The SEC’s projected order of finish for 2026 starts where it has for years — Georgia on top — with Texas and Texas A&M closest behind, according to ESPN’s SP+ projections from Bill Connelly, the most rigorous preseason model in the sport. The official SEC media poll arrives this week from SEC Media Days in Tampa — the event’s first-ever Florida edition — and this page will add the media’s vote alongside the projections when it drops. The full 16-team SP+ order is charted below.
Three storylines frame the season the poll is predicting. Georgia is chasing a third straight SEC title after beating Alabama 28-7 in last December’s championship game; the conference itself is chasing redemption from a three-year national championship drought; and the league adds a historic structural change — a nine-game conference schedule for the first time. There’s also a cautionary note baked into every SEC preseason poll: the media famously picked Texas to beat Georgia last year, and Georgia won the whole thing anyway.
ESPN’s SP+ projections — official media poll added this week
GeorgiaProjected No. 1
8Teams at 16.0+ SP+
9SEC Games Now
TampaMedia Days Host
The Full Projected Order
SP+ ratings via ESPN’s Bill Connelly; higher is better.
Rank
Team
SP+
Outlook
1
Georgia
25.4
Stockton and Frazier return; continuity over splash — and two straight SEC titles
2
Texas
23.5
Arch Manning’s second year as starter, with Cam Coleman and Hollywood Smothers added
3
Texas A&M
20.3
Reed and Craver back after an 11-0 start; both coordinators replaced
4
LSU
20.0
The Lane Kiffin era begins, with transfer QB Sam Leavitt and Charlie Weis Jr. calling plays
5
Alabama
18.0
Elite talent, but replacing first-round QB Ty Simpson
6
Oklahoma
17.2
Mateer and Venables’ defense both return
7
Ole Miss
16.0
Chambliss retained eligibility; Pete Golding’s first full season
8
Tennessee
16.0
Heupel’s depth and consistency
9
Missouri
14.8
Ahmad Hardy back after a breakout; Connelly’s sleeper
10
Florida
14.7
Jon Sumrall’s first season in Gainesville
11
South Carolina
12.0
Beamer on the hot seat
12
Auburn
11.1
13
Vanderbilt
10.0
14
Arkansas
5.0
15
Mississippi State
3.8
Lebby’s seat is warm too
16
Kentucky
3.7
The Kiffin Domino
The offseason’s biggest story sits fourth: Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU, brought Charlie Weis Jr. with him, and landed transfer QB Sam Leavitt — while his old program hands the keys to Pete Golding. Two top-seven projections, both mid-transition, both volatile.
The Depth Argument
Eight SEC teams open at an SP+ of 16.0 or higher — depth no other conference matches — which cuts both ways: the nine-game schedule means someone projected top-eight will finish 6-6, and the poll can’t tell you who.
The Poll’s Track Record
Treat every preseason order as a hypothesis: the media picked Texas over Georgia last year and got the finalist wrong on both sides of the title game score. Since the divisional era began, the media’s champion pick has hit barely a third of the time.
The Bottom Line
Georgia first, Texas chasing, Kiffin’s LSU looming, and a nine-game gauntlet that will break somebody ranked here in the top eight — the projected order is the argument, not the answer. The betting market’s version of the same question is in SEC championship odds and predictions.
