The SEC’s much-repeated slogan, “It just means more,” couldn’t ring truer these days.

The inclusion of Texas and Oklahoma, combined with the ever-rising influence of NIL, has elevated the SEC from a powerhouse to an even greater level of dominance.

Now 16 teams deep and boasting five of the top-10 favorites to win the National Championship, the SEC is a league of its own.

It’s also wide open.

Gone are the days of flipping a coin between Alabama and either LSU or Georgia.

Overnight, the SEC has morphed from one of the dullest conferences to arguably the most electric.

It just means more.

2025 SEC odds

The Favorites

Texas enters the new season as the front-runner to secure both the SEC and the College Football Playoff. This is hardly a shock, considering their impressive 2024 performance and the excitement surrounding Arch Manning, though the valuations are excessive.

Texas boasts immense talent, with Manning potentially being a generational player, and Steve Sarkisian had the team on the verge of winning both an SEC and a National Championship in 2024.

Still, in this new era of college football, it may not be enough just being one of the best on-paper teams in the country. And that’s assuming the Longhorns tick that box, which is not a given.

The teams at the top, especially in the SEC, are just way too good these days to play such a short favorite.

You can apply similar logic to Georgia, though the Bulldogs are not receiving the same kind of hype as Texas coming into the new season.

Betting on College Football?

Instead, Georgia feels like the “safe” option compared to Texas, but I think both teams have too many holes to be interesting at these prices.

Alabama is the one favorite that I have interest in backing, but I’d rather bet the Crimson Tide to win the National Championship at 10/1 than the SEC at half the price.

If you’re a believer in Kalen DeBoer, which I am, you have few reasons to doubt the Tide coming into 2025.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly, the inventor of SP+, has ‘Bama ranked as the best team in the SEC and No. 2 in the country behind Ohio State, but the betting market and public perception are down on the Tide because of their inconsistent performance in Year 1 under deBoer.

Buying low on Alabama is never a bad idea.

The Dark Horses

There are going to be plenty of people backing LSU at +700 just because Garrett Nussmeier has the potential to be the best quarterback in the country, but that number seems a little short considering the questions that will be asked of this team.

LSU’s defense improved in Blake Baker’s first year as defensive coordinator, but it still needs to get better to challenge Alabama, Georgia, and Texas.

The Bayou Bengals also have a brutal start to their schedule with a trip to Clemson in their opener and then dates with Florida, Ole Miss, and South Carolina before Columbus Day.

If you are keen on backing the Tigers, you can probably wait and see if you can buy low after a loss.

Perhaps no team is getting more sleeper hype in the SEC than Florida in 2025, but I just don’t see it in the context of challenging for a championship.

They’re talented, they have an outstanding quarterback, and they finished 2024 bouncing, but the schedule is just dementedly tough.

Only Oklahoma has a harder projected schedule in the entire country.

Florida is the better team than South Carolina on paper, but I’d rather bet the Gamecocks, who are as high as 35/1 in the market, than the Gators.

South Carolina’s schedule closes out with a gauntlet, but it’s manageable out of the gates with Virginia Tech, South Carolina State, Vanderbilt, Missouri (away), and Kentucky before a trip to Baton Rouge on Oct. 11.

There’s a good chance the Gamecocks are going into Death Valley with an unblemished record against an LSU team that could be licking its wounds.

Auburn, too, could be lying in the weeds if Hugh Freeze gets it right with his quarterback.

The Tigers were unfortunate in just about every way in 2024, and they had a young roster that should get better, but it could also completely fall apart if former blue-chip recruit Jackson Arnold continues to be inconsistent under center.

The Long Shots

Vanderbilt was a darling in 2025 after upsetting Alabama and going to a bowl game, but they’re still this far down the board for good reason.

Clark Lea has this program trending up, and there will be some great opportunities to back Diego Pavia and the Commodores to pull some more stunners this season, but the futures market is uninteresting for this group.

I also think there will be a lot of strong buying opportunities on Mississippi State in Year 2 under Jeff Lebby, but the Bulldogs still have a lot of work to do to climb the ladder.

The one long shot I could make a slight argument for at their high-water mark price of 200/1 is Arkansas.

According to SP+, the Pigs have a 1.4 percent chance (roughly 70/1) to win the SEC in 2025, so there’s a smidge of value there if you’re feeling frisky.

Sam Pittman has been in charge of this program for six years, and he’s essentially traded good and bad seasons since taking over in Fayetteville.

There’s a chance this is one of the good varieties thanks to a new-look receiving corps for talented quarterback Taylen Green.

The Hogs will play one of the toughest schedules in the country, but the ceiling with this team is high enough to have a small punt at 200/1.

Best bets in the SEC

• Alabama to win the National Championship (10/1, bet365)
• South Carolina to win the SEC (35/1, FanDuel)
• Arkansas to win the SEC (200/1, FanDuel)
• Texas to miss the CFB Playoff (+235, FanDuel)

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.