The SEC is known to have the toughest schedule in all of college football. That’s not just lore though. If you look at ESPN’s FPI and look at the remaining strength of schedule, the top 10 slots belong to SEC schools. So yeah, the SEC bias thing, at least it doesn’t come with a baseless argument.
Looking at the SEC teams remaining schedules, let’s take drop a conference power rankings based on the toughest remaining strengths of schedules. It will probably shock you which teams have tougher schedules than others.
As for Alabama, well the SEC scheduling gods were on their side. They may have dropped a disappointing road loss to Florida State, causing them to nearly drop out of the AP top 25 poll, but their schedule gives them a lot of room to make up. It might be the hardest in the conference, but it’s still one of the hardest in the country and the CFP selection committee will certainly take that into consideration.
SEC power rankings based on remaining SOS
TEAM | 2025 RECORD | REMAINING SOS RANK (NATIONAL) |
|---|---|---|
1. Florida Gators | 1-0 | 1 |
2. Arkansas Razorbacks | 1-0 | 2 |
3. Oklahoma Sooners | 1-0 | 3 |
4. Mississippi State Bulldogs | 1-0 | 4 |
5. Kentucky Wildcats | 1-0 | 5 |
6. Texas A&M Aggies | 1-0 | 6 |
7. Vanderbilt Commodores | 1-0 | 7 |
8. Georgia Bulldogs | 1-0 | 8 |
9. Alabama Crimson Tide | 0-1 | 9 |
10. South Carolina Gamecocks | 1-0 | 10 |
11. LSU Tigers | 1-0 | 12 |
12. Ole Miss Rebels | 1-0 | 13 |
13. Texas Longhorns | 0-1 | 17 |
14. Auburn Tigers | 1-0 | 18 |
15. Missouri Tigers | 1-0 | 24 |
16. Tennessee Volunteers | 1-0 | 26 |
If you really want to know how challenging the SEC is, three of the top five toughest remaining schedules are unranked teams. The only ranked teams with a top five remaining strength of schedule are Florida and Oklahoma. Florida had one of the toughest schedules last year and still finished 8-5 with a bowl win. The expectations are even higher.
Florida has two brutal stretches when it plays LSU, Miami, Texas and Texas A&M in consecutive weeks. All four of those teams are ranked and three of them ranked inside the top 10. As if that’s not enough, they play No. 4 Georgia, which is book-ended by two unranked teams the next three games. Then they wrap up against Ole Miss, Tennessee and Florida State, three more ranked teams.
Arkansas has a path into the CFP if they string together some big wins. Right now, they probably aren’t predicted to do much in a deep conference, but Notre Dame looks beatable, they could steal a win against Ole Miss and if Texas doesn’t bounce back, that late season game could be a resume builder too.
Oklahoma, led by Washington State quarterback transfer John Mateer, will have an uphill battle too just to stay in the top 25. Last year, it was a loss to Tennessee that sent them on a downward spiral, losing four of the next five games.
SEC teams with the easiest path to the CFP thanks to a favorable schedule
Texas might have had an embarrassing outing in Columbus in Week 1, but they have a good shot to not only bounce back, but not get slammed with the best teams in the SEC. They have just four ranked games remaining and Georgia is the only one ranked in the top 15. That should be the perfect set up for Arch Manning and Co. to get back on track after a lackluster Week 1. That said, no team in the SEC has an easier schedule than Tennessee. That bodes well for a team looking to return to the CFP for the second straight season.
As for the other teams in the conference, Auburn and Missouri have easy remaining schedules, compared to the rest of the conference. For context, Tennessee’s remaining strength of schedule is No. 26 in the country, so it isn’t necessarily that easy. But Hugh Freeze getting a favorable road in a pivotal season is big.
Which SEC teams have the most to prove based on their remaining SOS?
Florida Gators
This goes without saying. The amount of pressure on Billy Napier, DJ Lagway and this team to win is at an all-time high. They can’t afford to whiff on a season with so many expectations. They have to not only win, but do it with the toughest schedule in the country. Florida State debuting in the AP poll top 25 adds yet another ranked opponent.
South Carolina Gamecocks
LaNorris Sellers and Shane Beamer have just as much pressure as the Gators to win. The only difference is the Gamecocks are still considered an underdog, compared to teams like Florida, Alabama and Georgia. They got a solid Week 1 win over Virginia Tech in Atlanta, which should give them some much-needed motivation.
Auburn Tigers
I said it earlier, the only other coach with as much pressure to succeed this year outside of Billy Napier might be Hugh Freeze. He’s had a frustrating tenure at Auburn so far and this feels like the year he either figures it out or the Tigers administration figures it out for him. I don’t think he needs to get to the CFP by any means, but he was 11-14 overall and 5-11 in SEC play since he was hired in 2023. The losing can’t continue for a third-straight season. With one of the easiest schedules in the conference, that adds just a little bit of extra pressure.