Although the potential for consequential chaos in the SEC Football Power Rankings was largely averted, there is a new front runner and other up and down movement in the aftermath of college football's final weekend of the 2025 regular season.
Texas A&M, unbeaten at 11-0 heading into the final weekend against longtime rival Texas, couldn't finish off its first perfect regular season since 1939, falling to the Longhorns 27-20. Moreover, the loss knocked the Aggies out of the SEC Championship Game, which will now feature Georgia and Alabama, both winners on rivalry weekend. That game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday.
A&M's loss, coupled with Georgia's 16-9 win over Georgia Tech, elevated the Bulldogs to the top spot in the Week 15 power rankings. After three consecutive weeks at No. 1, Texas A&M tumbled back four spots to No. 5 and will now wait along with seven other SEC teams to learn its postseason fate on Selection Sunday after conference championships are decided on Saturday.
The penultimate College Football Playoff Rankings for the 2025 season will be released Tuesday night on ESPN.
Final 2025 regular-season SEC Football Power Rankings
1. Georgia Bulldogs (11-1, 7-1)
Georgia's only loss this season was to Alabama, the team the Bulldogs will face on Saturday for the SEC championship. The Crimson Tide eked out a 24-21 road win in Athens back in late September. Georgia has beaten Alabama only once in the last 10 games, including an 0-4 record the last four times the two teams have met in the SEC Championship Game.
Previous ranking: No. 2.
2. Ole Miss Rebels (11-1, 7-1)
The Texas A&M loss also enabled Ole Miss to move up one spot in the power rankings. The Rebels finished off the regular season with a convincing 38-17 win over rival Mississippi State. Unfortunately, they also lost their head coach, Lane Kiffin, who announced on Sunday that he was leaving to take the open coaching position at LSU. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding will serve as interim head coach in the postseason.
Previous ranking: No. 3
3. Oklahoma Sooners (10-2, 6-2)
For a long while on Saturday, it looked as if Oklahoma was going to fall short in its bid for a 10-win regular season and fail to lock down a spot in the College Football Playoff. The sluggish Sooner offense managed to come alive late, however, enabling OU to pull out a 17-13 win over visiting LSU. The victory gave Oklahoma its 43rd 10-win season all-time, the second-most nationally, and secured a spot in the CFP.
Previous ranking: No. 4
4. Alabama Crimson Tide (10-2, 7-1)
Alabama found itself in a dogfight in its Iron Bowl rivalry game with 5-7 Auburn. With the game tied 20-20 late midway through the fourth quarter, the Crimson Tide showed their grit and resilience, successfully executing a couple of critical third-down conversions in a 15-play, 75-yard scoring drive that led to the winning touchdown and a 27-20 victory. The win sent Alabama to the SEC Championship Game against Georgia.
Previous ranking: No. 5
5. Texas A&M Aggies (11-1, 7-1)
Texas A&M was seeking its first conference championship since 1998 in the Big 12. That was derailed in a 27-20 loss to Texas the day after Thanksgiving. The Aggies will make the College Football Playoff despite suffering their first loss of the season and will likely earn an opening-round home game.
Previous ranking: No. 1
6. Texas Longhorns (9-3, 6-2)
Texas has been the most enigmatic team in the SEC this season. The Longhorns were preseason No. 1 nationally, but opened with a close-fought loss to current No. 1 Ohio State. Texas also suffered decisive season losses at Florida and Georgia to finish the regular season at 9-3. The Longhorns are hoping their win over previously unbeaten Texas A&M will boost their slim chances of making it into the playoff.
Previous ranking: No. 6
7. Vanderbilt Commodores (10-2, 6-2)
While Texas was the most enigmatic team in the SEC regular season, Vanderbilt, along with Oklahoma, was easily the most surprising. The Commodores had wins over LSU, Missouri and Tennessee. Vandy currently ranked No. 14 in last week's College Football Playoff rankings and is one of two SEC teams (Texas is the other) on the outside looking in but still hopeful for big-time chaos on Championship Saturday and a long shot of making the playoff.
Previous ranking: No. 7
8. Missouri Tigers (8-4, 4-4)
Missouri began the season 5-0 but lost four of its final seven games to gradually slip back in the conference power rankings. The Tigers did end the regular season on a high note, defeating Arkansas 31-17, recording their second conference road victory.
Previous ranking: No. 9
9. Tennessee Volunteers (8-4, 4-4)
Missouri and Tennessee finished the regular season tied for eighth in the conference standings, After beginning the season 5-1, the Volunteers split their final six games with losses to Alabama, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt. The home loss to Vanderbilt to close out the regular season knocked the Vols back one spot in the SEC Power Rankings.
Previous ranking: No. 8
10. LSU Tigers (7-5, 3-5)
It's been four seasons since an LSU team won as few as seven games in a season. The Tigers started out the season with four straight wins and high expectations, at one point early in the season staking claim to the No. 3 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings. But then the sky fell, and LSU went through a stretch in which it lost four of five games and head coach Brian Kelly was fired and starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was lost to an abdominal injury. The Tigers got a giant boost for the future, however, with the hiring of former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin over the weekend.
Previous ranking: No. 10
11. Auburn Tigers (5-7, 1-7)
Auburn was one of four SEC teams that fired its head coach (Hugh Freeze) during the season. The Tigers were also one of three SEC teams to record just a single conference win this season. They gave Alabama all it could handle in Saturday's Iron Bowl matchup before falling 27-20. Alex Golesh, formerly at South Florida, was announced over the weekend as the new head coach. With just five overall wins, Auburn fell one win shy of bowl eligibility.
Previous ranking: No. 13
12. Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-7, 1-7)
Mississippi State won just two games all of last season. The Bulldogs improved by three wins on that total in 2025, but still managed just one conference win, 38-35 over Arkansas. Mississippi State ended its season with a 38-19 loss to rival Ole Miss.
Previous ranking: No. 11
13. Florida Gators (4-8, 2-6)
Florida was another SEC team with high hopes to start the season, ranked No. 15 in the preseason AP Top 25. The Gators won their season opener against Long Island, but then lost four of the next five. The one win in that stretch, however, was a shocking 29-21 win over Texas. Florida fired head coach Billy Napier midseason. The Gators finished the season with a 4-8 overall record and just 1-4 after the Napier firing. Jon Sumrall, former head coach at Tulane, will head the program next season.
Previous ranking: No. 15
14. Kentucky Wildcats (5-7, 2-6)
Kentucky finished out the season with an embarrassing 41-0 shellacking by Louisville. The season cost head coach Mark Stoops his job after 13 seasons at Kentucky. That announcement came on Monday following the loss to Louisville.
Previous ranking: No. 12
15. South Carolina Gamecocks (4-8, 1-7)
After starting out the season 3-2, the Gamecocks finished out the year with one win and six losses. South Carolina was one of 10 SEC teams that began the season ranked among the nation's top 25 teams.
Previous ranking: No. 14
16. Arkansas Razorbacks (2-10, 0-8)
Somebody always has to bring up the tail end, and this season it is Arkansas. The Razorbacks posted wins over Alabama A&M and Arkansas State in their first two nonconference games to start the season, but then went into a total tailspin, losing 10 consecutive games to finish out the season, including all eight conference games. Sam Pittman was fired as head coach during the season. His replacement was named this past weekend in former Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield.
Previous ranking: No. 16