Every SEC fan base is hopeful heading into the 2025 season—hopeful that this is the year everything clicks.
Maybe it’s a new quarterback, a promising coordinator hire, or just a more favorable schedule that has folks talking about a return to glory. But as we all know, not every team can live up to those expectations. Some programs are already being talked about as dark horses or even playoff contenders, but when the season kicks off, a few of them are bound to fall flat.
Whether it’s roster depth, shaky coaching, or just a bad draw for their conference schedule, these are the teams that might leave their fans frustrated by the time December rolls around.
Florida Gators
Florida comes into this season with sky-high expectations. Gator fans expect DJ Lagway to be a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate and they expect to see Billy Napier lead this team to a significantly-improved record in 2025.
The problem? Florida plays one of the toughest schedules in the country.
After two "give-me" wins to start the season, they have at LSU and at Miami in back-to-back weeks. Florida also draws Texas, at Texas A&M, Georgia, at Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Florida State. They do get Mississippi State and at Kentucky, but there are far too many difficult games on this schedule to predict that Florida will take that major leap forward and be a CFP contender. As a result, there are going to be some fans disappointed when November and December roll around.
Ole Miss Rebels
After a couple of seasons with Lane Kiffin gradually taking steps forward and having Ole Miss as a legitimate top-15 team, Rebel fans have come to expect more in Oxford. However, they may not be getting what they want in 2025.
While Ole Miss fans still have their eyes set on the College Football Playoff and a potential darkhorse run, the truth is that the Rebels likely found themselves on the outside-looking-in. In a lot of ways, they may be set up for a worse year than we've seen in quite some time.
Ole Miss's schedule is no joke with games against LSU, at Georgia, at Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Florida, and frankly, the Rebels are taking a step back in terms of talent. Last season, there's a legitimate argument to be made that Ole Miss had one of the top-5 — certainly top-10 — rosters in the country. This year? That's taking a step back and, as a result, we expect Ole Miss to take a step back, as well.
Georgia Bulldogs
Success is in the eye of the beholder. No one is expecting Georgia to fall off a cliff this season. However, the Bulldogs do have an interesting enough schedule — at Tennessee, vs. Alabama, at Auburn, vs. Ole Miss, vs. Florida, vs. Texas, and at Georgia Tech — to give them some trouble.
In my opinion, Georgia still finishes the year 10-2 and the Bulldogs have a great chance to be one of the teams competing for the SEC Championship in Atlanta. That being said, it doesn't feel like they're a legitimate national contender this season.
We expect Georgia to still be one of the best teams in the SEC. The Bulldogs may even win another SEC Championship. But will that be enough to satisfy fans if that doesn't come with a deep postseason run? Georgia feels like a team that still will have a great year, but may not be able to match-up when they get to the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.
For anyone else, Georgia's season is probably considered a massive success. For what Bulldog fans have come to expect, though, it might be a little underwhelming.