scored two ranked wins already, doing a really nice job of taking care of business at home. And the program has now had a bye week.

The real challenge for the Sooners, of course, will be surviving without star quarterback John Mateer for a few weeks. Can Michael Hawkins keep the team unblemished through the next three contests, giving Mateer a chance to return to a perfect squad?

8. Texas A&M Aggies (4-0) – 16.0

Like Oklahoma, Texas A&M has notched some impressive wins against Notre Dame and Auburn, but the bulk of the tougher action remains in front of the Aggies. That starts this weekend with a home date against a surprisingly good Mississippi State team.

After that, Texas A&M will face a pair of teams with either fired coaches or dead-in-the-water coaches in Florida and Arkansas. Then a two-game road swing at LSU and Missouri that could determine whether Texas A&M is a playoff team.

9. Missouri Tigers (5-0) – 15.7

Missouri is off to a 5-0 start, which includes a lone win in the SEC action so far. With a weak non-conference slate in the books, it’s all league action for the Tigers going forward.

Running back Ahmad Hardy has helped power things for Eli Drinkwitz and company, and quarterback Beau Pribula has done his part too. Can Missouri avoid the pitfalls of past seasons and put together a playoff run? We’ll see.

10. LSU Tigers (4-1) – 14.9

LSU ranks all the way down at No. 10 in the SEC FPI rankings, despite only losing one close game on the road at Ole Miss. That should tell you something about how deep and talented the league really is.

Still, there’s something not quite right with the Tigers offensively. Running the ball has been a serious chore for LSU and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier doesn’t quite look like himself. The Tigers need to get it together in a hurry, because three of the next four games come against ranked teams.

Rest of the SEC in the FPI

11. Auburn Tigers (3-2) – 12.7
12. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-2) – 10.5
13. Florida Gators (1-3) – 9.2
14. Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-1) – 7.7
15. Arkansas Razorbacks (2-3) – 7.4
16. Kentucky Wildcats (2-2) – 4.8