SEC expert picks 2025: Most overrated and underrated teams, projected order of finish, bold predictions
Taking a close, detailed and opinionated look at the SEC ahead of the 2025 college football season
•
10 min read
The SEC is restless. In back-to-back seasons, college football's most decorated league has watched the Big Ten hoist the national championship trophy. That's an eternity in a region where football is a religion and titles are measured in dynasties.
Oddsmakers say the road to the 2025 title runs through the SEC, with Georgia and Texas looming as the nation's top contenders, according to FanDuel. Will they collide again in the SEC Championship Game, or will another powerhouse -- or dark horse -- crash the party?
This is the league of legends, coaches who are as famous as rock stars and players who become household names overnight. Every fall, the bluebloods battle for supremacy, but there's always a twist -- a forgotten team rising up to rewrite the script. Last year it was Vanderbilt and South Carolina sparking chaos.
This year?
CBS Sports' team of insiders went deep into the SEC to break down the contenders, the pretenders and provide their bold predictions for the season ahead.
Big Ten's radical idea for College Football Playoff expansion frustrates execs, piques interest from ADs
Brandon Marcello
Most overrated team
Texas: I swear this has nothing to do with Arch Manning, who so many people want you to believe is only highly-regarded due to his name. No, I'm a firm believer in Manning. My concern with Texas is how much it must replace along the lines of scrimmage. Steve Sarkisian has done an incredible job of getting this roster ready for the SEC -- we saw the fruits last year -- but it remains the SEC. If there are any problems up front it could lead to plenty of headaches. I still think this team is well into the playoff hunt through November at worst, but I'm not as confident we'll see the Horns in Atlanta. -- Tom Fornelli
South Carolina: There is a notion that South Carolina's 9-3 season was just a building block for an even better 2025. That discounts the significance of what the Gamecocks lost, especially on defense, where six of the top seven tacklers must be replaced. With one of the nation's toughest schedules on deck, it's more likely that the Gamecocks are fighting for bowl eligibility than for a spot in the playoff come November. -- David Cobb (also Richard Johnson, Shehan Jeyarajah, Chris Hummer)
Ole Miss: Ole Miss had one of the eight best rosters in the country last season. The Rebels fell short of expectations, even with a 10-win record, and one could categorize all three of their losses as upsets (they were favored in those games). I love Lane Kiffin, and the "Portal King" moniker is apt, but with so many new pieces in place, why should we assume the Rebels will be a top-15 team this fall? I have my doubts, even if the new pieces are super talented and the schedule is favorable at home. -- Brandon Marcello
Florida: I'm a believer in Billy Napier and DJ Lagway, but I can't get past that brutal schedule again. Napier did a terrific job managing a treacherous situation with so much outside noise calling for his job and still guiding the Gators to a 8-5 record. That has cranked up the offseason hype machine and landed the Gators a preseason top 15 position, but it's hard to see Florida really improving much off last year's 8-5 record. Florida plays four top 10 teams (Texas, Georgia, LSU and Miami) plus No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 21 Ole Miss and No. 24 Tennessee. If Napier can get to nine or more wins with that schedule, he deserves a raise and extension. -- John Talty (also Chip Patterson)
Tennessee: Regression is coming for the Vols after reaching the College Football Playoff last season, which automatically puts 2025 expectations in the unreasonable realm. Four games against preseason top-20 teams from the SEC will ultimately determine the Vols' fate, but the pressing question centers around replacing Nico Iamaleava and Dylan Sampson, who accounted for more than 90% of this offense's total yards and touchdowns last fall. Expecting another finish inside the playoff conversation might be too much to ask. -- Brad Crawford
Most underrated team
LSU: Many see LSU as the third- or fourth-best team in the SEC this season, but some hesitate to put the Tigers ahead of Alabama and Georgia. I'm not one of them. The offense should be dynamic again with Garrett Nussmeier, and I fully expect the defense to take a big step forward after an incredible haul from the transfer portal. Is that enough to beat Florida and Alabama, and win on the road at Clemson, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma? Tough call. But there's a lot to like about LSU as a dark-horse national title pick.. -- Marcello (also Fornelli, Hummer)
Texas A&M: Just because Texas A&M finished as "Texas 8-and-4" doesn't mean that's the future for every Mike Elko team. The Aggies dealt with quarterback instability and significant injuries, yet still entered November 7-1 with two top-10 wins and a shot at the SEC title. Yes, the late-season losses exposed plenty of issues. But this is still a loaded roster with playoff potential -- if the offense takes a step forward with Marcel Reed's development and a few high-impact transfer additions.. -- Patterson (also Talty, Jeyarajah, Cobb)
Missouri: There's no doubt Missouri has to figure out its quarterback situation, with a legitimate fall camp position battle few expected when Beau Pribula arrived. But the offense should have a clear identity with running back Ahmad Hardy stepping in as the bell cow. The Tigers also drew a manageable SEC schedule and return a defense that looks solid, with plenty of experience in the secondary and top transfer Damon Wilson arriving from Georgia up front. It won't always be flashy, but Missouri doesn't need to be in order to prove a tough out this season. -- Johnson
Oklahoma: Oklahoma played much of last season with the chamber half-empty, thanks to mounting injuries and a lack of confidence on both sides of the ball. Brent Venables enters his fourth season season with his back against the wall, but a revamped roster headlined by John Mateer and Jaydn Ott could spark real improvement. The schedule is daunting, and essentially making two coordinator changes is worth watching. But go ahead and buy stock in the Sooners while it's low -- this price won't be around in October. -- Crawford
Bold predictions
- Tom Fornelli: There will be no fewer than three interim coaches on the sidelines during rivalry week to end the regular season.
- Chip Patterson: Alabama will have a top-five scoring defense nationally. The Crimson Tide have a pretty high floor when it comes to this category, annually ranking inside the top-20 and usually inside the top-15, but it's been a while since we looked to Tuscaloosa to find one of the country's truly dominant units. Alabama is old, big and experienced up front and after the secondary had to grow up a bit that side of the ball is looking like a real strength in 2025.
- Brandon Marcello: The SEC champion, Texas, finishes with two or three losses (at Ohio State, at Georgia and possibly at Florida) before making a deep run in the CFP. South Carolina slides back to the middle of the pack as turnovers plague the offense and LaNorris Sellers.
- John Talty: Florida starts the season in the top 15 and yet ends the year unranked after another grueling schedule deflates the Gators' hype balloon. Florida will be a better team than it was in 2024 and I'm a believer in DJ Lagway but the Gators' have a brutal four-game stretch all against top 20 teams -- LSU, Miami, Texas and Texas A&M -- and still play Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Florida State. Napier was a miracle worker getting last year's team to 8-5 and if he can somehow improve on that with this year's slate, make him Coach of the Year.
- Richard Johnson: Powered by the best wide receiver room in the SEC, a budding running back stable and great play in the trenches, Auburn is able to beat everyone they should on their schedule. Alabama, Georgia, and maybe Baylor are hills that will prove too tall to climb, but there's a lot to love about these Tigers even as they're doubted nationally in the midst of their coach's golf habit.
- Shehan Jeyarajah: The SEC ends up being the most underwhelming quarterback conference in the country. LSU's Garrett Nussmeier elevates himself to No. 1 pick consideration, but none of Sellers, Lagway, Manning or Mateer are able to live up to off-the-charts expectations. Instead, an unexpected riser ends the year as the All-SEC Second Team quarterback -- think Texas A&M's Reed or Arkansas's Taylen Green. Maybe even Vandy's Diego Pavia, who will stun college football by leading the Commodores to an upset of Tennessee in his final regular season collegiate performance.
- David Cobb: LSU will begin the season with a win at Clemson and finally reach the College Football Playoff for the first time under fourth-year coach Brian Kelly. The Tigers' rise will largely be sparked by defensive improvement under second-year coordinator Blake Baker.
- Brad Crawford: From preseason top 20 to unranked at year's end, Tennessee's 2025 season will be one to forget after making its first playoff appearance last fall. Defending SEC champion Georgia suffers three regular-season losses for only the second time in Kirby Smart's tenure, but becomes the first three-loss team to reach the playoff as the selection committee's last team in.
- Chris Hummer: LSU loses Week 1 against Clemson but still goes on to win the SEC. Clemson is a brutal Week 1 matchup, but given some time to settle into the season and a transfer-heavy group to gel, I love how LSU's roster is built. The winner of the SEC could easily have two or three losses. The league is too deep for anyone to run the table.
SEC predicted order of finish
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |  | | | | | | | |
| 2 |  | |  | | | | | | |
| 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | |  | | | | | | | |
| 5 | | |  |  |  | | | | |
| 6 | |  | |  |  | | |  | |
| 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | | | | | |  | | | |
| 10 | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 |  | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | | |  | | | |  | | |
| 15 | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | | | | | | | | | |
SEC champion
Texas: The Longhorns have spent the last two years building themselves into a supernova. In 2025, they will reach their final form. Texas reached the national semifinals in two straight seasons -- the only program to achieve the feat -- and enter the season as No. 1 for the first time in program history. Quarterback Arch Manning is the headliner, but a stacked defense led by linebacker Anthony Hill and edge rusher Colin Simmons will give Texas a chance to emerge as the best team in America. There are serious questions at tackle and receiver, but Steve Sarkisian's program has more developmental credibility than anyone this side of Athens. -- Jeyarajah (also Marcello, Talty, Johnson, Cobb, Crawford)
LSU: LSU is built to win a championship this season. The Tigers have one of the best quarterbacks in the country, elite skill talent and a revamped defense that should jump from liability to strength. It will likely take some time for the Tigers to fully come together with so many new pieces on both sides of the ball, which is why I think a Week 1 loss to Clemson is likely. But this is a team by season's end that will be able to score on anyone in the SEC and -- perhaps more importantly -- stop them. The schedule is reasonable, too. Yes, LSU plays six preseason Top 25 teams in SEC play. But the Tigers avoid Georgia and Texas while drawing Florida and Texas A&M at home. -- Hummer (also Fornelli)
Alabama: Big bodies still matter in college football, and Alabama has plenty of them — experienced, well-developed linemen forged in one of the country's premier NFL-talent incubators. Kalen DeBoer arrived relatively late in the cycle and inherited a significant roster exodus after Nick Saban's departure. Now, with a full year to settle in, the return of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, and a roster reshaped in his image, 2025 should be the first fair look at the DeBoer era. For a coach who has won at every level, it was never a matter of if but when he'd have Alabama competing for championships. The pieces are in place for that to happen this fall.. -- Patterson
