The Indiana Hoosiers are national champions, and with this title, the BIG Ten has won its third straight national title, essentially cementing the conference as the alpha in college football.
Going into the 2025 season, there was real discourse and debate on which conference was the best. The SEC argued that it was deeper and harder on a week-to-week basis than the Big Ten, while the Big Ten’s argument was that its top program outweighed all of the SEC.
A third national title, especially one by a different team within the conference each year, kills any argument for the SEC at this moment, but going into 2026, SEC rosters are already forming and retooling as the transfer portal has been a war zone. The question now is which SEC teams have the best chance of bringing the conference back to the top?
Which SEC teams can win a National Championship in 2026?
Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns were nothing short of disappointing in 2025. They ended their season 9-3, which is a good record for almost any school in the country, but not Texas. Not Texas when you have the preseason Heisman favorite in QB Arch Manning, and are the preseason No. 1-ranked team in the country.
Texas has reloaded through the transfer portal and has shown the strength of its football program with these signings, starting with wide receiver Cam Coleman. The Auburn transfer left after two seasons of underwhelming QB play and decided it was time to depart.
Coleman was the No. 1 wide receiver in the portal once he entered and chose to go to Texas. Manning now has a true top-tier receiver at his disposal. Coleman is a physical freak and should be one of the top three wide receivers in college football next season with Arch throwing him the ball in a Sarkisian offense.
Texas also completely revamped its running back room. Bringing in two highly touted transfer recruits. The running back room will be led by the tandem of Hollywood Smothers, who transferred from NC State, and Raleek Brown, who transferred from Arizona State.
Both running backs are coming off of 900+ yard rushing seasons, with Brown rushing for more than 1100 yards in his last campaign with the Sun Devils.
If there was ever a time for Texas, it’s now. The offense is more skilled than ever, and the defense will remain solid with pivotal pieces like Collin Simmons returning.
Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners exceeded expectations last season. Before the season started, their win total was listed at 7.5 on my sportsbooks, and most national media believed they had the toughest schedule in the country. The Sooners finished the year 10-2 and hosted a College Football Playoff game in Norman.
Oklahoma was carried by its defense last season. The Sooners had an elite pass rush, led by guys like R Mason Thomas, David Stone, Taylor Wein, and Kip Lewis. The Sooners lived off pressuring opposing QBs, and going into 2026, that won’t change.
Despite losing key players like Thomas and Gracen Halton, the Sooners have depth on the defensive line. Wein was highly productive when Thomas was injured, and now, with a full season of starter snaps, he’s going to be a problem for opposing QBs in the SEC.
Regarding the offense, it wasn’t where the Sooners wanted it to be, especially after QB John Mateer injured his thumb on his throwing hand. He wasn’t the same after returning from injury. During four weeks of the season, he was the Heisman favorite, but it all fell apart after he came back from hand surgery.
With a full off-season to reset and get back to himself, Mateer could easily be a dark horse Heisman candidate in the preseason, and he’s got new weapons around him.
In addition to keeping their top receiver from 2025, Isaiah Sategna, the Sooners brought in two high-level receivers who have proven they can be productive. Starting with the former All-ACC wideout in Trell Harris. Harris transferred from Virginia, where he earned All-ACC honors and totaled 847 yards and five touchdowns. Harris has big play potential on every snap. He’s a big physical receiver who can go up and grab 50/50 balls and contested catches
Then there’s Parker Livingstone, who crosses the Red River from Texas to join the rival Sooners after a season where he was an ultra-reliable wide receiver two. He totaled 516 yards and was second on the team in touchdowns for the season with six.
With Brent Venables leading the way and calling the defense, and the offense bringing in even more firepower, the Sooners could absolutely leap and surprise everyone with how far they go.
Georgia Bulldogs
The Bulldogs are always going to be in the mix as long as Kirby Smart is the head coach. He’s undoubtedly a top-three coach in college football, and while the Bulldogs didn’t have the splashy portal season that other schools had, they’re building their foundation even further and feel they have the talent to go win the SEC again and go even further in the CFP.
QB Gunner Stockton is set to return, and around him is a young but talented wide receiver room. The Bulldogs are clearly prioritizing development over the portal, but they were still able to land some nice additions to the roster.
Some of the portal additions include Auburn EDGE Amaris Williams, Georgia Tech wide receiver Isiah Canion, and experienced reinforcements in the defensive back room: Clemson DB Khalil Barnes and Oklahoma DB Gentry Williams.
If Stockton can improve to another level of QB, the offense could be elite, and the defense if filled with a great mix of young talent and experience. The Dawgs aren’t going anywhere, and next season they’ll come in more motivated than ever.
Main Image: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
