SEC Darkhorses to Look For in 2025
As opening day looms in college football’s premier conference, the SEC looks to be as competitive as ever. Entering this season, 10 of the 16 SEC squads are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll, a record for any conference in the history of the poll.
While the SEC is filled with talent, just four teams open the season with +650 odds or better to win the conference, according to ESPN Bet. Here are three teams which could beat the odds to feature in the SEC Championship come December.
South Carolina Gamecocks
In 2024, perhaps no squad overperformed expectations as much as the Gamecocks. In coach Shane Beamer’s fourth season in charge of South Carolina, the squad saw the biggest improvement in the SEC. The squad missed out on the playoffs with a 9-3 regular-season record and finished with a ranking of 15th in the College Football Playoff Committee’s final rankings.
One of the biggest breakout stars for South Carolina was redshirt freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers. Sellers was not considered one of the high end quarterback talents in 2022, earning a three-star prospect rating according to 247. Sellers enrolled at South Carolina with no guarantee of starting at the school.
Since arriving at South Carolina, Sellers has been a man on a mission. After redshirting his freshman year, Sellers won the quarterback job in preseason camp, beating out Auburn transfer Robby Ashford. The decision by Beamer turned out to be a pivotal one for the Gamecocks.
In his one season as a starter, Sellers has shined. Last season, he threw for 2,534 yards, alongside 18 touchdowns compared to seven interceptions. Sellers also boasted the third best completion percentage among SEC starters at 65.6%. Sellers also boasted the third most rushing yards for an SEC quarterback with 674, along with seven touchdowns.
LANORRIS SELLERS JUKED HIM AND TOOK IT 75 YARDS TO THE HOUSE pic.twitter.com/OMsweS79wk
— ESPN (@espn) September 14, 2024
Sellers heads into the 2025 season among the SEC’s premier quarterback talents. He was named on the All-SEC preseason second team this past offseason. He was also given the fifth-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy award, according to ESPN Bet.
Keeping the Squad Together
South Carolina also ranked among the lowest teams in the SEC in transfer portal turnover. The squad lost just 15 players to the portal alongside five NFL draft picks. The Gamecocks also managed to replace much of what they lost. Entering the fall, they ranked seventh among SEC squads in average player rating in their portal class.
South Carolina has also caught a huge break in the form of NCAA eligibility. Gamecocks running back Rahsul Faison was granted a seventh year of eligibility by the NCAA on Monday. Faison was a portal pickup from Utah State and was ranked fifth among running backs in ESPN’s transfer portal top 100 rankings.
Florida Gators
It was a season of two halves for the Gators in 2024. Florida struggled to find its footing early in the season, losing in a blowout against Miami on opening day. Florida would again be blown out at home against Texas A&M two weeks later.
Flash forward to the second half of the season. After a Nov. 9 loss at Texas, the Gators managed to turn their fortunes around. Florida ended the season with a four-game winning streak, taking down two-ranked squads and winning the Gasparilla Bowl in the process.
While many of the SEC’s top squads saw turnover via the draft, much of Florida’s top talent elected to stay with the squad. All-American center Jake Slaughter elected to use his last year of eligibility, alongside preseason All-American defender Tyreak Sapp.
In a college that has produced quarterback greats such as Tim Tebow and Danny Wuerffel, the Gators may have the next great field general on campus. True sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway has lived up to the hype thus far in his collegiate career, posting a 6-1 record as a starter in his first season.
Lagway is expected to take a huge leap forward this season, with ESPN Bet giving him the 11th best odds to win the Heisman.
Florida coach Billy Napier has made putting talent around Lagway a priority this offseason. Along with getting back 2023 All-Sec freshman receiver Eugene “Tre” Wilson III from injury, the Gators also landed two five-star receiver recruits in Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson.
Ole Miss Rebels
Last season, it seemed that the Rebels would finally break through and make the College Football Playoff. Heading into Gainesville as 14-point favorites, Ole Miss had one foot in the 2024 playoffs. A win against the then 5-5 Florida Gators would have given the Rebels nearly a 90% chance to make the playoffs. What followed was an upset defeat at the hands of the Gators which knocked Ole Miss out of contention.
In the offseason, Ole Miss saw a great deal of turnover. The Rebels had 28 players leave the team via the transfer portal, along with eight players to the NFL Draft. Ole Miss also lost star quarterback Jaxson Dart, who was selected with the 25th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.
Coach Lane Kiffin took on the challenge this offseason of reloading his squad to keep it at an elite level. His efforts bore fruit, with more than 30 players arriving in Oxford via the transfer portal.
New and Improved Offense
Much of Kiffin’s focus in the transfer portal was improving the offense. Kiffin landed Luke Hasz, a tight end from Arkansas who was the second-ranked tight end in the portal. Ole Miss also landed star Arkansas tackle Patrick Kutas to pair with Hasz.
The Rebels would also land two four-star receivers, Harrison Wallace III and De’Zhaun Stribling, to replace two 900-plus yard receivers who left for the draft. Kiffin’s class ranked fourth in the nation according to 247Sports, only behind LSU in the SEC.
Ole Miss is also giving the keys to the new offense to sophomore quarterback Austin Simmons, who backed up Dart last season. Kiffin has long expressed faith in Simmons, liking the quarterback to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa
The first time Lane Kiffin saw Austin Simmons throw on film, he immediately saw his loose lefty stroke and said: “He just has the Tua thing.”
“There’s no way you teach any of that,” Kiffin said of Simmons and Tua Tagovailoa. “They just have that.”
— We Run the Sip (@OMRebelNation) August 8, 2025
The weapons Kiffin has put around his new starting quarterback will help ease the transition to full-time starter. Simmons has shown flashes of greatness in the past. Simmons went 5 of 6 for 64 yards in Ole Miss’ win against Georgia last season.
Category: College Football, Gators Football, NCAA, SEC
