Athlon Sports offers post-spring bold predictions for SEC football in 2026

It’s officially the offseason when the college football magazines start hitting the shelves. Well, Athlon Sports has published its summer preview magazine and it includes some bold predictions for the SEC.

The publication, which is on shelves now, is typically one of the most sought-after summer pieces of literature. You can find more about buying a copy here.

One of the readers’ favorite pieces in the magazine? A set of bold predictions for the SEC. Let’s take a look at the 11 call-your-shot items for Athlon Sports.

Florida finishes 2026 as a top-25 team

Let’s be honest, it’s been a minute since Florida has been good on a regular basis. The program has produced just one winning season in the past five years. So while finishing as a Top 25 team might not seem a high bar, it’s definitely a good place to start.

Florida hasn’t finished a season ranked in the top-25 since the COVID-19 year in 2020, when the program ended the year 8-4 and ranked 13th nationally. If coach Jon Sumrall can have the team ranked at year’s end, it would be a job well done.

Georgia finishes the regular season undefeated

The last time the Bulldogs finished a regular season undefeated was in 2023. The team then lost in the SEC Championship Game to Alabama in a 27-24 thriller. Since then, there have been a few regular-season hiccups.

But entering the 2026 season, Georgia has as much to work with as anyone. Kirby Smart has developed talent like nobody’s business, and he’s got quarterback Gunner Stockton back. The trickiest spots on the schedule? Oklahoma at home, Alabama on the road and Ole Miss on the road.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning wins the Heisman Trophy

This one is pretty self-explanatory as a bold prediction. It’s a prediction many made a year ago, when Manning was first taking the reins as the full-time starter for the Longhorns.

Manning has gotten a full year of experience under his belt at this point. Texas made it a point to supply him with weapons all around, like Auburn transfer Cam Coleman at receiver. Can he put it all together?

Trinidad Chambliss breaks Jaxson Dart’s Ole Miss passing yardage record

The record for Dart stands at 4,279 yards passing. Keep in mind that Chambliss finished with 3,937 yards despite not taking over as the full-time starter until the third game of the season last year.

The real question is how the Ole Miss offense might differ philosophically now that Lane Kiffin is in Baton Rouge. Will Pete Golding demand a style that supports the defense a bit more — thus cutting down on Chambliss’ opportunities? The playoffs might have been too small a sample size to say one way or another.

Tennessee’s defense will be among the most-improved in the nation

Tennessee ranked 91st in scoring defense last season, giving up 28.8 points per contest. The Vols also ranked 92nd in total defense, surrendering 397.2 yards per game. So improving should be relatively easy.

Enough to be the most improved in the nation? That’s a different story. New coordinator Jim Knowles certainly has the know-how, though sometimes his system can take a little time — and a lot of veteran leadership — to fully sink in. How quickly can the Vols pick it up?

Jadan Baugh will lead the SEC in rushing

This one is less of a stretch than it might have been a couple of weeks ago, before the news that last year’s leading rusher, Missouri‘s Ahmad Hardy, had been shot in the leg. That fact aside, Baugh would still have been a good bet to lead the league.

The Florida prospect showed as much natural running ability as anyone the Gators have had in at least a decade — maybe even two. He finished 2025 with 1,170 yards and eight scores and new coach Jon Sumrall figures to use him extensively this fall.

Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell is college football’s breakout star for 2026

Alabama’s quarterback battle hasn’t even been decided yet, with it likely to continue into fall camp. That’s what makes this bold prediction from Athlon Sports even more eye-opening.

Russell is a former superstar prospect, a Five-Star Plus+ recruit and the No. 2 overall player in the country in the 2025 recruiting class. Can he win the job and live up to the billing as college football’s biggest breakout star?

There will be no coaching changes for the second time in three seasons

In a conference as cut-throat as the SEC, this might be the most bold prediction of all from Athlon Sports. Then you consider that six programs just made a coaching change last year and it becomes a little more understandable.

Athlon notes that this prediction likely hinges on two coaches: South Carolina‘s Shane Beamer and Mississippi State‘s Jeff Lebby. If both show progress, this prediction could hit.

Auburn will go bowling in coach Alex Golesh’s first year

Like Florida, Auburn has been down on its luck for several seasons now. The last time the Tigers had a winning record was in the COVID-19 season in 2020. And that was a 6-5 finish.

That said, the Tigers haven’t had a season with fewer than five wins in that stretch, either. So they haven’t been far off. A bowl game in Year 1 for Alex Golesh, with quarterback Byrum Brown to help lead things, would be a huge step in the right direction.

Vanderbilt goes bowling for the third season in a row

The real test of a program when you’re trying to build something sustainable is year-over-year consistency. Vanderbilt can start to establish that in a major way in 2026 after two great years led by Diego Pavia.

Five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis figures to be the guy to help ease the transition. Can the work the ‘Dores have done building the rest of the roster help him out enough to get there and keep things on the right winning track?

LSU puts the pieces together late in ‘26 to make the playoff

The Tigers were never terribly far off from playoff contention under Brian Kelly, at least earlier in his tenure. But those pesky losses right when the team needed a key win kept things from coming to fruition, even with some really talented players.

Lane Kiffin has proven he knows what he’s doing. The real question is how quickly his vision can come together in Baton Rouge. Can LSU survive the early going — which includes games against Clemson and at Ole Miss in the first three weeks — to give itself a shot to get hot late?

Athlon Sports publishes one of the most respected college football preview magazines in the industry. You can find content like their bold predictions for the SEC and much, much more inside. You can find more about buying a copy here.