2026 SEC college football preview, predictions, top transfers, more - ESPN

The SEC has been going through a bit of an existential crisis of late. The league that demanded you judge it by all its national championships — 13 of them in 17 seasons between 2006 and 2022 — is suddenly in a drought, with Big Ten teams winning three straight titles. In fact, SEC teams have claimed only two of the eight spots in the semifinals of the first two 12-team College Football Playoffs. What's wrong?

Not much, really. The SEC still produces the best average SP+ rating each season, usually by a comfortable margin, and 50% of its league games were decided by one score, tied with Conference USA for the highest percentage in the FBS. Its worst team had a better rating than the seven worst Big Ten teams; it's just that its best team was lower than the Big Ten's top three.

Will this phenomenon change in 2026? With how loaded Ohio State, Oregon and potentially Indiana will be again, it's hard to say yes. But if Georgia can rediscover how to make big plays, or if Texas' star transfers stay healthy and thrive, or Texas A&M's line transfers click, or Lane Kiffin catches lightning in a bottle at LSU, or Keelon Russell ignites Alabama's offense, or Pete Golding keeps his small-sample magic going at Ole Miss, or Oklahoma's… well, you get the point. About three-quarters of the SEC has top-15 potential.

Who stands above the pack (besides, Georgia, which always does)? And can any of them win three to four playoff games this time? Let's find out! And let's preview the SEC!

In the last SEC season with everyone playing eight conference games, we got a jumble at the top, with seven teams going 6-2 or 7-1. Five of them made the CFP, and the other two (Vanderbilt and Texas) came close. What happens with the shift to nine-game