Just saw ESPN's offseason rankings and I'm trying to figure out how anyone still puts the SEC on a pedestal when you look at the actual conference hierarchy right now. Texas finished 2025 ranked 4th in SP+ while Georgia was 7th and Alabama dropped to 12th. The gap between the top of the SEC and the middle has never been wider.
Ole Miss and South Carolina are both sitting at 9th and 11th in returning production per ESPN's own numbers. That's ahead of Alabama and LSU. The conference is deeper than ever but the top is not what it used to be. Texas has a 2026 class ranked 4th nationally with a 5-star QB locked in while Georgia is scrambling after losing their offensive coordinator.
The real story is that the SEC now has three tiers. Texas and Georgia at the top. Then a muddled middle with Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU, and Alabama all within 3 spots of each other in SP+. Then everyone else. That's not the same league people talk about when they say SEC dominance. The margin for error is go...