To be great in the SEC is to be considered the elite of the elite.
Four teams have done enough to solidify themselves in the elite tier of the SEC, including Texas, Alabama, Georgia and LSU. These are the programs that the Oklahoma Sooners and the rest of the SEC are chasing to surpass in order to reach the status they want.
Texas, Alabama, Georgia, LSU among SEC's elite tier
Texas Longhorns
It pains to write, but after just one year, the Texas Longhorns are among the SEC's elite.
The Longhorns have made the College Football Playoff the last two years while in two separate conferences and also competed in two different conference championship games during that span. Texas has a lot to replace to continue that in 2025, but the country is raving about quarterback Arch Manning stepping in. Even if you don't fully believe in the Manning hype (which I don't), results on the field still have to change before Texas is no longer included among the elite.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Although the Crimson Tide didn't look elite last season in Norman and the Nick Saban era is history, Alabama is still the epitome of elite and who everyone else is chasing. Even during what was considered a disappointing season in 2024, the Crimson Tide still just narrowly missed a berth into the College Football Playoff. And we all know they would have made some noise if they got in.
Alabama will have a lot of new faces this season, but you can still always expect the Crimson Tide to reload.
Georgia Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the closest ones to surpassing Alabama in status, and it might even be worth arguing that the Bulldogs already have. This is expected to be a down year for the Bulldogs, yet Kirby Smart will still have them competing for an SEC championship somehow.
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers are the newest members of the elite, and although they haven't done anything yet under Brian Kelly, you can't ignore the talent and potential this 2025 LSU squad has with Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback. Many consider LSU the SEC frontrunner in 2025, and I even ranked the Tigers at the top of my post-spring SEC power rankings.
Read about the rest of the SEC tiers