With the SEC season about to get rolling, the title picture already has a familiar shape at the top. Texas enters with plenty of buzz and the second-best odds on FanDuel to win the conference, but Georgia is still the team sitting in front of everyone else.
That shouldn’t surprise anyone who has watched the Bulldogs own this league. Georgia has played in nine of the last 10 SEC Championship Games and has come away with four titles.
The Bulldogs also won the last two, beating Texas and Alabama along the way, and now they own 16 conference crowns overall. They’re bringing back 68 percent of the production from a team that finished No. 3 in the country in opponent-adjusted efficiency, and they also drew the most favorable schedule in the SEC.
That combination makes them look as close to a lock as a team can be in this league.
Texas is right there in the conversation, even if the road is rougher. The Longhorns are making an all-in push for 2026, hoping to take advantage of Arch Manning’s final college season after a busy offseason in the portal.
They have the third-hardest schedule in the country, though the Week 2 meeting with Ohio State doesn’t count toward the SEC race. The tougher part comes late, when Texas has to spend three of its final four regular-season games on the road against Missouri, LSU, and Texas A&M.
The talent is real, though, and Texas has added enough around homegrown pieces like Arch Manning and Colin Simmons to make the ceiling obvious. In this league, that usually keeps a team alive even after one conference loss, and Texas could still find its way into the championship game. The Lone Star Showdown against Texas A&M may again end up carrying major weight in deciding who gets there.
Ole Miss is another team worth watching, even with longer odds on FanDuel. The Rebels have a new face running the offense, but they still have one of the conference’s most electric players in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
They were busy in the portal on both sides of the ledger and appear to have replenished the roster after Lane Kiffin left and took players with him to Baton Rouge. If Ole Miss somehow wins the SEC, it would be its first title since 1963, when Johnny Vaught was in charge - the same name now on the side of the Rebels’ home stadium.
Oklahoma, LSU, and Alabama are also expected to be part of the race, which should keep the league crowded at the top once again. For now, though, the talking is almost over. Texas opens the season against Texas State next Saturday, and then the games start telling the real story.
In Other News...
Texas Basketball Is Chasing A Visit That Could Shape Sean Miller's Plan
Sean Miller is already working well ahead of the usual calendar, and Texas mens basketball has lined up a key wave of official visitors as it looks toward the 2027-28 season. At the center of that effort is NaVorro Bowman Jr., a highly regarded guard whose profile keeps rising thanks to a growing offer list and a recent gold medal run with the USA U17 National Team.
For Texas, the point is bigger than landing one talented guard. Miller and his staff are trying to stack future classes that can sustain a winning culture over time, and a visit from Bowman Jr. would be a meaningful step in that direction. The Longhorns are in the mix with several high-level prospects, but this one feels especially important because it can help define how Millers long-term plan starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Tramon Mark Just Hit An Unfortunate Setback In His Next Step
Tramon Marks next step hit an immediate detour after his brief run with the Phoenix Suns in NBA Summer League, where the former Texas guard appeared in one game before needing ankle surgery. The procedure went well, and the expected rehab timeline now stretches out to about four months, putting his offseason plans on hold while he works his way back.
Sean Miller confirmed the recovery window and also gave Mark credit for the way he handled the injury late in Texas NCAA Tournament run. For a player trying to keep building momentum after leaving Austin, the setback is frustrating, but the long recovery period at least comes with a clear path forward once the rehab begins to pick up. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Playoff Hopes May Hinge On These Few Crucial Names
Texas enters the season with the kind of roster questions that can shape far more than a depth chart, especially along a few spots where margin for error already looks thin. Trevor Goosby, one of the players expected to matter up front, is still being watched closely after the late-camp injury scare, while the Longhorns also need reliable development from names like Ryan Wingo, Colin Simmons and Arch Manning if the team is going to match its playoff ambitions.
Rasheem Bile now carries added importance in that mix, because the staff has less room to shuffle pieces around than it did a few weeks ago. The bigger picture for Texas is simple enough: the ceiling remains high, but the path to it depends on how these crucial players hold up and how quickly the younger talent turns promise into production. [Read more 🡒]