While many conferences have remained competitive in their chase to become the class of the Power Four, the SEC continues to firmly establish itself as the most dominant force in college football over a span of several decades, producing countless national champions, Heisman winners, and NFL stars. Known for its very old, traditional rivalries, top-notch gameday atmospheres, and elite recruiting pipelines, their teams consistently set the standard for excellence across the sport. The league combines tradition-rich programs with innovative coaching minds, creating an extremely competitive environment, lots of depth in terms of talent from top to bottom to boost their teams’ strength of schedule metrics and help them receive the benefit of the doubt when playing against elite competition week after week. In this article, I’ll reveal the first part of my SEC predictions and previews consisting of the following teams: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, and Florida.

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Alabama Crimson Tide

8/30 – @ Florida State – Win

9/6 – vs. UL Monroe – Win

9/13 – vs. Wisconsin – Win

9/20 – BYE

9/27 – @ Georgia – Loss

10/4 – vs. Vanderbilt – Win

10/11 – @ Missouri – Win

10/18 – vs. Tennessee – Win

10/25 – @ South Carolina – Loss

11/1 – BYE

11/8 – vs. LSU – Win

11/15 – vs. Oklahoma – Win

11/22 – vs. Eastern Illinois – Win

11/29 – @ Auburn – Win

Final Record: 10-2 (6-2)

One season after Nick Saban’s retirement, Alabama seemed like they wouldn’t miss a beat with a monumental early win over Georgia for a 4-0 start, but the unthinkable then happened as Vanderbilt pulled off one of the biggest shockers in FBS history, ultimately starting a downward spiral that saw additional losses at Tennessee, Oklahoma, and their bowl game against Michigan. Now, Kalen DeBoer’s preparing for Year Two in Tuscaloosa, and he’ll have even more pressure to get this program looking like a blue blood again.

That starts on offense as he has reunited with coordinator Ryan Grubb after the two worked together at Washington, and with Jalen Milroe now a Seattle Seahawk, he’ll have a three-man quarterback battle between Ty Simpson, Austin Mack, and five-star freshman Keelon Russell in order to reignite the air attack. The receivers that the eventual starter will work with are fantastic as Ryan Williams will be one of college football’s most electric deep threats this year, and Miami transfer Isaiah Horton joins Williams and Germie Bernard, who’ll be working with his former coordinator once again. Although CJ Dippre and Robbie Ouzts are gone at tight end, Josh Cuevas is back and hoping that Danny Lewis Jr. can help out as well. Running back Jam Miller returns, but Justice Haynes is now at Michigan, resulting in an increased workload for Richard Young and Daniel Hill. Four starters are back on a loaded offensive line with the lone replacement being Texas A&M transfer Kam Dewberry.

On defense, Kane Wommack returns for his second year as defensive coordinator, and he’ll have plenty of returning talent to work with again. The pass rush needs more progression, but they’re bringing back LT Overton and Qua Russaw, who both have more than enough talent to boost sack numbers. Tim Smith might be gone from the interior, but Tim Keenan III and James Smith are both back to get into the backfield and stuff the run. Superstar linebacker Jihaad Campbell will be missed more than anyone, but Deontae Lawson’s a fantastic tackler with Justin Jefferson potentially breaking out in the middle. The secondary lost Malachi Moore and DeVonta Smith, but Keon Sabb and Bray Hubbard are a great safety pair while Domani Jackson and Zabien Brown are two more players with plenty of NFL-caliber talent.

They’ll open their season in Tallahassee against Florida State and then at home against Wisconsin, but the big early matchup will be Georgia in Athens, While they’ll get Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma at home this time around, they’ll still also have to travel to South Carolina in another tough road environment.

Even without Nick Saban, I don’t know how this team struggles to get to ten wins two seasons in a row. They’ll be much better this season, and I would be shocked if they don’t find themselves back in the College Football Playoff again.

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Arkansas Razorbacks

8/30 – vs. Alabama A&M – Win

9/6 – vs. Arkansas State – Win

9/13 – @ Ole Miss – Loss

9/20 – @ Memphis – Win

9/27 – vs. Notre Dame – Loss

10/4 – BYE

10/11 – @ Tennessee – Loss

10/18 – vs. Texas A&M – Loss

10/25 – vs. Auburn – Loss

11/1 – vs. Mississippi State – Win

11/8 – BYE

11/15 – @ LSU – Loss

11/22 – @ Texas – Loss

11/29 – vs. Missouri – Win

Final Record: 5-7 (2-6)

Sam Pittman is gearing up for his sixth season at Arkansas, and considering where his program was when he first came to Fayetteville, he’s done a solid job. The Razorbacks have gone to and won three bowl games in the past four seasons, which is pretty impressive considering the SEC schedules they had to go through to get there. Another challenging season lies ahead, but it helps keeping coordinators like Bobby Petrino to run the offense and Travis Williams to run the defense.

The offense has a lot players gone at many positions, but quarterback Taylen Green is one of the few starters returning. While his passing abilities improved, it’s his scrambling ability that makes him so effective on the field, and he’ll be joined in the backfield by a big power back duo in Braylen Russell and New Mexico State transfer Mike Washington Jr. The passing game, on the other hand, needed new options to fill in for all three starting receivers and tight end Luke Hasz, who joined SEC rival Ole Miss, so they stacked up through the portal and added Charlotte’s O’Mega Blake, Stanford’s Ismael Cisse, Fresno State’s Raylen Sharpe, and UAB’s Kam Shanks. The tight end room, on the other hand, welcomes Montana State transfer Rohan Jones, who will be the receiving option alongside Andreas Paaske, the blocking option. The offensive line has three more transfers joining the two guard returners, and if they can win the battle in the trenches, the backfield should take care of the back seven with their larger-than-normal frames.

On the defense, the pass rush is going to hurt without Landon Jackson, so while there’s a combined 715 pounds sitting on the inside of the defensive line, there will be edge rushers without much experience fighting for spots on the ends. The linebacker group might be the strongest area of the unit as both Xavian Sorey Jr. and Stephen Dix Jr. are back as the team’s top two returning tacklers. Out of a secondary that finished dead last against the pass in 2024, they’ll have two returning safeties with linebacker builds and great tackling abilities, and the corner options will be guys with pretty solid experience with Power Four programs.

The non-conference schedule is quite tough as they face an upper-level Group of Five program in Memphis before Notre Dame comes to town following a national runner-up finish last year. Their conference schedule’s very hard as well, but they might have a tougher road slate than anyone in the conference as they travel to Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU, and Texas.

If Arkansas uses their larger all-around size in the right manner, they have a chance to be a really solid squad, but I still have some concerns with both their schedule and their offensive roster turnover. It won’t be by much, but this team will ultimately regress.

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Auburn Tigers

8/29 – @ Baylor – Loss

9/6 – vs. Ball State – Win

9/13 – vs. South Alabama – Win

9/20 – @ Oklahoma – Loss

9/27 – @ Texas A&M – Loss

10/4 – BYE

10/11 – vs. Georgia – Win

10/18 – vs. Missouri – Win

10/25 – @ Arkansas – Win

11/1 – vs. Kentucky – Win

11/8 – @ Vanderbilt – Win

11/15 – BYE

11/22 – vs. Mercer – Win

11/29 – vs. Alabama – Loss

Final Record: 8-4 (5-3)

Auburn is gearing up for Hugh Freeze’s third season with the program, and while finishing with back-to-back seven-loss seasons, they’re set up for much more success this go-around.

The offensive coordinator, Derrick Nix, needs to generate on-field results after finishing in the top half of the SEC in total yards and the bottom five in scoring, but his high-level recruiting should boost those numbers significantly. Even with Peyton Thorne gone, there’s plenty of options at quarterback as Stanford’s Ashton Daniels and five-star phenom Deuce Knight add dual-threat versatility, but Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold will likely take the starting role as he looks for a big jump in production. KeAndre Lambert-Smith is also gone, but this year’s receiver group could potentially be of the nation’s best with Georgia Tech’s Eric Singleton and Wake Forest’s Horatio Fields joining the fantastic sophomore foundation of Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson, and Malcolm Simmons. Maryland tight end transfer Preston Howard comes in to replace Rivaldo Fairweather as its pass-catching option, joining Brandon Frazier as he blocks for a running back room that’ll miss 1,000-yard rusher Jarquez Hunter. Instead, Damari Alston and Jeremiah Cobb will take bigger roles, but UConn transfer Durell Robinson is the boost that this group needed. The offensive line has all three interior starters back, and Virginia Tech’s Xavier Chaplin and USC’s Mason Murphy are tackles that should tremendously help in creating a top-five SEC trench unit.

Another coordinator beginning his second season on the Plains is DJ Durkin, and while the offense added immediate transfer help, most portal help will fall into the depth with most starters returning from his group last year. The best talent, however, is found up front with edge rusher Keldric Faulk, who could potentially find himself inside the top ten of next year’s NFL Draft, and the interior could see a big jump from sophomore Malik Blocton. The linebacker group is fairly newer, but Demarcus Riddick has five-star talent that could show in a big way next year with Maryland transfer Caleb Wheatland controlling the middle. There’s also plenty of talent to be found in a younger secondary room as well with the most experience coming from Champ Anthony, who should be much healthier this year, but the group as a whole needs to force more turnovers as they were great in coverage but could be even better by playing stingier.

On their schedule this year, they have a few tough midwestern road games at Baylor, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M, but as their schedule eases up past their first bye week, they’ll luckily get both Georgia and Alabama at home.

When I look at Auburn, I see them struggling a little bit earlier on in the year, but as they progress and continue to get better, this season will ultimately show that they’re on the right path to finally becoming a threat in the SEC.

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Florida Gators

8/30 – vs. LIU – Win

9/6 – vs. USF – Win

9/13 – @ LSU – Loss

9/20 – @ Miami – Win

9/27 – BYE

10/4 – vs. Texas – Loss

10/11 – @ Texas A&M – Win

10/18 – vs. Mississippi State – Win

10/25 – BYE

11/1 – vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville, FL) – Loss

11/8 – @ Kentucky – Win

11/15 – @ Ole Miss – Loss

11/22 – vs. Tennessee – Win

11/29 – vs. Florida State – Win

Final Record: 8-4 (4-4)

Billy Napier has cooled his seat off for just a little bit, but he still has lots to prove in Year Four with Florida. The Gators, after finishing with seven losses in each of their last three years, found some improvement in last year’s squad after an eight-win season.

The offense was solid, and while there was some movement in the staff with Russ Callaway being promoted to offensive coordinator, he’ll have a rising talent leading the quarterbacks in DJ Lagway, who started later last year for an injured Graham Mertz. He might not have Montrell Johnson in the backfield with him, but the room doesn’t take too much of a hit with another sophomore talent in power back Jadan Baugh along with senior Ja’Kobi Jackson. Lagway’s top two options at receiver, Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike, are both gone as well, but Eugene Wilson III is finally healthy and leads a new-looking rotation that also features UCLA transfer J. Michael Sturdivant and five-star Dallas Wilson. Hayden Hansen’s huge presence is also back with the tight ends, which is a major boost for the blocking along with all five offensive line starters, including star center Jake Slaughter on the offensive line staying put in Gainesville.

The defensive unit lost former coordinator Austin Armstrong to Houston, but with Ron Roberts now leading the charge, there is hope that he can turn around the SEC’s second-worst defense from last year. The defensive line has pass rushers Tyreak Sapp and George Gumbs Jr. back after combining for 12 sacks and 21 tackles for loss, and there’s also plenty of size on the interior as well, even though those players might not be the size of 450-pound Desmond Watson. Shemar James is another key player gone from the middle, but the linebacker rotation will also be solid with guys like Grayson Howard and Jaden Robinson, but if Florida wants to make sure no more big plays happen up the middle of the field, their four-man rotation has to become catalysts for change there. Lastly, the secondary has all the momentum it needs after a very strong finish to follow its rough start from last year, and with a strong third-year foundation in that defensive backfield, including Bryce Thornton and Sharif Denson, more big plays need to and should generate there.

This entire lineup will be better, but they might have the toughest schedule out of anyone in the country. They’ll have early road games at LSU and Miami, but on top of their annual neutral-site game against Georgia in Jacksonville, they’ll have to host Texas, Tennessee, and Florida State on top of road trips to Texas A&M and Ole Miss.

They might not be a threat for a College Football Playoff spot this year with their schedule, but they’re on the right track and could find themselves closer to a ten-win season.