And here we are. Just like that, the leftover turkey and mashed potatoes are gone, the conference title matches are set, and the rivalry games are all in the books.
Week 14 and the 2025 regular season are complete, and what a journey it’s been. LSU’s gone from 1st after beating Clemson to finishing 10th with a 7-5 record and a massive coaching buyout. Alabama has recovered from a season-opening loss to Florida State to clinch a berth in the SEC title game. Vanderbilt is making a case for a spot in the CFP. The dust has now settled, and it’s time to take a look at one last set of SEC power rankings before the postseason wraps up the year.
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Let’s get into it:
1. Georgia (7-1, 11-1)
Previous Rank: 2.
The Georgia Bulldogs finish the regular season as our 1st-place team after recovering from an early home loss to the Crimson Tide to win every other game and secure a rematch with them in the SEC title game next week. They’re a lock for the playoffs and have bent but not broken in a season of close calls, where they found a way to win. Half their games this year were decided by ten or fewer points, including their 16-7 victory over their rival Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. A good year to be a Dawg.
2. Oklahoma (6-2, 10-2)
Previous Rank: 4.
OU had it all on the line in the 4th quarter at home against LSU, holding onto a narrow four-point lead against 7-4 LSU, where a win would clinch the CFP, but a loss would completely eliminate it. In the end, a 4th down stop sealed the victory, and fans can celebrate all week: phenomenal play all season long and especially down the stretch have turned the Sooners into a CFP-bound team that met every challenge along the way.
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3. Alabama (7-1, 10-2)
Previous Rank: 5.
Alabama survived the Iron Bowl and now faces Georgia for an SEC title. Could a loss push the Crimson Tide out of the field? If not, they’d be the first three-loss team to ever make the playoffs.
4. Ole Miss (7-1, 11-1)
Previous Rank: 3.
The Rebels won the Egg Bowl and are CFP-bound. It’ll be their first-ever CFP appearance after their best regular season since 1962. It all would’ve come crashing down without that Golden Egg, but they defended it and await to hear who their first-round opponent will be.
5. Texas A&M (7-1, 11-1)
Previous Rank: 1.
Welp, they blew it. There goes the undefeated season and their first-ever SEC championship appearance. They’re still going to be in the CFP, though, so they’ll still have a chance for redemption soon.
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6. Vanderbilt (6-2, 10-2)
Previous Rank: 6.
Vandy put up one of their best seasons in school history, winning ten games for the first time ever and capping their season with an epic road beatdown of archrival Tennessee. Despite this amazing season, it will not be making the CFP unless the committee completely surprises everyone. Nevertheless, what they’ve accomplished this year should be heavily celebrated in Nashville.
7. Texas (6-2, 9-3)
Previous Rank: 7.
The Longhorns had quite the up and down year since being the preseason #1, but at the end of it, they find themselves 9-3 with a win over their hated archrivals from College Station. They also won the Red River Rivalry against OU. They won’t be in the CFP, but their season could’ve been a lot worse.
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8. Missouri (4-4, 8-4)
Previous Rank: 9.
The Tigers finished 8-4 and extended their coach. It was a solid year in Columbia that’ll lead them to a solid bowl game before they turn to 2026.
9. Tennessee (4-4, 8-4)
Previous Rank: 8.
Tennessee got hammered by Vanderbilt in its first loss in the series since 2018. The Vols didn’t fall apart in 2025 but swung and missed in their biggest games against Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Vandy. At least they ended their losing streak in The Swamp.
10. LSU (3-5, 7-5)
Previous Rank: 13.
LSU finishes 2025, hitting the reset button, looking to blow up everything and start afresh as they work to get themselves back to the top of the sport. In half their games this season, they looked like they didn’t care, so I wouldn’t expect much of them in their bowl game.
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11. Auburn (1-7, 5-7)
Previous Rank: 12.
The Tigers fought hard in the Iron Bowl once again, but came up short against the Tide and in their quest for a bowl. They are the only SEC team that can say they would’ve made a bowl if it weren’t for a loss to…Kentucky.
12. Kentucky (2-6, 5-7)
Previous Rank: 10.
Kentucky got smoked by its archrivals from Louisville and has a lot more questions than answers going forward. They’re fortunate they got two SEC wins late in the year. At least they didn’t lose a Golden Egg, as the team below them did.
13. Mississippi State (1-7, 5-7)
Previous Rank: 11.
The Bulldogs miss a bowl and miss a Golden Egg, as they end another season with a thud, but at least can be glad they didn’t go 0-8 again like last year, thanks to Arkansas. In a 16-team league, no one wants to finish last, and they dodged that disgrace with that victory over the Hogs that made all the difference.
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14. Florida (2-6, 4-8)
Previous Rank: 15.
The Gators flopped in 2025, but at least ended the year with a nice rivalry win over Florida State that kept the Seminoles from a bowl. They’ll enter 2026 with John Sumrall from Tulane leading UF, and hope to at last have a coach that can bring them back to the glory days.
15. South Carolina (1-7, 4-8)
Previous Rank: 14.
The Gamecocks lost to Clemson and enter the offseason really wishing they had held on at Texas A&M. It’ll be a long wait till 2026, and they’ll have a lot of work to do if they want to get back to where they were before.
16. Arkansas (0-8, 2-10)
Previous Rank: 16.
It’s mercifully over. After an onslaught of blowouts and close losses, the Arkansas Razorbacks have reached the offseason and can hit the reset button as they try to pick themselves up off rock bottom in 2026. In 2024, the last-place team in the league was 0-8 Mississippi State, and now in 2025, it’s the winless Hogs.
