LSU Athletics
By Chris Marler
It’s that time again. Rankings week has arrived, and with Week Zero right around the corner, it’s time to stack up the SEC heading into 2025.
Here’s how the conference shakes out, one through 16, before the season kicks off.
16. Kentucky
15. Mississippi State
14. Arkansas
13. Vanderbilt
12. Oklahoma
11. Florida
10. Tennessee
Tennessee looked like a strong contender earlier this summer, and eight wins still feels like the floor for this team. The concern is depth and experience, nearly half the roster, 49 percent, is made up of freshmen or redshirt freshmen, which is a huge concern.
Don’t sell your stock just because they lost Nico Iamaleava. They return a ton of talent still and have one of the easiest schedules in the SEC. Five of their 12 opponents finished last year with a losing record, and they only have four opponents ranked in the preseason. Two of those opponents are Oklahoma and Florida, both matchups where Tennessee should enter as the favorite or at least hold the edge in overall roster talent.
9. Auburn
Auburn will be improved and could easily find themselves near the top five of the conference by season’s end.
The defense will be good and they have future first rounders in EDGE Keldric Faulk and DB Jay Crawford. The only position unit that got worse is running back. Jackson Arnold should have a resurgence with the talent around him and the wide receivers may be the best unit in the entire country at that position.
Auburn’s biggest concern, per usual, is their schedule. They could easily be 2-3 at the end of September and that’s before they play Georgia or Alabama.
8. Ole Miss
The Rebels will be good and they have the easiest schedule in the entire conference. They avoid Texas, Alabama and anyone with a pulse in the non-conference.
They replace a ton of talent and an all-timer at QB in Jaxson Dart. They’re not beating LSU or Georgia, and odds are they’ll drop at least one more, maybe even two, against South Carolina, Florida or on the road at Oklahoma.
7. Missouri
Missouri doesn’t have a road game until almost Halloween. Eight of their 12 opponents finished the regular season at 6-6 or worse last year.
Missouri lost three-year starter Brady Cook at quarterback, but offset that blow with two of the biggest portal pickups in the SEC: running back Ahmad Hardy and wide receiver Kevin Coleman. Both will be top five in production at their positions in the SEC this year.
They also return a defense that ranked in the nation’s top 20 last season and looks even stronger with the addition of former five-star edge rusher Damon Wilson from Georgia.
6. Texas A&M
Believing in Texas A&M is like believing a politician or something your aunt posted on Facebook. You can do it, but you’re more than likely going to feel like a real idiot later.
With Mike Elko in charge, defense is a constant strength, and that side of the ball should remain reliable. Then there’s Marcel Reed who goes into his first full year as a starter and should be much better than he was a season ago, and they get four starters back on the offensive line.
Don’t expect them to make the play-off, but also don’t expect them to finish the season 1-4 like they did a year ago.
5. South Carolina
South Carolina lost a ton of talent and experience on defense, including five NFL Draft Picks. They also have a schedule that features home games against Alabama and Clemson, with road games at Texas A&M and LSU.
However, they also have one thing no one else has in the entire country: LaNorris Sellers. Sellers is a one-of-one athlete and quarterback. He gives the Gamecocks an advantage every single time he steps on the field.
The Gamecocks bring back plenty of proven playmakers on offense and in the secondary, and no team in the SEC kept its coaching staff together better.
4. LSU
LSU could just as easily be No. 2 on this list, maybe even No. 1. At the very least, the Tigers have enough talent to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Alabama at No. 3.
This team is absolutely loaded on offense at skill positions, and will get better at every single level of the defense in year two of Blake Baker at coordinator. The offensive line replaces four starters, and the schedule is a gauntlet.
Regardless, this team has all the tools to be elite. The Tigers have the talent, now it’s about staying out of their own way and, for once, getting a Week One win on the board.
3. Alabama
Anyone hoping Alabama would vanish after Saban stepped down is learning that was only a dream. Yes, the jokes write themselves. Losses to Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and a Michigan team that barely resembled itself in a rain-soaked bowl game in Tampa.
However, they should be better up front, will be much better at receiver and they return the best parts of a top ten defense from a year ago.
The two biggest things Alabama has this year versus last year: depth and Ryan Grubb as offensive coordinator.
2. Texas
Texas could have landed as high as No. 4. The Longhorns lost their entire offensive line along with nearly all of their skill position talent from last year’s team.
However, they should be fine at QB and receiver, return one of the best backs in the SEC and have the best defense in the entire country. That back seven they have in Austin is unreal. Plus, the schedule is more than manageable.
1. Georgia
Forget the quarterback talk. Forget the draft losses. Everyone’s piling onto the Texas bandwagon, but I’ll stick with the team that beat them twice last season.
Georgia enters 2025 with one of the nation’s most talented rosters and a major advantage: Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss all come to Sanford Stadium, where the Bulldogs have lost just once since 2017.
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