Every summer since 2007 I have created an intricate set of college football predictions for each upcoming season. This year is no exception, as I will be using my blog over the next few hours to publish my 20th annual college football preview guide which will contain 20 entries in all. The records below reflect each team’s predicted regular season overall record followed by their conference record. These records include conference title games but exclude bowl games, which will be previewed later on in a separate column on this blog. The teams marked in bold font are the ones predicted to gain bowl eligibility this season and the one marked in italics is my predicted conference champion.. Without further ado, here are my predictions for the SEC in 2026, which I am still calling the best conference in the country, not because its top teams are as good as those Big Ten, but because its middle of the road teams and bottom-dwellers are far superior than those from other leagues.

1	Georgia (12-1, 8-1)– conference champion / CFP # 1 Seed

Last Year’s Record: 12-2 (My 2025 prediction: 13-0)

Positional Strength: Linebacker

Positional Weakness: Wide Receiver

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: at Alabama (October 10)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Ole Miss (November 7)

Bottom Line: Not only are the Dawgs my pick to win this year’s SEC championship, but I also have pegged them to win the 2026 national championship as well! It is unheard of for a defending SEC champion and CFP # 2 seed returns its starting quarterback, top four leading rushers, and three of their top four tacklers and is flying under the radar in the national championship picture. Yet, in today’s NIL era where everyone wants to spend the entire offseason talking about who has the most “sexy” new guys on their roster, Georgia seems to have been forgotten. My computer rankings have them far and away the best team in the SEC, and after a couple of close losses early in the 12 team College Football Playoff, I think its time for Georgia to make a national title run in 2026.

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2	Ole Miss (11-2, 8-1)- conference runner-up / CFP # 3 seed

Last Year’s Record: 13-2 (My 2025 prediction: 9-3)

Positional Strength: Quarterback

Positional Weakness: Wide Receiver

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Georgia (November 7)- the home team has won the last three in this series

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Texas (October 14)

Bottom Line: Everyone is assuming Ole Miss is going to take a big step back following the departure of head coach Lane Kiffin, but I don’t see it. First of all, are we sure Pete Golding is a worse coach than Kiffin? He got two more playoff wins in last year’s CFP than Kiffin has in his entire career as a head coach. They also return maybe the best quarterback/running back duo in the country in Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy and bring in the # 2 transfer portal class in the entire SEC. Put it all together, and I think the Rebels will be right in the thick of the national title race once again this season.

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3	Alabama (10-2, 7-2)- CFP # 5 seed

Last Year’s Record: 11-4 (My 2025 prediction: 9-3)

Positional Strength: Defensive Backfield

Positional Weakness: Running Back

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Texas A & M (October 24)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Tennessee (October 17)

Bottom Line: Alabama enters the season with a significant question at quarterback, but the Crimson Tide may have found an exciting answer in sophomore Keelon Russell, who was named the starter after beating out veteran Austin Mack. Russell was one of the nation’s top recruits in the 2025 class and brings considerably more athleticism and playmaking ability to the position, while wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams gives him an established target on the outside. Alabama also returns considerable talent on defense, including defensive backs Bray Hubbard and Zabien Brown, who were both selected to the preseason All-SEC first team. There will inevitably be some growing pains with Russell, but the Tide’s overall roster remains too talented to overlook. I think they once again find their way into the College Playoff in 2026, especially with a schedule in which they get to to play their toughest games at home (vs. Georgia, Texas A & M, and Auburn) while also avoiding Texas, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss.

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4	Oklahoma (9-3, 6-3)

Last Year’s Record: 10-3 (My 2025 prediction: 7-5)

Positional Strength: Defensive Line

Positional Weakness: Running Back

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Texas (October 10)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Florida (November 7)

Bottom Line: Oklahoma has quietly assembled a roster capable of competing with the SEC’s best, and the Sooners enter 2026 with 12 players receiving preseason All-SEC recognition. Quarterback John Mateer gives the offense an experienced and dynamic playmaker, while the Sooners have significant talent at receiver and along the offensive line. The defense should once again be the team’s foundation, with enough athleticism up front and in the secondary to keep Oklahoma in virtually every game. The Sooners certain have the overall talent to make it back to the playoff this season, but because of a brutal schedule that features road trips Michigan, Florida and Georgia, a neutral site game against Texas, and home contests versus Ole Miss and Texas A & M, I am calling Oklahoma to fall just short of the promised land in 2026.

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5	Texas A & M (9-3, 6-3)

Last Year’s Record: 11-2 (My 2025 prediction: 9-3)

Positional Strength: Wide Receiver

Positional Weakness: Linebacker

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Texas (November 27)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Missouri (October 10)

Bottom Line: Of the teams I have ranked at or near atop the SEC, the Aggies suffered the most roster turnover losing 13 total starters including basically their entire offensive and defensive lines from 2025. Marcel Redd does return at quarterback, as does stud receiver Mario Craver, and starting running back Reuben Owens so the drop off won’t be significant. Still, I think in a season where the Aggies have to play five difficult SEC road games (at LSU, Missouri, Alabama, South Carolina, and Oklahoma) while rebuilding both lines of scrimmage, a College Football Playoff berth will be hard to come by.

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6	Texas (9-3, 6-3)

Last Year’s Record: 10-3 (My 2025 prediction: 9-3)- I was spot-on with my prediction for Texas last year, despite the fact most everyone else picked them to go to the CFP with just one or two losses overall

Positional Strength: Quarterback

Positional Weakness: Defensive Backfield

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Ohio State (September 12)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at LSU (November 14)

Bottom Line: The Longhorns were the preseason darling entering 2025, and then proceeded to lose three regular season games despite having a +14 turnover margin on the season! I didn’t buy the Texas hype then (see my 2025 prediction above), and I am not buying it now. Expect some regression towards the mean in terms of the forementioned turnover margin that helped the Longhorns win several games last year, and the schedule is significantly tougher than it was in 2025, as Texas trades road games vs. Kentucky and Mississippi State for trips to College Station, Knoxville, and back-to-back road games versus Missouri and LSU. They also don’t play a cake walk home schedule either, as the Horns host Ohio State, Ole Miss, and Florida while also playing their annual neutral site game against Oklahoma. Put it all together, and I think Sarkisian’s crew finds its way to lose three more games in 2026 and once again fall short of the CFP.

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7	Tennessee (8-4, 5-4)

Last Year’s Record: 8-5 (My 2025 prediction: 9-3)

Positional Strength: Offensive Line

Positional Weakness: Quarterback

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Alabama (October 17)- the Vols have beaten the Tide twice in a row in Knoxville

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Arkansas (October 10)

Bottom Line: No one faces a bigger question mark at quarterback than the Vols who seem to have experience at every position on the field except the most important one. The fact of the matter is that Heupel needs an effective quarterback to make his offensive system work and it looks like will be starting a true freshman (Faizon Brandon) at that spot this season. The Vols also will be dealing with scheme changes on defense as Jim Knowles takes over on that side of the ball. Tennessee’s schedule is fairly manageable this season, as they have their toughest games at home (Texas, Alabama, and LSU), and only play four conference road games, three of which they may be favored in (at Vandy, South Carolina, and Texas A & M). All in all, I expect another solid, yet unspectacular season, for Josh Heupel’s crew in Knoxville

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7	Missouri (8-4, 5-4)

Last Year’s Record: 8-5 (My 2025 prediction: 9-3)

Positional Strength: Running Back

Positional Weakness: Defensive Backfield

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Texas A & M (October 10)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: vs. Oklahoma (November 28)

Bottom Line: Despite a slight step back last season following back-to-back ten win seasons, the Tigers have established themselves as a permanent fixture in the upper echelon of the SEC and they have done it by playing old school, smashmouth football. Mizzou will once again feature an elite rushing attack led by preseason first-team running back Ahmad Hardy and his trusty side kick Jamal Roberts. Together, these two backs ran for over 2,400 yards last season. The Tigers also return significant talent along the offensive line, including preseason first-team selection Cayden Green, and will be getting an upgrade at quarterback with Austin Simmons. Still, Mizzou lost a lot on defense, and with a schedule featuring games against five of my preseason top six teams in this league, I don’t see Missouri getting back to double digit wins or the College Football Playoff this season.

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9	LSU (7-5, 4-5)

Last Year’s Record: 7-6 (My 2025 prediction: 11-2)- sometimes it just doesn’t play out like you think, as my surprise national championship pick from last year fell well short of expectations

Positional Strength: Linebacker

Positional Weakness: Wide Receiver

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Texas (November 14)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Auburn (October 24)

Bottom Line: Kiffin certainly became one of college football’s most hated men when he abandoned Ole Miss at the altar last season, just prior to the school’s first-ever trip to the College Football Playoff. Now, he has done what he does best and has assembled a massively talented transfer portal class in Baton Rouge. Before, putting LSU into your college football playoff bracket for this season, however, keep in mind that LSU had the # 1 ranked portal class in 2025 as well, and the team struggled to a 7-6 finish. Kiffin’s group also faces a brutal schedule in 2026 featuring five SEC road games as well as home games against SEC juggernauts: Alabama, Texas, and Texas A & M. I think it is especially problematic that LSU has to play Clemson, Ole Miss, and Texas A & M in the month of September, when this team will be trying to build chemistry and cohesion within their revamped roster. All in all, I am calling for a disappointing first season for Kiffin’s crew that falls well short of their College Football Playoff aspirations.

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9	South Carolina (7-5, 4-5)

Last Year’s Record: 4-8 (My 2025 prediction: 7-5)- my Gamecocks were one of the biggest disappointment teams in the country last year, as they just couldn’t win a close game in 2025.

Positional Strength: Quarterback

Positional Weakness: Offensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Tennessee (October 24)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Florida (October 10)- Gamecocks have lost in their last four trips to the Swamp

Bottom Line: In his five years as Gamecock head coach, Shane Beamer has very systematically alternated between very good seasons when expectations have been low followed by very disappointing seasons when expectations have been high. Following that logic, South Carolina should be in store for a nice bounce back season in 2026, and I think they will ultimately do just that. I don’t, however, envision this team knocking off multiple top ten teams or flirting with a College Football Playoff berth like they did in 2022 and 2024 respectively. This league is just too tough and the schedule is too daunting (road games at Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, and Clemson; home games vs. Georgia and Texas A & M). for the Gamecocks to have significant upward mobility in the SEC, despite the return of LaNorris Sellers, Nyck Harbor, and Dylan Stewart and the arrival of new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles. One welcome change in Columbia this season will be the soft opening to their schedule. In each of Beamer’s previous five seasons with the Gamecocks, his team has dropped at least one of its opening three games largely because he has had to play a CFP contender near the start of every season (Georgia in 2021-2023, LSU in 2024, and Vandy last season). This year, the Gamecocks should be heavy favorites to knock off Kent State, Towson, and Mississippi State at home to open 2026, which should help generate some positive momentum for this program.

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11	Auburn (5-7, 3-6)

Last Year’s Record: 5-7 (My 2025 prediction: 8-4)

Positional Strength: Quarterback

Positional Weakness: Offensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. LSU (October 24)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: vs. Arkansas (November 7)- the home team has lost five straight in this series

Bottom Line: Everyone around this program seems to be high on the Alex Golesh hire, and even though I think it may work out in the long run, I expect some year one growing pains for this squad. Keep in mind, that for as good as Golesh was at USF, none his teams ever played in the AAC championship game or put together a 10 win season. Now, he is making a huge step up in class with a lot of guys from those good, but not great, South Florida teams. He is also basically having to rebuild the complete roster from scratch, as this squad will feature 20 new starters in 2026, including entirely new offensive and defensive lines. I think Auburn will improve throughout the fall and possibly surprise a team or two down the stretch of the season, but I am going to ultimately call for them to finish with a losing record for the sixth consecutive year.

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11	Florida (5-7, 3-6)

Last Year’s Record: 4-8 (My 2025 prediction: 6-6)

Positional Strength: Wide Receiver

Positional Weakness: Quarterback

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Oklahoma (November 7)- the Gators can always be counted on for one big upset in the Swamp each season

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Kentucky (November 14)- the Cats have won 4 of the last 5 in this series, and this year Florida has to travel to Lexington to play in a classic letdown spot after back-to-back matchups versus Georgia and Oklahoma.

Bottom Line: Like Auburn above, the Gators are in rebuilding mode after bringing in a new coach this offseason. Florida does have a bit more coming back than Auburn does, as the leading rusher and receiver and top two tacklers from 2025 return. Still, the Gators are going to have an inexperienced starter at quarterback in Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo that is being protected by an inexperienced offensive line. Add in the fact that the Gators must play most all of the SEC’s top teams this season (vs. Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas, and Oklahoma), then I am calling another losing season in Gainesville, which will shockingly be their fifth in the last six seasons after only have two losing campaigns in the 34 years prior to that.

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11	Vanderbilt (5-7, 3-6)

Last Year’s Record: 10-3 (My 2025 prediction: 4-8)

Positional Strength: Running Back

Positional Weakness: Offensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: at Auburn (September 26)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: vs. NC State (September 19)

Bottom Line: What will life after Diego Pavia look like for the Dores? It certainly helps to be able to replace the best quarterback in school history with the best quarterback recruit in school history, as five star freshman Jared Curtis takes over the reigns this season. Despite his immense talent, there will still be some year one growing pains for Curtis as he also won’t have three of Vandy’s top four receivers from last year to throw to either. All in all, expect a major step back from Vandy following the departure of Pavia, Eli Stowers, and most of last year’s offensive line, but also don’t expect this program to descend back to the league’s basement either, as Clark Lea has this program in a much better position than its been through most of the last half century.

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14	Kentucky (5-7, 2-7)

Last Year’s Record: 5-7 (My 2025 prediction: 4-8)

Positional Strength: Offensive Line

Positional Weakness: Running Back

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Louisville (November 28)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at South Carolina (October 3)

Bottom Line: It is always hard to fire the winningest coach in ‘syour school history, but after 13 season in Lexington, Mark Stoops’ tenure with the Cats had grown stale. There is a great deal of hype around Will Stein, and rightfully so, as he comes back to his home state after an extremely successful stint as Oregon’s offensive coordinator. Still, it is going to take a few years to get the pieces he needs to succeed in place, as he will be fielding a squad this fall with 15 new starters, 10 of which have never been full-time starters at the FBS level before. Like many schools with new coaches and revamped rosters, the Cats will get better as the year goes on and the team obtains valuable experience playing together. That is why I am picking them to end the season with home upsets over Florida and Louisville. Nevertheless,, I don’t think a bowl game is in the cards for the Cats in 2026.

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14	Arkansas (5-7, 2-7)

Last Year’s Record: 2-10 (My 2025 prediction: 4-8)

Positional Strength: Offensive Line

Positional Weakness: Quarterback

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Tennessee (October 10)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Vanderbilt (October 17)

Bottom Line: The Ryan Silverfield hire here may not have exactly considered sexy on the national level, but the coaches that have succeed in Fayetteville, have been fairly unassuming leaders (i.e. Sam Pittman, Houston Nutt, and Ken Hatfield) with the obvious exception of the controversial Bobby Petrino. And unlike most teams with new coaches, the Hogs actually have quite a bit of experience along both lines of scrimmage entering 2026. The questions for this squad will be at the back end of both the offense and defense, as they will have new starters at both quarterback, running back, and throughout the defensive backfield. This is a difficult place to win, but I think Silverfield has brought in about as much talent as one could expect in year one at the helm and I think the Hogs will pull off an upset or two as a result.

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16	Mississippi State (3-9, 0-9)

Last Year’s Record: 5-8 (My 2025 prediction: 2-10)

Positional Strength: Running Back

Positional Weakness: Offensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: at Minnesota (September 12)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: vs. Vanderbilt (November 7)

Bottom Line: The Bulldogs exceeded my lowly expectations last season by qualifying for bowl game (albeit with a 5-7 record), and I may get burned picking them to finish last in the SEC lgain in 2026. However, after attending MSU’s 2025 season finale at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte this past January, I was thoroughly unimpressed with what I saw from this squad on both sides of the ball. Despite having three less wins than the Wake Forest team they were playing, the Bulldogs came in as the betting favorites in that game and then proceeded to get absolutely scorched by a Wake Forest offense that was missing its best player in running back Demond Claiborne and had not scored more than 32 points against a Power 4 foe all season. Offensively, KaMario Taylor struggled throwing the ball (56.5 QBR) and no one other than Taylor, was able to run the ball effectively either. Keep in mind, that loss by the Bulldogs was their eighth in the final nine games of the 2025 season, so any progress they made in the early part of last season, appears to be long gone now. Mississippi State also loses its best pass catcher and top three tacklers from last year and has the lowest ranked transfer class in the league coming in to try to fix things. I expect a season of major struggle in Starkville, especially with a conference schedule that does not feature many winnable games (no Arkansas or Kentucky on the slate this year).

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