SEC fans and coaches like to tease that it’s harder to win the SEC Championship than the College Football Playoff. If one thing’s certain, it’s harder to get there.
College football analyst Josh Pate released his Power Four conference championship predictions on Sunday evening. In a bit of a shocker, he has Alabama taking down Texas to capture the SEC crown, with Georgia missing the contest altogether.
The Crimson Tide (+380) have the third-best odds of winning the SEC Championship. The Longhorns (+270) are the favorites, while the Bulldogs (+330) sit between the two in second.
Georgia has appeared in seven of the last eight SEC Championships, winning three (2017, 2022, 2024). Alabama missed the conference title game in 2024, but appeared in and won 7 of the previous 10 before that. Texas quickly acclimated to the SEC by reaching the conference title game a season ago, but fell to Georgia 22-19 in overtime.
All three schools have new quarterbacks at the helm of their respective offenses in 2025. The Bulldogs are expected to start Gunnar Stockton, who entered the 2024 SEC title game in relief of Carson Beck and led Georgia to the aforementioned victory over Texas. The Crimson Tide have redshirt junior Ty Simpson living his dream, and the Longhorns have early Heisman Trophy favorite Arch Manning.
Brian Kelly and Garrett Nussmeier have LSU (+700) lurking in the Bayou if any of those passers and/or teams struggle. All four universities find themselves in the top 10 of the preseason AP poll. But with only two spots available in the SEC Championship game, their battle for bids will be intense all season long.
