With Texas fading, who is SEC's top title contender? Ole Miss, Alabama would like a word Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams, USA TODAY NETWORKOctober 8, 2025 at 4:21 AM 0 Texas ruled the preseason. The Longhorns nabbed the No.
- - With Texas fading, who is SEC's top title contender? Ole Miss, Alabama would like a word
Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams, USA TODAY NETWORKOctober 8, 2025 at 4:21 AM
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Texas ruled the preseason. The Longhorns nabbed the No. 1 spot in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, and Arch Manning entered the season as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner.
Then, the games started, and Texas' veneer got stripped away in losses to Ohio State and Florida. The latest loss to the Gators pushed Texas closer to the brink of elimination from College Football Playoff contention, and it raised more questions about Manning.
So much for Texas being the SEC's best bet to produce a national champion for the first time since the 2022 season.
On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams debate who's taken up the mantle as the SEC's top national championship contender, with Texas underwater.
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That's difficult to answer. The SEC remains loaded with playoff contenders, but are any of them elite?
Which SEC team is conference's best bet to win national championship?
Adams: Never mind Texas' fizzle, because I listed LSU as my preseason SEC favorite. Whoops. I'm rethinking that after watching the Tigers fail to gain traction throughout September. Identifying a national championship frontrunner from the SEC becomes an especially tough exercise, because it's unclear which teams from the conference will even make the playoff. But, I do expect Mississippi to be in the playoff. The Rebels are 5-0, with three conference victories. Trinidad Chambliss keeps dazzling at quarterback, and Lane Kiffin's latest batch of wide receivers is perhaps his best yet. Without a ton of confidence, I say Ole Miss is the SEC's top national championship contender.
Toppmeyer: Alabama's loss to Florida State and its tough schedule leaves the Crimson Tide's playoff aspirations far from a lock. But, the Tide show signs of steady improvement. They've left behind that unsightly squad that flopped in Tallahassee. Quarterback Ty Simpson went from a question mark in Week 1 to an asset these past few weeks. He replaced Manning as the SEC's top Heisman contender. Kalen DeBoer's excellent record against ranked opponents also makes Alabama a top choice to hunt a national championship. The trick is making the playoff, with four ranked opponents remaining.
Later in the episode
∎ Is Texas facing potential playoff elimination in its rivalry game against Oklahoma?
∎ After Florida beat Texas, is Billy Napier off the hot seat? (Not hardly.) Could Auburn's Hugh Freeze be fired before Napier? (Possibly.)
Week 7 picks against the spread!
Toppmeyer's five-pack of picks (picks in bold):
∎ Alabama (-2.5) at Missouri
∎ Oklahoma vs. Texas (-2.5)
∎ Arkansas at Tennessee (-12.5)
∎ South Carolina at LSU (-9.5)
∎ Ohio State (-14.5) at Illinois
Season record: 14-16 (2-3 last week)
Adams' five-pack of picks (picks in bold):
∎ Alabama (-2.5) at Missouri
∎ Oklahoma vs. Texas (-2.5)
∎ Arkansas at Tennessee (-12.5)
∎ South Carolina at LSU (-9.5)
∎ Massachusetts at Kent State (-3.5)
Season record: 13-17 (2-3 last week)
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Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SEC football: As Texas fades, Ole Miss and Alabama climb pecking order
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