Athlon Sports has given SEC fans and programs the ultimate talking point and motivation.
On Friday, it revealed which SEC teams would be landing in the College Football Playoff in 2026, and which SEC teams would be settling for a regular bowl game come the postseason. These projections will no doubt spark some heavy debate and general conversation among passionate SEC football fans who absolutely can’t wait for the season to get here.
As for the teams themselves, if the players or coaches get a hold of Athlon’s projections, it can serve as bulletin board material, especially for, say, Alabama, which was predicted to miss the Playoff and land in the Gator Bowl instead. The expectations for Bama are sky-high, as always, so the Crimson Tide will obviously be playing to prove these picks wrong.
But while Alabama (and Ole Miss) were left out of the Playoff by Athlon and placed in those regular, old bowl games, there were 5 SEC teams that were projected to be going to the Playoff in December. These SEC programs, led by 2-time defending conference champion Georgia, will be playing to prove Athlon’s projections right. Athlon predicted that the Bulldogs will snag the No. 2 seed in the Playoff, which means it thinks the Dawgs will 3-peat as SEC champs.
Right behind Georgia in the projections is Texas, which Athlon believes will be the No. 3 seed in the Playoff. Athlon’s SEC parade of Playoff teams was rounded out by Oklahoma (No. 8 seed), Texas A&M (No. 9 seed) and LSU (No. 10 seed), which would be Playoff-bound in Lane Kiffin‘s first season as head coach in Baton Rouge.
Naturally, Athlon’s projections are just that — projections. The games themselves that start in late August will determine where every SEC team ends up, whether it’s the Playoff, a regular bowl game or no bowl game at all.
While Athlon projects where SEC teams will be headed during the postseason, here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about which SEC teams have the best odds to be in the Playoff come December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
