As the SEC continues to maintain its dominance in college football, the 2025 season will bring a fresh wave of new challenges.
Despite a brief dip, with the Big Ten claiming the last two national titles and three SEC teams faltering in the College Football Playoff, the conference remains a powerhouse, with seven teams finishing inside the AP Top 25.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly has revealed his strength of schedule ratings for the 2025 season, highlighting the brutal paths that several SEC teams will face.
The metric, which assesses the projected winning percentage for an average top-five team against a specific opponent, reveals that SEC teams will face some of the toughest schedules in the country.
The SEC will send 12 teams to play among the nation’s 13 toughest schedules, with the only exception being Wisconsin.
The Badgers will face Alabama in a key out-of-conference matchup, in addition to games against Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana, earning them a place on this exclusive list.
Among the teams facing the most grueling schedules are Oklahoma and Florida, both with the lowest SOS ratings of .771.
Oklahoma’s daunting 2025 slate includes a September matchup against Michigan, followed by conference showdowns with Texas, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Alabama.
Head coach Brent Venables’ Sooners are coming off a challenging debut SEC season in which they finished with a 2-6 conference record. Oklahoma did manage to pull off a significant upset last season, stunning Alabama with a 24-3 victory.
Florida, under the guidance of head coach Billy Napier, also faced a challenging 2024 schedule and will have to navigate another tough path in 2025.
After opening the 2024 campaign with a loss to Miami, the Gators suffered defeats to the three SEC teams that made the College Football Playoff. However, Florida finished strong with an 8-5 record, securing wins over LSU and Ole Miss.
In 2025, Florida’s schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Gators are set to take on Miami, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, LSU, and Ole Miss – all of whom pose significant threats.
Arkansas comes in just behind Florida with a .775 SOS rating. The Razorbacks will face a tough slate that includes road games against Tennessee, Texas, and Ole Miss, all of which will be crucial tests for Sam Pittman’s squad.
Several other SEC teams, including Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Kentucky, have SOS ratings below 80 percent, indicating a demanding road ahead.
LSU and Texas A&M round out the top 10 toughest schedules, followed by Alabama, Texas, and Georgia.
On the other end of the spectrum, Missouri emerges with the most favorable schedule in the conference, as they avoid last season’s top three teams and will face five teams that finished in the SEC’s bottom six.
Despite the challenges, the SEC remains a force to be reckoned with.
All 16 teams from the conference rank among Connelly’s top 25 toughest schedules, a testament to the relentless competition that defines college football in the Southeastern Conference.
While the SEC-vs-Big Ten argument will continue to rage on, one thing is for sure: Schedules in the SEC are much tougher than those in the Big Ten.
What are your thoughts on Connelly’s SOS ratings???
