Season’s greetings from “The List.”
We don’t revise “The List” during the College Football Playoff, which means no matter how things shake out for the SEC’s 5 Playoff teams, a champion will be crowned below.
The end of a regular season, like the end of a calendar year, is also a great time to take inventory.
What did we learn about the SEC and college football this year in a season where, well, most of us media folks (and even some of you brilliant fans out there) knew so little?
The top 3 teams in the preseason polls? None made the Playoff. One — Penn State — fired its head coach. Another — Clemson — probably can’t get rid of its coach even if both parties agreed it was best. And Texas? Well, at least Arch Manning showed signs of being who we thought he was late in the season. But the noise in Austin will be loud if Steve Sarkisian has the audacity to miss 2 College Football Playoffs in a row.
Arch wasn’t the only hyped quarterback we were wrong about.
Will DJ Lagway follow Bill Napier to James Madison? Sun Belt GM Jacob LaFrance will make a hard push, making you wonder how much new Florida head coach Jon Sumrall and his offensive coordinator, Buster Faulkner, will fight to keep the 5-star in Gainesville after a disappointing sophomore campaign.
LaNorris Sellers wasn’t as disappointing as Lagway, but he was inaccurate and mistake prone in South Carolina’s biggest moments.
Garrett Nussmeier started the season on All-American lists. His coach, Brian Kelly, was fired and while the Tigers and Kelly postured over Kelly’s buyout, Nussmeier was benched at LSU.
Of these 4 SEC quarterbacks tapped as preseason all-conference or All-America candidates, only Manning appears (Honorable Mention) on “The List” at season’s end.
We really knew so little.
But what if the real story of the 2025 college football season is the friends we made along the way?
Friends like Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, who taught us the valuable lesson that if you fail in life or you are treated unfairly, it’s best to take your ball and go home and be loud about your grievances on national television. After all, you can’t spell accountability with ACC and it’s all that league’s fault, right?
Friends like Diego Pavia, who went from true underdog story to unlikely villain to true underdog story again in a matter of 3 months. Not since Gotham’s masked avenger has a Dark Knight ever felt so deeply appreciated, unappreciated, and loved in a season-long wash cycle.
Friends like Lane Kiffin, who reminded kids everywhere that it really is all about them and no one else. On the bright side, if you do some hot yoga, adopt a PR puppy, and make the strangest Pat McAfee Show appearance of all time, you’ll almost get away with it? Okay, maybe not. But at least you’ll have monopoly man money.
And who could forget friends like Kalen DeBoer?
Sure, you just took a roster loaded with Nick Saban’s talent to a disappointing 10-3 record. But at least you coach a brand so valuable that you get a College Football Playoff invite anyway, even after losing your conference title game by 3 touchdowns. Being rewarded for that spectacular failure has to feel much better than having two-thirds of your fan base hoping you leave for Michigan, right?
Lane to Alabama, confirmed?
With charity in our hearts and championship football on our minds, here is the final “List” of 2025.
Honorable Mention: Alabama: Germie Bernard, WR; Deontae Lawson, LB. Auburn: Xavier Atkins, LB; Keyron Crawford, DE. Arkansas: O’Mega Blake, WR. Florida: Myles Graham, LB; Jake Slaughter, C. Georgia: Drew Bobo, C; KJ Bolden, S. Kentucky: Alex Afari Jr., LB. LSU: AJ Haulcy, S; Harold Perkins Jr., LB. Mississippi State: Isaac Smith, S; Brenen Thompson, WR. Missouri: Chris McClellan, DT; Connor Tollison, C. Oklahoma: Gracen Halton, DL; Kip Lewis, LB. Ole Miss: Princewill Umanmielen, Edge; Jayden Williams, OT. South Carolina: Dylan Stewart, Edge; Vicari Swain, DB/Return. Tennessee: Chris Brazzell II, WR; Wendell Moe Jr., OG. Texas: Arch Manning, QB; Colin Simmons, Edge. Texas A&M: KC Concepcion, WR; Trey Zuhn III, OL. Vanderbilt: Eli Stowers, TE; Jordan White, C.
10. Ahmad Hardy, RB (Missouri)
The SEC’s rushing champion powered his way to 1,560 yards this season, scoring 16 touchdowns (second in the SEC). Hardy averaged 6.5 yards per carry and registered 4 games with 150 yards rushing or more, including a 300-yard, 3 touchdown performance against Mississippi State.
Most impressive? Over 1,000 of Hardy’s yards came after contact, on staggering runs like the one above. Hardy’s tendency to go quiet in big games limits his final ranking — but a tremendous season nonetheless for the Mizzou star.
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9. Kadyn Proctor, OT (Alabama)
Proctor wasn’t poor against Georgia. He allowed only 1 quarterback pressure and graded out fairly as a run blocker on a day when some of Alabama’s other high-profile linemen, like center Parker Brailsford, graded out in the dire-to-bad 50s, per PFF. But it’s hard to rank Proctor much higher than 9th as the star lineman for an offense that’s been less effective week by week since October. Still, an All-American campaign for the big man, who was fun with the football in his hands, too.
8. Jadan Baugh, RB (Florida)
The brightest star among SEC teams that disappointed in 2025 was Baugh, who ranked third in the SEC with 1,170 yards rushing and finished second in the league in yards after contact and missed tackles forced. If Jon Sumrall hopes to continue his trend of winning immediately at new jobs, retaining the powerful Baugh is step one.
7. Mansoor Delane, CB (LSU)
One of the nation’s best coverage corners, Delane graded out at 91.1 in coverage, per PFF. That’s good enough for third in the Power 4 and best among SEC corners. Delane also produced a game-sealing interception against Clemson and a clinching pass breakup against South Carolina, proving he possesses a clutch gene to accompany outstanding technique and speed.
6. Trinidad Chambliss, QB (Ole Miss)
The Ferris State transfer started the season on the bench but ends it a Playoff starter. It’s a fairy tale story and that’s before you look at the numbers, which show Chambliss ranking top 5 in the SEC in passing yards, completion percentage, yards per attempt, and efficiency rating. The Rebels led the SEC in total offense and success rate offense with Chambliss at the helm.
5. Keagan Trost, OT (Missouri)
No offensive tackle in America graded out better than Trost, who capped his final campaign of college football with a 90.9 rating, per PFF. The Tigers finished the season 8th in America in rushing offense, with Trost the anchor of one of America’s best offensive line groups. My favorite Trost nugget? Two of his 3 highest grades this season came in ranked matchups: Alabama and Texas A&M.
4. CJ Allen, LB (Georgia)
Georgia’s most consistent player all season, Allen has fought through injuries to captain one of the nation’s most prolific defenses. Georgia’s final game was a masterpiece, with Allen registering 4 tackles and a pass breakup in a 28-7 win over Alabama where the Dawgs allowed just 209 total yards and held Alabama to -3 yards rushing. Allen should finally be 100% healthy (a first since the Cocktail Party in early November) when the Dawgs take the field in the College Football Playoff.
3. Cashius Howell, Edge (Texas A&M)
Howell led the SEC in sacks on his way to SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Howell’s ability to force double teams also limited what opposing offenses could do on third down, contributing to Texas A&M’s nation-best (23%) third down conversion rate defense. A bona fide star on a team that was one of the season’s best stories.
2. Kewan Lacy, RB (Ole Miss)
Speaking of great stories… Lacy transferred from Missouri after the Tigers pondered a position change. He then went out and led the SEC in rushing touchdowns (20) and ranked second in rushing yards (1,279).
“He was, more than any guy they have had, the man who made that offense go,” a SEC defensive coordinator told SDS.
Now without Kiffin, the Playoff is next for the budding star.
1. Diego Pavia, QB (Vanderbilt)
A well-deserved Heisman finalist, Pavia has a strong argument to win:
He won’t, largely because Vanderbilt played a tougher schedule than Indiana and Pavia lost 2 games while Fernando Mendoza lost none. But Pavia still had the single greatest season for a Vanderbilt player ever, leading the Commodores in rushing and passing yards on his way to over 3,600 yards of total offense. Vanderbilt finished 10-2, and Pavia will finish his stellar career with a Heisman trip to New York, a ReliaQuest bowl berth, and most valuable of all, a “List” championship.
Neil Blackmon covers SEC football and basketball for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
