Are you ready? Your Saturdays are about to be booked again. RSVP, “no” to that wedding, pray that your kid has the early tee ball game slot, and under no circumstances are you allowed to go pumpkin picking at noon. College football has arrived and your plans are set between now and January when a team, maybe yours, gets to raise the trophy. Will a powerhouse like Alabama or Ohio State raise the crown jewel this year? Maybe a team that’s been knocking on the door for years like Oregon will have its time to shine. Or it could be a Cinderella team like Indiana who takes it home. We are previewing every conference for you. Here’s our 2026 SEC football preview.
Last Year
Parity was evident in the SEC in 2025. Georgia lost two games, Alabama lost four, Ole Miss made the deepest run of all the schools in the conference. This was a season where small teams beat big teams, and there was a question as to who the most dominant program in the conference was. Ultimately, Georgia took home the SEC title, beating Alabama handedly in the title game, 28-7. The Crimson Tide knocked the Sooners out of the Playoff with a dominant 34-24 and then the Rebels took care of Georgia in shocking fashion to get themselves to the CFP semis where they fell to Miami in an electric thriller.
What to Watch
Who can pull ahead? This is obviously a stacked conference but now we have teams like Texas A&M and Vanderbilt putting themselves in legit contender conversation. On top of that, you’ve added Texas and Oklahoma over the past couple of years who have each made the College Football Playoff. Will Georgia and Alabama stay at the top of the pack, or will there be a new school to make its way to the front?
On top of that, what happens with both Ole Miss and LSU. Lane Kiffin bolted for the Tigers before the CFP. Are we going to see LSU have Joe Burrow-esque success in year one or is it going to take Kiffin awhile to find his footing? As he figures out that, I want to see if the Rebels can sustain their success or if it really was all their head coach. It should be fun to watch. And oh, those two schools meet in Week 3 in Oxford.
Heisman Candidate
Arch Manning will get his name at the top of this list again. While he turned in a fine season in 2025, it took longer for him to get off the ground than everyone expected. Manning now enters a pivotal senior year with all eyes on him.
After Manning, OU QB John Mateer and Aggie QB Marcel Reed deserve legit looks. Reed showed flashes of promise and Mateer was on a great path before an injury turned his season around.
Prediction
As to who takes home the SEC Title in 2026? I think this may be one of the toughest years to predict. There is so much money and talent sitting on these rosters and the playing field has been leveled. Until I see Georgia go down, my money is still on them.