Alabama football is joined by two other teams in the SEC’s “elite” tier for 2025.
We’re three and a half months away from kickoff to the 2025 college football season. With spring practice officially over across the country and rosters mostly settled for next season, with the majority of the movement in the Transfer Portal finished, we’ve begun examining the landscape and previewing the season.
We broke the SEC into four tiers. First, there was the “no chance” tier. The tier of teams that have no shot of winning the league or making the College Football Playoff this year. The bottom feeders, if you will.
After that, we took a look at the next tier, featuring teams that probably won’t win the league. However, that tier of teams is volatile enough to finish near the top of the league or completely bottom out
The third tier was a group of legitimate contenders, albeit a step below the three elite teams in the SEC. These are teams that could legitimately win the league and/or make the College Football Playoff.
And now we have finally arrived at the crème de la crème. The best of the best. The elite tier, made up of only three teams.
These three teams aren’t just legitimate playoff contenders. They are National Championship favorites. Anything short of a playoff berth would be a disappointment.
These three teams are the best of the best in the SEC in 2025
Alabama Crimson Tide
HOMER!!!!
There. I said it for you. Feel better? Let’s move on.
Top to bottom, Alabama has as good a roster as any team in college football. They have quality running backs, elite receivers, and what should be a pretty good offensive line. Defensively, they return a lot of talent from a unit that finished 10th in the country in yards-per-play against a year ago.
If Ty Simpson – or Keelon Russell/Austin Mack – can provide above-average QB play for Alabama, this team can win the whole thing. They have everything else in place.
Kalen DeBoer navigated the spring Transfer Portal window without losing a single player. The buy-in is there in Tuscaloosa this season. The roster has been flipped to a DeBoer roster instead of a Saban one. He has his coaching staff in place.
Texas Longhorns
Texas is deep and talented everywhere, and they should have a higher ceiling at QB in 2025 with Arch Manning taking over for Quinn Ewers. Manning showed flashes last season in a couple of starts with Ewers hurt. He should take another step forward in his third season in Austin and under Steve Sarkisian’s tutelage.
Texas made the playoff last season and played Ohio State tight in the semifinals. They’ve been close a couple of times under Sark. It feels like only a matter of time before they eventually break through and win the whole thing.
Georgia Bulldogs
Josh Pate stirred up plenty of controversy on social media on Monday when he revealed a Top 20 that had Georgia ranked No. 11, the 6th best SEC team in Pate’s rankings.
I think there’s genuine reason for skepticism in Athens. I’m not sure they’ll be good at QB with Gunner Stockton to be a legitimate National Championship threat. But Kirby Smart, more than any active head coach, has earned the benefit of the doubt.
Georgia is the defending SEC champs. They are in the elite tier until proven otherwise. Maybe it happens. Maybe it doesn’t. Nobody will be surprised to see the Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff again in 2025 and competing for the national title.
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