It just means more. After having not played in the last two national championships, I have a feeling the SEC is going to remind the rest of college football what this conference is all about. Yes, it may be my conference, but the top of this league is menacing, the middle can be quite ferocious and the bottom of it feature very few cupcakes. If you come out on top in this league, your team will have earned it.
With the 2025-26 college football season commencing later this month, I thought today would be a good time to highlight what I deem to believe are some of the conference's most important games. A lot of these games I have chosen could go up and down in value, while there could also be a few I am grossly overlooking. Basically, I am pinning one playoff contender against another, and ranking them.
Yes, there are teams who have an outside shot at making the playoff, some of whom are going to start the season ranked in some polls. I may not have them part of this list, only because I do not know how good they are going to be in the end. Frankly, I want to be surprised. For the time being, the seven teams I have listed throughout these 11 games are the ones I think have any shot to make the playoff.
Let's start with a game I know all too well and felt too compelled to leave it on the chopping block.
11. Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs: Nov. 1 (Jacksonville, FL)
One of these days, the pesky Florida Gators are going to get the best of my alma mater once again down in Jacksonville. The Georgia Bulldogs have dominated the rivalry of late, winning each of the last four contests. If Georgia makes it five in a row, it could be a resume booster if Florida is ranked. If the Gators come out on top, they might sneak into the playoff, while also hurting Georgia's chances.
10. Texas Longhorns at Florida Gators: Oct. 4
Texas coming to Florida is the slightly more important game over the Georgia date for the Gators. The Longhorns are coming to The Swamp. If Texas thinks it can just waltz into Gainesville and come out with a victory, Steve Sarkisian's team is sorely mistaken. This needs to be a game where Arch Manning proves his worth. Uncle Peyton struggled vs. Florida. A Gators win will be so bad for Texas...
9. Florida Gators at LSU Tigers: Sept. 13
The last of three Florida Gators to start, I swear! Beating either Georgia or Texas seems like too tall of a task right now, but either could happen. As far as going on the road to Death Valley and stealing a win from Brian Kelly's LSU Tigers, now we are talking. I like LSU in this game, but if the Gators were to take this one, it likely ends LSU's chances of making the playoff, as well as puts Florida's on the map.
8. LSU Tigers at Alabama Crimson Tide: Nov. 8
This game should be higher on the list, but I need to see LSU and Alabama prove it to me this season first. Right now, I have LSU and Alabama in my first four out of making the College Football Playoff. I do not think a 9-3 team is making the 12-team field in any league. While I think LSU and Alabama could slip up multiple times this season, this feels like a playoff elimination game in early November.
7. Ole Miss Rebels at Georgia Bulldogs: Oct. 18
Consider me a big believer in what Ole Miss could do this season. Lane Kiffin is a tremendous coach. Although I am dubious of the Rebels going into Sanford Stadium and coming out with a victory, what if they do beat Georgia in back-to-back years? That would be a fantastic resume builder for them to get in as a 10-win team. As for Georgia, a loss is not that bad, but a win would help get them in, too.
6. South Carolina Gamecocks at Ole Miss Rebels: Nov. 1
I am quite high on South Carolina and Ole Miss this season. If I had to add a third and fourth team to make the College Football Playoff out of the SEC this year after Georgia and Texas, this would be them. While I have both teams winning 10 games, whoever wins this one in Oxford could either punch their ticket into the playoff, a bit prematurely, as well as potentially having the upper hand in seeding.
5. Alabama Crimson Tide at Georgia Bulldogs: Sept. 27
This game scares me, as it should... Something has to give between Alabama's dominance of Georgia over the last 15-plus years, as well as Georgia's impressive home winning streak dating back to 2019. Whoever wins this one Between the Hedges will have the early makings of a playoff team. If Alabama loses, maybe their season takes a turn for the worse? Georgia's would have doubt baked in.
4. South Carolina at LSU Tigers: Oct. 11
I have South Carolina at LSU higher up on this list than I probably should. I just remember how amazing the game was last year in Columbia. South Carolina almost had it! In that same sort of vein, this feels like an early playoff elimination game. Whoever has the upper hand probably ends up winning around 10 games, whereas the loser may see its regular season hit the nine-win plateau...
3. Alabama Crimson Tide at South Carolina Gamecocks: Oct. 25
Alabama at South Carolina edges out South Carolina at LSU for the No. 3 spot for two reasons. One, it happens later in the season, meaning even more will be at stake. And two, I kind of like Alabama to beat LSU, meaning the Tigers are not as big of a threat to make the playoff in my estimation as the Crimson Tide. In short, the Alabama at South Carolina winner should get in, while the loser may not.
2. LSU Tigers at Ole Miss Rebels: Sept. 27
I am so excited for this year's Magnolia Bowl! We got a doozy last year with LSU surviving a thriller over Ole Miss. The reason it edges out Alabama at South Carolina is that while I only see either the Crimson Tide or Gamecocks getting in, it still feels more likely that both get in, than the Tigers and Rebels both getting in instead. It may be the end of September, but playoff spots will be on the line.
1. Texas Longhorns at Georgia Bulldogs: Nov. 15
Of course, it had to be Texas at Georgia. The Dawgs took both of the games last year over the Longhorns, winning in Austin during the regular season and pulling one out the final minute in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. Whoever wins this one in Athens will likely be the favored team over the other in this year's SEC Championship. This budding rivalry is what Greg Sankey was hoping for.
Other games will emerge of great importance over in the SEC, but I really like the allure of these 11.