SEC predicted order of finish for 2026 season

SEC Media Days signal football season is upon us. The Oklahoma Sooners were a part of the first morning at the SEC football kickoff, and there's a great deal of confidence surrounding OU football heading into 2026. From local media and national media as well.

It's a big season for the Sooners, a team coming off a College Football Playoff appearance and a 10-win season. The Sooners are hoping for another strong season in Year 3 of the SEC.

During the week, SEC media, including yours truly, will vote on the predicted order of finish in the conference. The Sooners have a team capable of contending for the SEC but will need to navigate one of the more difficult schedules in the nation.

Below is my predicted order of finish for the SEC in 2026.

16. Vanderbilt Commodores

This may seem like a wild choice given what we've seen out of Vanderbilt the last two years, but they are starting a new era at quarterback with Diego Pavia having moved on. Can Jared Curtis rally the Dores to the same level of success during his true freshman season? We need to see what life looks like after Pavia before truly believing this isn't the same old Vanderbilt. But the schedule is pretty favorable outside of games against Georgia, Ole Miss, and Alabama.

15. Arkansas Razorbacks

A lot of folks are putting Ryan Silverfield's Arkansas Razorbacks last in their preseason predictions, which means they're likely to exceed expectations.

14. Kentucky Wildcats

Will Stein was a great hire by Kentucky, and the Wildcats made some strong additions in the transfer portal. I'm not buying into Kenny Minchey just yet. We haven't seen him play much.

13. Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Mississippi State Bulldogs displayed a great deal of competitiveness last season. Jeff Lebby's been building things in Starkville. They aren't ready to climb to the top half of the SEC, but they are ahead of the rebuilds in Lexington and Fayetteville.

12. Auburn Tigers

Alex Golesh is betting big that his former USF players can make the jump to the SEC and elevate the Auburn Tigers from mediocrity. While there's certainly the potential to improve, it may take a minute to get there.

11. Florida Gators

Jon Sumrall is better set up from a talent perspective than Auburn and Alex Golesh, but we need to see major strides before predicting them any higher than this at the start of the season.

10. South Carolina Gamecocks

The South Carolina Gamecocks were one of the most disappointing teams in college football in 2025. They'll be better this year, but games against Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Georgia will likely be losses. Can they take care of business against the rest of their conference slate? Not so sure.

9. Tennessee Volunteers

Another season, another new quarterback for coach Josh Heupel. But who's it going to be. That's the biggest question that lingers for the Volunteers. But they also lost key offensive tackle Lance Heard to the Kentucky Wildcats. This is a prove-it year for Heupel.

8. Missouri Tigers

The addition of Austin Simmons gives Eli Drinkwitz perhaps the best quarterback he's had at Missouri. Bringing Cayden Lee over from Ole Miss was a huge win as well. The Tigers have a high ceiling in 2026 with one of the better offensive lines in the country, even if Ahmad Hardy isn't 100% in Week 1.

7. LSU Tigers

The LSU Tigers earned a huge win by hiring Lane Kiffin and picking up Sam Leavitt in the transfer portal. Games against Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama and Texas will tell the tale of the Tigers' season.

6. Texas A&M Aggies

Texas A&M could have a better team in 2026 but finish with a worse record given the difficulty of the schedule it faces. Even before it gets to a regular-season finale against Texas, the Aggies play at LSU, at Missouri, at Alabama, at South Carolina and at Oklahoma. That's a rough away slate.

5. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama may have a quarterback question heading into 2026, but it has one of the best rosters in the conference, especially on the defensive side of the ball. If there's a serious concern for the Tide, it's the offensive line.

4. Ole Miss Rebels

Trinidad Chambliss is the best quarterback in the conference, and Pete Golding will have a great defense. But I can't help feeling they could take a step back this season. That game against the Sooners in Norman will have huge implications for the SEC title and the College Football Playoff.

3. Oklahoma Sooners

When my game-by-game predictions come out, I'm going to pick the Oklahoma Sooners to beat Texas. But Texas has the schedule to make it through SEC play with just one loss in conference play. Oklahoma is going to be a better team on the second weekend of October than the one the Longhorns beat last year, which had a quarterback less than three weeks removed from surgery and a run game that couldn't do anything.

2. Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns made significant additions on both sides of the ball, most notably Cam Coleman at wide receiver. Arch Manning has shown great promise, but hasn't won the big one yet. Yes, Texas beat Oklahoma last year, but the Sooners' offense was never really a threat in that game, so Steve Sarkisian didn't ask his quarterback to hang in the pocket and push the ball down the field.

Texas gets the nod because it has a cleaner path to the SEC title game with a lighter schedule than the Sooners.

1. Georgia Bulldogs

Ohio State is the only program that can match the consistency of the Georgia Bulldogs over the last decade. The Bulldogs have become a lock for the SEC championship game. They've been to the title game five years in a row, winning three of the last four and eight times since Kirby Smart became the coach in 2015.

Sooners Wire SEC Predicted Order of Finish

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: SEC predicted order of finish for 2026 season