Where did SEC teams finish in USA TODAY Sports final 1-136 rankings?
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For the third season in a row, the SEC failed to make the College Football Playoff national championship game. And for the third season in a row, the Big Ten came out on top as the national champions after Indiana knocked off Miami in a classic.
The SEC had five teams in the College Football Playoff. Only Ole Miss made the semifinals. That was, in large part, due to the way the field was seeded, which forced rematches between SEC foes Oklahoma and Alabama in the first round and Ole Miss and Georgia in the second round.
While the Big Ten can claim the recent success, they still have a long way to go to catch the SEC, which went on a run of 14 national titles in 17 seasons prior to the last three years.
With the season behind us, here's a look at how the SEC finished in USA TODAY Sports 1-136 rankings by college football writer Paul Myerberg.
3. Ole Miss Rebels
Despite all of the drama surrounding the Lane Kiffin departure, Ole Miss had a great season. Pete Golding and Trinidad Chambliss held the team together long enough to make a deep run in the playoff and were a play or two away from playing in the national championship game. Now all eyes turn to the courts where Chambliss is hoping he can gain another year of eligibility.
5. Georgia Bulldogs
The most consistent program in the country couldn't close out the Ole Miss Rebels in a classic during the College Football Playoff. Still, Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs won their third-straight SEC championship with one of the younger teams in the conference. Gunner Stockton will return to build off of what was a great first season at the helm of the Georgia offense.
8. Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M had a good season but left a lot to be desired in their 10-3 loss to Miami and a blowout loss to Texas. Marcel Reed is back and will need to have a better season for the Aggies to take the next step.
11. Texas Longhorns
Texas didn't live up to the preseason hype. Sure, they had a number of high-profile wins, but Arch Manning and the Longhorns suffered a letdown against Florida that kept them out of the College Football Playoff. Steve Sarkisian and the Horns went into the transfer portal with an aggressive mindset and added a number of key weapons including Cam Coleman, Raleek Brown, and Hollywood Smothers.
12. Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama emptied the tank to beat the Sooners in Norman and didn't have much left for their trip to the Rose Bowl to take on the Indiana Hoosiers. They'll face quarterback turnover for the third year in a row and that will be the biggest offseason question facing Kalen DeBoer.
13. Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners had a golden opportunity to advance in the College Football Playoff, but unforced errors allowed the Alabama Crimson Tide back into the game, and by the time the Sooners recovered, it was too late. Oklahoma's been aggressive this offseason upgrading the roster, hoping to make a return trip to the playoff in 2026.
18. Vanderbilt Commodores
Clark Lea and Diego Pavia had the Vanderbilt Commodores on the cusp of a College Football Playoff berth. A weak nonconference schedule was the only thing that kept them out. Lea parlayed that 10-win season into flipping Jared Curtis from Georgia. Huge things are happening in Nashville.
29. Tennessee Volunteers
While quarterback was the biggest offseason story, it was the Tennessee Volunteers' defense that was the biggest issue. In their four losses, the defense allowed 36 points per game.
30. Missouri Tigers
Missouri started the season 6-1 and with a three-point loss to Alabama. But they went just 2-3 over their final five games despite having one of the best players in college football in Ahmad Hardy. Was 2025 a drop back to reality for Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers after back-to-back 10-win seasons, or just a bump in the road.
57. LSU Tigers
LSU went 7-5, fired Brian Kelly, and still came out as winners, hiring Lane Kiffin to take over in Baton Rouge. Kiffin's first big win was to sign transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt. The Tigers should be back in contention in 2026.
71. Mississippi State
Jeff Lebby's second season in Starkville was improved from his first. After going 2-10 in 2024, Lebby and the Bulldogs earned a win over Arizona State in nonconference play and then picked up their first SEC win to improve to 5-7 and make a bowl game. Can he build off of what he's done through two seasons in Starkvegas?
80. Kentucky Wildcats
Mark Stoops was the longest tenured coach in the SEC but couldn't overcome a second straight losing season. Now Kentucky will go with the architect of Oregon's offense, Will Stein to try and bring the Wildcats back to bowl eligibility, and hopefully more.
81. Auburn Tigers
Hugh Freeze couldn't find a quarterback to play with any consistency during his time at Auburn, and it cost him. Alex Golesh is hoping to have similar success as Curt Cignetti, bringing a number of key players over from Golesh's time at South Florida.
82. Florida Gators
Billy Napier didn't survive the season and there's turnover happening in Gainesville in Jon Sumrall's first offseason at the helm. Though it was a difficult schedule to contend with 4-8 in the swamp is never acceptable. Sumrall's a good coach, but he'll need to rebuild the Gators brand.
91. South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina was probably the most disappointing team in the SEC in 2025. Coming off of a nine-win season in 2024, the Gamecocks were supposed to contend in the SEC and have a Heisman contender in LaNorris Sellers. Neither transpired and Shane Beamer's back on the hot seat in Columbia.
108. Arkansas Razorbacks
There was a lot of potential for Arkansas in 2025 with the return of Taylen Green. But the bottom dropped out pretty quickly, and they fired Sam Pittman after an embarrassing home loss. Things aren't looking very rosy for the Razorbacks moving forward. It may take some time to turn this thing around for Ryan Silverfield.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Where did SEC teams finish in USA TODAY Sports final 1-136 rankings?
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