Texas is back in the familiar spot at the top of AL.com’s SEC preseason forecast, and this time the Longhorns are the clear favorite to win the league in 2026.
In the 80th annual SEC post-spring football report, first published by the Birmingham News in 1947, Texas collected seven of nine first-place votes from AL.com sports staff members. Georgia got the other two. Using the report’s scoring system - 16 points for first, 15 for second, 14 for third and so on down to 1 point for 16th - the Longhorns finished with 142 poll points, just ahead of the Bulldogs at 136.
That comes one year after AL.com’s panel made the same call for 2025 and missed badly. Texas was the pick in the 79th annual report, but the Longhorns ended up tied for fifth while Georgia won the SEC title for the second straight year and third time in four seasons.
Now the Longhorns are being asked to do it again, and the case starts with the roster Steve Sarkisian has built. Texas went 10-3 in 2025 and brings back quarterback Arch Manning, wide receiver Ryan Wingo, offensive lineman Trevor Goosby and defensive lineman Colin Simmons. The group also gets a major boost from a transfer class that includes running back Hollywood Smothers from North Carolina State, wide receiver Cam Coleman from Auburn and linebacker Rasheem Biles from Pittsburgh.
Georgia remains right there, though, and the gap at the top is slim. The Bulldogs finished 12-2 in 2025, beat Alabama 28-7 in the SEC championship game, then fell to conference rival Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. They return quarterback Gunner Stockton, running back Nate Frazier, offensive linemen Drew Bobo and Earnest Greene, defensive lineman Elijah Griffin, linebacker Raylen Wilson and defensive backs KJ Bolden and Ellis Robinson.
Behind those two, LSU slots in at No. 3 with 116 points. The Tigers enter with first-year coach Lane Kiffin and a heavy transfer presence after going 7-6 last season and firing Brian Kelly at midseason.
Ole Miss follows at No. 4 with 110 points, one point ahead of Alabama at 109. Texas A&M is sixth with 102 points, Oklahoma seventh with 96 and Tennessee eighth with 74.
Auburn and Florida are tied for ninth at 63 points apiece. Missouri checks in 11th with 60, followed by Vanderbilt at 44, South Carolina at 42, Kentucky at 38, Arkansas at 15 and Mississippi State at 14.
The full voting breakdown showed Texas with seven first-place votes and Georgia with two. LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Tennessee all appeared in the mix behind the top two, while Auburn and Florida finished level in the middle of the pack.
AL.com will continue the preseason rollout this weekend, with the 2026 preseason All-SEC team coming Saturday and key questions about the league’s top teams and players set for Sunday.
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