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Members of a panel of media that cover the SEC have overwhelmingly voted redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns as their favorite to win the conference championship this fall, providing further endorsement that the Longhorns' exit from the Big 12 was a smart move.
Manning reportedly has NIL deals worth $6.8 million after earning $3.1 million as a backup to Quinn Ewers a year ago, per the On3 deal tracker .
Manning actually appeared in 12 games with two starts and was 2-0 as a starter. Against UTSA on September 14, Manning entered the game in the second quarter after Ewers was injured and went on to throw 4 TD passes and run for another in a 56-7 romp. He finished 9-of-12 for 223 yards passing, and ran for 53 on just 3 attempts. After that performance, he was the co-recipient of the SEC's Freshman of the Week honors and was named the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award National Player of the Week
Shockingly, Manning was only named to the preseason third team by the media, with Heisman darkhorse candidate LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina on the first team and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier on the second team. However, it's Manning (+700) that tops the odds chart with Nussmeier second (+800) and Sellers tied for the 10th-best odds (+2500).
Other SEC players that are high on the FanDuel.com 2025 Heisman odds list include Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson (+1700) who has only attempted 39 passes in three years at the Tuscaloosa school. Nonetheless, he is 6th on the list ahead of Oklahoma QB John Mateer (+2000) who sits at No. 8 and is tied with Florida QB DJ Lagway.
Mateer, a junior, threw for 3,139 yards at Washington State last season with 29 TD's and 7 INT's while adding 827 yards and 15 scores on the ground.
Lagway, due to injuries to starter Graham Mertz, wound up starting 7 games himself in 2024 and playing in all 12. His stats were not all that impressive as he completed 59.9% of his passes for 1,915 yards with 12 TD's and 9 picks.
Sellers threw for 2,520 yards and ran for 674. He completed nearly 65% of his throws with 18 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He added 7 touchdowns with his legs.
Last season was Texas' first in the Southeastern Conference and the 'Horns won the regular season title with a 7-1 record (11-1 overall) while Georgia limped in at 6-2 in league play and 10-2 over-all. But when the teams met in Atlanta to determine the conference champion, Georgia emerged with a 22-19 overtime victory. The 'Dawgs also won the regular season matchup in Austin, 30-15, in mid-October.
Both schools made the first 12-team field for the College Football Playoff with Georgia receiving the 2-seed and Texas the 5-seed.
Tennessee, which tied Georgia at 6-2 in the SEC and 10-2 over-all, received the 9-seed.
Texas eliminated Clemson in the first round while Ohio State took out the Vols as the Bulldogs received a bye into the quarterfinals where they lost 23-10 to eventual national runner-up Notre Dame. The Longhorns moved on to the semis with a scintillating 39-31 double-overtime victory Arizona State,in the Peach Bowl.
However, Texas fell 28-14 to eventual national champion Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
In the end, it was Ohio State that took home all the marbles with a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in Atlanta.
Texas out-pointed Georgia in the media polling, followed by the usual suspects - Alabama and LSU.
South Carolina leads a second tier of teams, far behind the first four. Following the Gamecocks are Florida, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
If the voters are correct, the SEC Championship Game will be a Georgia-Texas rematch on December 6 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. That game would come just three weeks after the two schools are schedule to meet in Athens in what will be the final regular season game for Georgia. The Longhorns will still have two SEC games to play at home after the Georgia visit, with games against Kentucky and Texas A&M.
In last season's exciting title game in Atlanta, Texas had taken a 19-16 lead on its opening possession. But Georgia QB Carson Beck (transferred to Miami) , who suffered a UCL injury on the final play of the first half, re-entered for Gunner Stockton when he exited for 1 play after losing his helmet on a hard hit. Beck, with his injured right arm dangling at his side, handed off to Trevor Etienne who, with his own injured ribs, plowed in from 4 yards out to lift the 'Dawgs to victory.
Texas had forced overtime by converting a 37-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in regulation after a pick was thrown by Stockton on a 3rd-and-13 at the Texas 31. Jahdae Barron made the interception at the 17-yard line and ran it out to the Texas 34.
Only 10 times since 1992 (33 years) has the predicted champion prior to the season at SEC Media Days proceeded to win the SEC Championship Game.
It is important to note that every SEC head coach returns in 2025.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
| School | Points |
|---|---|
| Texas | 3060 |
| Georgia | 2957 |
| Alabama | 2783 |
| LSU | 2668 |
| South Carolina | 2109 |
| Florida | 1986 |
| Ole Miss | 1979 |
| Texas A&M | 1892 |
| Tennessee | 1700 |
| Oklahoma | 1613 |
| Auburn | 1272 |
| Missouri | 1170 |
| Vanderbilt | 936 |
| Arkansas | 764 |
| Kentucky | 512 |
| Mississippi State | 343 |
SEC CHAMPION
| School | Points |
|---|---|
| Texas | 96 |
| Georgia | 44 |
| Alabama | 29 |
| LSU | 20 |
| South Carolina | 5 |
| Oklahoma | 3 |
| Vanderbilt | 2 |
| Florida | 2 |
| Tennessee | 1 |
| Ole Miss | 1 |
| Auburn | 1 |
2025 PRESEASON ALL-SEC TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Offense
QB – LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
RB - Quintrevion Wisner, Texas
RB – Le'Veon Moss, Texas A&M
WR - Ryan Williams, Alabama
WR - Cam Coleman, Auburn
TE - Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt
OL - Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
OL - Cayden Green, Missouri
OL - DJ Campbell, Texas
OL - Austin Barber, Florida
C - Jake Slaughter, Florida
Defense
DL - Keldric Faulk, Auburn
DL - Dylan Stewart, South Carolina
DL - Colin Simmons, Texas
DL - Christian Miller, Georgia
LB - Anthony Hill Jr., Texas
LB - Whit Weeks, LSU
LB - CJ Allen, Georgia
DB - KJ Bolden, Georgia
DB - Michael Taaffe, Texas
DB - Daylen Everette, Georgia
DB - Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
SECOND TEAM
Offense
QB –Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
RB - Jaydn Ott, Oklahoma
RB - Caden Durham, LSU
WR - Aaron Anderson, LSU
WR - Ryan Wingo, Texas
TE - Oscar Delp, Georgia
OL - Ar'maj Reed-Adams, Texas A&M
OL - Trey Zuhn III, Texas A&M
OL - Jaeden Roberts, Alabama
OL - Fernando Carmona Jr., Arkansas
C - Parker Brailsford, Alabama
Defense
DL - Caleb Banks, Florida
DL - Tim Keenan III, Alabama
DL - LT Overton, Alabama
DL - R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma
LB - Deontae Lawson, Alabama
LB - Harold Perkins, LSU
LB - Suntarine Perkins, Ole Miss
DB - Malik Muhammad, Texas
DB - Domani Jackson, Alabama
DB - Will Lee III, Texas A&M
DB - Jalon Kilgore, South Carolina
THIRD TEAM
Offense
QB – Arch Manning, Texas
RB - Nate Frazier, Georgia
RB - Jam Miller, Alabama
WR - Eric Singleton, Auburn
WR - Kevin Coleman Jr., Missouri
TE - Jack Endries, Texas
OL - Earnest Greene III, Georgia
OL - Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M
OL - Xavier Chaplin, Auburn
OL - Trevor Goosby, Texas
C - Connor Lew, Auburn
Defense
DL - Tyreak Sapp, Florida
DL - Trey Moore, Texas
DL - Cam Ball, Arkansas
DL - Zxavian Harris, Ole Miss
LB - Taurean York, Texas A&M
LB - Arion Carter, Tennessee
LB - Princewill Umanmielen, Ole Miss
DB - Keon Sabb, Alabama
DB - Boo Carter, Tennessee
DB - Bray Hubbard, Alabama
DB - Isaac Smith, Mississippi State
SPECIALISTS
First Team
P - Brett Thorson, Georgia
PK - Peyton Woodring, Georgia
LS - Beau Gardner, Georgia
KS – Peyton Woodring, Georgia
RS - Zachariah Branch, Georgia
AP - Zachariah Branch, Georgia
Second Team
P - Jack Bouwmeester, Texas
*PK - Trey Smack, Florida
*PK - Lucas Carneiro, Ole Miss
LS – Rocco Underwood, Florida
KS - Trey Smack, Florida
RS - Barion Brown, LSU
AP - Zavion Thomas, LSU
Third Team
*P - Devin Bale, Arkansas
*P - Aidan Laros, Kentucky
PK - Alex McPherson, Auburn
LS - Ben Anderson, Oklahoma
KS – Will Stone, Texas
RS - Zavion Thomas, LSU
*AP - Eugene Wilson III, Florida
*AP - Jadan Baugh, Florida