SEC football power rankings have familiar No. 1 ahead of Week 1
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The 2026 college football season is officially underway for the SEC after the Missouri Tigers beat the Arkansas Pine-Bluff 54-14 on Thursday night Week 1. It is time for college football to be played and to end the constant offseason talk lawsuits against the NCAA and of players returning to school from the NFL.
The SEC enters the year with nine teams ranked in the US LBM Coaches Poll. The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs lead the way and are the conference's highest ranked team. Georgia is back-to-back defending SEC champions and was the media's preseason SEC championship pick. The SEC's other popular conference champion pick is the No. 4 Texas Longhorns.
We have Georgia ranked ahead of Texas in our power rankings because Georgia has had Texas' number in recent years and returns a stacked roster. After Georgia and Texas, we have Ole Miss and Oklahoma. We consider both Ole Miss and Oklahoma to be College Football Playoff contenders.
LSU is in a tier below the top four, but certainly has the talent to ascent into the SEC's elite. We'd put Texas A&M in the same tier as LSU. After that, we have Alabama and Tennessee, who are fringe SEC championship and playoff contenders. Beyond that, we expect Florida, Missouri, South Carolina and Auburn to make bowl games and be threats to upset some of the SEC's better teams.
SEC football power rankings entering Week 1
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Texas Longhorns
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Oklahoma Sooners
- LSU Tigers
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Florida Gators
- Missouri Tigers (1-0)
- Auburn Tigers
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- Vanderbilt Commodores
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Mississippi State Bulldogs
- Arkansas Razorbacks
SEC Week 1 games against Power Four opponents
- Auburn vs. Baylor (Atlanta) at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 5
- Ole Miss vs. Louisville (Nashville) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept 6
- LSU vs. Clemson at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 5
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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: SEC football power rankings have familiar No. 1 ahead of Week 1
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