The US LBM Coaches Poll was released on Monday, and soon the preseason polls will give way to games, and all that will matter is what happens on the field. The Sooners were left out of the poll for the first time in 25 years. Oklahoma is right where they want to be, with something to prove.
But the SEC is full of challenging matchups, and the Sooners play a tough nonconference game against the Michigan Wolverines in week two. Among their conference foes, the Sooners have one of the more challenging schedules in the SEC. Oklahoma will play seven games against teams ranked in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll.
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How does that compare to the rest of the conference? Let’s take a look at how many teams from the preseason Coaches Poll each SEC team will face this season.
3 – No problem for Auburn, Missouri, and Tennessee, right?
Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart shake hands after a NCAA college football game in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Auburn, Missouri, and Tennessee each play just three teams ranked inside the top 25 of the Coaches Poll. Now, they each also play Oklahoma, which came in as the top vote getter among others receiving votes. However, their schedules compared to the rest of the SEC provide an easier path to bowl eligibility and College Football Playoff contention.
Now, each team has major questions, but those questions may not matter as much with the slates they have in 2025.
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4 – Texas, Alabama with easy paths to Playoff
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian celebrates as time expires in the game against the Clemson Tigers in the first round of the College Football Playoffs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez/USA Today Network via Imagn Images
Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas will only play four teams ranked in the preseason Coaches Poll. Texas made the semi-finals of the College Football Playoff in 2024 while Alabama and South Carolina were on the outside looking in with 9-3 records after suffering upset losses in SEC play.
Texas, the No. 1 team in the nation, will go on the road to play Ohio State, Georgia, and Florida, and will also face the Sooners in the Cotton Bowl, but the Longhorns have one of the easiest paths to the playoff of any top team.
5 – Can Diego Pavia survive a brutal schedule?
Georgia, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt will each play five games against teams ranked in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll. Each of these teams made a bowl game last year with Georgia reaching the College Football Playoff.
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Vanderbilt has the toughest path to getting back to a bowl game with road games against South Carolina, Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee, and they’ll also face the LSU Tigers at home.
6 – No Favors for Arkansas, LSU, Kentucky
Sam Pittman, Mark Stoops, and Brian Kelly enter the 2025 season under a lot of pressure. Pittman helped Arkansas get to a bowl game in 2024 while Stoops and the Wildcats fell from grace despite an upset win over Ole Miss.
Kelly’s status is a bit tenuous as his team feels like it’s in a “playoff or bust” situation entering 2025. But a path to the playoff is fraught with landmines as the Tigers will face Clemson, Ole Miss, and Alabama on the road. They host Florida, Texas A&M, and South Carolina at home, but none of these games are gimmees.
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7 – Oklahoma and Florida under the microscope
Whitt Newbauer (16) passes during football practice for the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Okla., on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025.
As if there wasn’t enough pressure on Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables and Florida head coach Billy Napier, the two blue blood programs face arguably the toughest slates of any SEC team in the country.
For Oklahoma, every ranked team they’ll face this season, except for LSU and South Carolina, is replacing its quarterback with an unproven signal caller.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Which SEC team has the toughest schedule based on US LBM Coaches Poll?