9. South Carolina Gamecocks (7-5, 4-4, 9th overall)
QB: Vg
RB: Fr
WR: Av
OL: Pr
—
DL: Fr
LB: Fr
DB: Vg
ST: Fr
Offense: What could go right
Any team that can put LaNorris Sellers on the field at quarterback has an inherent advantage over opponents. Sanders was platooned with Auburn transfer Robby Ashford for much of the front end of the season, but came into his own as the season went along and finished with both solid offense numbers as well as the ability to protect the football. With Ashford no longer around the drain snaps, Sellers will probably end up getting all the meaningful work in 2025, barring injury. But he may have to do it somewhat alone. The best of the rest, offensively, is a wide receiver unit that overperformed its talent level in 2024 and returns many key contributors from a year ago. The Shane Beamer staff has also been successful in getting decent performances out of questionable talent at offensive line … and they’ll need to do it again in 2025.
Offense: What could go wrong
Quite frankly, just about everything that isn’t directly connected to Sellers. South Carolina thought it had fixed the problem of losing its starting running back when it added Rahsul Faison from Utah State, but Faison has run into issues with eligibility and as of this writing, he’s considered somewhat of a long shot to start the season. That would leave running back largely up to Oscar Adaway III, who was not effective in 2024, and Colorado transfer Isaiah Augustave. Michael Smith has experience at tight end, but he’s not Josh Simon, who led the team in most receiving categories in 2024. The biggest headache might be an offensive line that ranked nearly at the bottom of the nation in both allowing sacks (120th) and tackles for loss (124th) and is replacing four starters heading into 2025. South Carolina added transfers from Troy and Wake Forest at center and left guard respectively, but failed to improve the overall talent level relative to what left.
Defense: What could go right
DE Dylan Stewart may be the best at his position in the SEC, if not college football overall. The Gamecocks also boast a solid secondary, led by safeties Jalon Kilgore and D.Q. Smith. The Gamecocks have added liberally from the transfer portal on the defensive side of the ball, with the most prized catch this year being DT Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy out of Texas A&M. In general, South Carolina has brought in several players on both sides of the ball who were highly rated coming out of high school, but the defensive additions look like easier fits.
Defense: What could go wrong
Again, what is there outside of Stewart and Brownlow-Dindy in the front seven? South Carolina will lean hard on Monkell Goodwine at DT, who was buried deep on the Alabama depth chart before transferring a couple of seasons ago. The Alabama transfer connection continues with linebackers Shawn Murphy and Justin Okoronkwo, both of whom need to have solid seasons to make anyone forget about the players they’re replacing. There’s really no way to replace a safety like Nick Emmanwori, who was a freak of nature at both the second and third levels of the defense. South Carolina also needs to replace its entire special teams unit, as none of the kickers or principal support personnel carry over from 2024.
One-sentence summary: This year’s glamour pick to some looks potentially erratic to us.
It was hard to justify slipping South Carolina into the third tier – until you look at the team on paper. Shane Beamer did one of the best jobs in the league last year at making a team come together into what was clearly more than the sum of its parts, but sneaking up on opponents in that fashion two years in a row is hard to do. In order for South Carolina to come anywhere close to its 9-4 record of a year ago, all the defensive additions must hit, and Sellers has to stay healthy at quarterback. If either of those things fails to happen, it will be time for USC to revert to the mean.
10. Auburn Tigers (7-5, 4-4, 10th overall)
QB: Av
RB: Av
WR: Vg
OL: Vg
—
DL: Av
LB: Av
DB: Av
ST: Vg
Offense: What could go right
There’s been a reset at the quarterback position, and Auburn hopes Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold can do for a full season what he did in an upset win over Alabama last fall, which certainly factored into Auburn’s decision to take him. If Arnold can figure out the downfield aspect to the passing game – and Hugh Freeze is nothing if not a good coach of quarterbacks and receivers – then the Tigers could very well get into the next tier. If Arnold doesn’t pan out, Auburn also added Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels, but Daniels is prone to interceptions and is probably best viewed as experienced depth, not a long-term answer for the spot. The offense’s strengths are in a solid wide receiver corps – you knew Freeze wouldn’t tolerate a dearth of talent there for long – and an offensive line that returns three solid starters in the middle, added to a pair of transfer tackles. The OL improvements should give Arnold time to grow.
Offense: What could go wrong
The running back group was shaky even before Durell Robinson and Jeremiah Cobb got dinged up heading into fall camp; for now, Damari Alston has shown enough to potentially be excited about, but there’s no Jarquez Hunter talent here. Tight end could also be an issue, as presumptive starter Brandon Frazier had just one catch in 2024. The Tigers’ biggest reason for optimism on offense is also their biggest potential reason for concern: If Arnold duplicates his 2024 performance, the Tigers probably won’t finish with a winning record. He was borderline bad for a lot of last year at Oklahoma, and the only thing keeping Auburn’s QB position rating from drifting down into “Fair” territory is the amount of experience he and Daniels bring to the spot.
Defense: What could go right
Auburn went the Lane Kiffin route on defense, getting at least one transfer for every spot on the depth chart. It very well may turn out that none start, but the additions have raised the level of competition and given Auburn a backstop at several key spots. The Tigers have a lot of speed off the edge with Keldric Faulk and Keyron Crawford, and the secondary returns some familiar names. Auburn also ought to be strong on special teams with the return of PK Alex McPherson from a medical condition.
Defense: What could go wrong
The defense is heavy on potential and light on actual results. The linebacker group probably won’t be successful unless Caleb Wheatland is everything Auburn hoped he’d be when they took his transfer from Maryland. The tandem of Demarcus Riddick and Robert Woodyard Jr. are good but not great, and if Wheatland doesn’t get into the mix soon, it will leave freshmen as the backups. The other major question will be whether the new starters at defensive tackle, in particular Malik Blocton and Quientrail Jamison-Travis, can help improve the Tigers’ defense against the run. Auburn was vulnerable inside for a lot of 2024, a reflection of issues both at tackle and inside linebacker.
One-sentence summary: Somewhere between spoiler team and “Ole Miss Lite.”
Whether Hugh Freeze is the long-term answer for Auburn is a separate question from whether the Tigers made enough of the right moves this offseason to rise from mediocrity. The post-Gus Malzahn era of Auburn football has not been kind, and the chasm between the Auburn and Alabama programs threatens to remain even though Nick Saban is no longer in Tuscaloosa. If Auburn’s quarterbacks can’t deliver the ball to a strong receiver corps with regularity, there might not be much improvement this season to the overall record. And that’s probably bad news for Hugh Freeze’s job prospects.
11. Missouri Tigers (6-6, 2-6, 11th overall)
QB: Fr
RB: Av
WR: Av
OL: Av
—
DL: Av
LB: Av
DB: Av
ST: Av
Offense: What could go right
This is yet another program relying heavily on transfers, with as many as six projected starters coming from outside the program. Probably the strength of the offense – outside of the obvious, the return of TE Brett Norfleet from an injury – is an offensive line that should be functional at worst and solid at best. Last year’s unit was solid in the running game but could have been better at protecting the quarterback. The starters at wide receiver, along with new running back Ahmad Hardy, a transfer from Louisiana-Monroe, should be competitive with most SEC rosters.
Offense: What could go wrong
As of this writing, Missouri has yet to name a quarterback, although Penn State transfer Beau Pribula seems to hold the edge over program veteran Sam Horn. Pribula doesn’t have a lot of experience (56 pass attempts over 2 season), however, and it seems unlikely that either he or Horn will be able to eclipse the talent of the departed Brady Cook. Pribula should be an upgrade over Cook as a runner, and while he has a gaudy touchdown count (9 so far) in limited throws, he hasn’t been able to pull away from Horn. The larger question is overall depth. There’s a fall-off at both receiver and running back that could gently be called steep, and the second-team offensive line has some work to do. Missouri also went deep into fall camp before deciding on the ultimate alignment of the starting five OL, which could mean either the Tigers are experimenting with versatility of the players, or the fit needs work. Missouri also needs to settle on Norfleet’s backups, as his durability is a question mark.
Defense: What could go right
Getting LB Josiah Trotter from West Virginia ought to help stabilize the run defense, which was only adequate in 2024. The back seven of the defense is full of veterans, and where there are new faces – like safety – the Tigers were tactical in how they selected transfers (Jalen Catalon, in this case). There is a such a veteran flavor to the defensive roster that it’s hard to imagine the Tigers becoming blowout victims to anyone, despite the inexperience at quarterback. Special teams should be competent, so long as new punter Connor Weselman, a Stanford transfer, works out.
Defense: What could go wrong
There isn’t much depth along the defensive line, at least not what Missouri is accustomed to. There is a ton of pressure on Georgia transfer Damon Wilson II, who will play an edge LB/DE role. The linebackers will need to supplement the defensive line in run defense, because last year’s uneven performance won’t cut it and the talent up front is about the same as before. There’s always going to be the question, at a program like Missouri, whether the speed in the secondary is sufficient to match up with the top-tier programs in the conference. The fear here is that there won’t be enough standout athletes to go heads-up with some opponents.
One-sentence summary: Solid, but unspectacular roster that probably needs a few more pieces.
We hate to use a term like “mediocre,” but Missouri is a lot closer to that than the Tigers are to being a conference contender. Last season’s 10-3 record was an overachievement, but a look at who the Tigers played tells the story of how. The best teams the Tigers faced were Texas A&M, Alabama and South Carolina; the Aggies and the Crimson Tide blew them out and they lost to the Gamecocks, too. There’s also the issue of whether head coach Eliah Drinkwitz is subtly auditioning for a bigger job, and how that might play into the dynamics of the season as it moves along.
12. Oklahoma Sooners (5-7, 2-6, 12th overall)
QB: Vg
RB: Av
WR: Fr
OL: Fr
—
DL: Vg
LB: Av
DB: Fr
ST: Av
Offense: What could go right
New QB John Mateer, a transfer from Washington State, is almost sure to upgrade the Oklahoma offense as it stood under former QB Jackson Arnold, who as the season went along seemed to become more and more limited. Mateer started only one season at WSU, but it was a doozy, as he threw for 29 touchdowns and ran for another 15. Mateer was the Cougars’ leading rusher with 826 yards rushing and a 4.6-yard average, and he’ll need every bit of that dual-threat ability given the state of the Sooners’ offensive line. Cal transfer RB Jadyn Ott may wind up fixing the situation at running back, which had grown stale. We’ll talk about the offensive line in the next section but there are five new faces in the two-deep and a lot of experience. The Sooners hope that counts for something.
Offense: What could go wrong
The transfer portal wrecked a couple of position groups, including wide receiver. As a result, small-school receiver Javonnie Gibson and Arkansas transfer Isaiah Satenga might find starting roles. There aren’t enough adjectives to describe just how bad the Sooner OL was in 2024. We’ll find out just how much of Arnold’s struggles at quarterback were of his own doing, and how much he could blame on this offensive line if he wanted to, after we’ve seen a month or so of Mateer running things. Tight end will come down to a battle of a Kennesaw State transfer and a Pittsburg State transfer. RB Jovantae Barnes, now a backup to the newcomer Ott, has to improve.
Defense: What could go right
Given how bad the offense was in 2024, the defense looked like miracle workers at times, especially in games against Ole Miss and Alabama. The defensive front should be in great shape with big-time tackles Damonic Williams, David Stone and Jayden Jackson. Unlike offense, which turned over significantly, the only transfer expected to start on defense is former Florida State standout Marvin Jones Jr. at defensive end. Former Oklahoma State LB Kendal Daniels is the only other 2025 transfer in the defensive two-deep. Total defense was 19th last year and rush defense came in at 24th; this unit doesn’t need much to go from solid to dominating.
Defense: What could go wrong
If there’s going to be a breakdown, it’s probably going to happen in the secondary, which is breaking in two new starters and needs to improve on its overall 2024 performance anyway. Oklahoma ranked 43rd in raw pass defense and 69th in pass efficiency defense, which are terrible numbers for a Brent Venables defense. CB Eli Bowen is a future star, but he needs help, and it’s going to be a challenge for S Robert Spears-Jennings to back up his 2024 performance. Special teams could also be a quiet bugaboo, as the primary kickers – transfers from UTSA and Kennesaw State – have to perform on a bigger stage.
One-sentence summary: Brent Venables is coaching for his job – with a roster that probably isn’t ready for that kind of pressure.
Venables is our pick for SEC coach with the hottest seat, eclipsing even Hugh Freeze at Auburn and Sam Pittman at Arkansas. So much pressure is already raining down on QB John Mateer; if he were to be injured and miss any appreciable time, it’s hard to imagine the wheels not coming completely off – and Mateer will be exposing himself to contact on every snap based on the way he plays the game. Oklahoma lost every game it played last year against equal or better opposition other than the Alabama upset, which truly came out of nowhere. Venables can’t bank on that same kind of miracle getting Oklahoma to the postseason again and saving his job.