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It’s time.
I have previewed the ACC, the Big Ten, the Big 12 and now it’s time for the last Power Four conference. The Southeastern Conference has been notorious for dominating the sport of college football for years. From a massive contract with ESPN to producing top-end talent year after year, people hate this conference for a reason.
This offseason has only strengthened peoples’ displeasure and hatred for this conference. A large majority of the hatred this year stems from how the conference wants to expand and change the College Football Playoff format. You have Big Ten homers shouting at them, you have SEC fans clapping back, and then other fanbases are tired of this discussion.
You have people calling their commissioner Greg Sankey worse things than some foreign dictators and the hate goes on and on. We hadn’t even reached the on-field side of things because everything off the field has erupted into an awful and ugly argument. The SEC is even getting their own Netflix show so there’s a possibility that some dude in England is going to learn about the conference.
Usually for these previews I focus on five teams and talk about the biggest story surrounding them. I did it last year with a few teams and kept it short. However, I don’t have to follow a word limit anymore and my god every team in this conference has something to talk about.
Look at Alabama for example. Heading into head coach Kalen DeBoer’s second season with the program, all eyes are on them to make the CFP. Even after going 9-4 last season, some fans were furious mainly because DeBoer failed to live up to the standard of Nick Saban.
First off, it was DeBoer’s first season with a new program. Second, it’s virtually impossible to match the career success of Saban so Alabama fans need to relax. Third, DeBoer has been a winner at his previous stops like Washington and Sioux Falls so he knows how to build a culture.
With a talented freshman class coming in, the return of his offensive coordinator at Washington Ryan Grubb and stars everywhere on the field, they’ll be fine. You know who’s not, Auburn and Hugh Freeze.
Now, the past few weeks I’ve been focused on MLS and covering the Red Bulls so I haven’t really paid attention to Freeze playing golf. Dude loves playing golf which is fine, but the criticism alludes to him failing to recruit the 2026 class well. Heading into year three with Auburn, his program is 11-14 over the past two seasons and the schedule is difficult in 2025.
From going to Oklahoma and Texas A&M in back-to-back weeks to hosting Georgia and Alabama, that’s not going to be easy. There’s also the question if Oklahoma transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold can spark something special on offense. With talented receivers in Cam Coleman and Georgia Tech transfer Eric Singleton and a great offensive line, maybe they’ll surprise some people.
Staying on head coaches, while Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Texas’ Steve Sarkisian are safe for example, some are feeling the heat. Will Sam Pittman (Arkansas), Mark Stoops (Kentucky) or Brent Venables (Oklahoma) be able to find success in a stack SEC once again? Focusing on Venables, can he get the Sooners back on track with transfers in QB John Mateer and RB Jaydn Ott?
Mateer is just one of the many quarterbacks in this conference fighting to be named the best out of all of them. We’ve seen years where a conference has so much talent at the QB position and this year is no different. DJ Lagway (Florida), Gunner Stockton (Georgia), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina), Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) are just a few of them.
But the biggest name in the SEC and in the sport this season has to be Texas QB Arch Manning. The hype around Arch is otherworldly. He was the main attraction at SEC Media Day and will be for diehard and casual fans this season.
I guess with everyone in the college football sphere giving their opinions on the kid, I guess I have to as well. I think he’ll do well, but I think I want to explore this from a different angle.
I’m a recent college graduate and college was not easy. From working many sporting events, to succeeding in the classroom and ignoring criticism from others, college can be tough. Junior year can be a year where students start facing pressure to produce and some often succumb to that pressure.
For Arch, the biggest advice that others have probably mentioned is to ignore the dialogue around him. Yes, Texas’ schedule is no easy task with games vs Ohio State and Georgia on the road. However, when former Texas QB Quinn Ewers was out with an injury in 2024, Manning gained valuable experience in the games he played in.
The hype around Manning was always going to be there. He was the best player in his class, his uncles are Peyton and Eli and playing at Texas is a big deal.
Will he be as successful as Ewers, Sam Ehlinger, Colt McCoy or Vince Young? Time will tell this season. But one thing is for sure, Arch is going to be the biggest name playing in the sport this season.
I haven’t even mentioned the boatload of players that are going to be on full display this season. Alabama WR Ryan Williams, South Carolina edge Dylan Stewart, Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr just to name a few.
Plus, teams like Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Missouri and Mississippi State all have their stories to look out for. Simply put, the story lines are more hard-hitting and notable in the SEC this season. To quote their entire marketing gimmick, “it just means more.”