Who Are Georgia's Biggest Threats in the Race to Defend the SEC Title in 2026?

Kirby Smart has won two of the last three SEC Championships, including last season. The Bulldogs are once again squarely in the conversation as the league gears up for 2026, but the memory of that playoff upset at the hands of Ole Miss still lingers. Online betting sites had made Georgia a six-point favorite to see off the Rebels, only for Trinidad Chambliss to reel off a slew of spectacular plays totaling 362 yards and two touchdowns to hand his side a scarcely believable 39-34 win.

Now, the Dawgs are contenders once more. The latest odds from Lucky Rebel Sportsbook make Smart's men a +350 second-favorite to repeat as SEC champions in 2026. But they aren't operating in a vacuum. Texas arrives with a Heisman-caliber quarterback and a chip on its shoulder, and LSU just handed the keys to one of the sport's most disruptive coaches. But which of them do the bookies currently make the favorites to claim the conference title in 2026? Let's take a look.

Texas

Steve Sarkisian spent last preseason fielding questions about whether a unanimous No. 1 ranking would crush his program, and by November, the answer had curdled into something messier than anyone in Austin wanted. Texas lost its opener to Ohio State before then falling to defeat against Florida and slumping to 3-2 after just five games. They watched the playoff bracket fill in without them, but they did rally down the stretch as Arch Manning finally found his footing, winning seven of their last eight with the 35-10 drubbing at the hands of Georgia the only blemish.

They ultimately limped to a 10-3 finish but still ended with a statement: a 41-27 Citrus Bowl beatdown of Michigan in which Manning's offense pulled away late, and the defense picked off Bryce Underwood three times. Disappointing by preseason standards, but the improvement throughout the second half of the campaign was there for all to see.

Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and tackle DJ Campbell both went in the draft's first two days, and the receiver room lost DeAndre Moore Jr. and Parker Livingston to the portal. Sarkisian answered by luring Auburn's Cam Coleman, the portal's top-ranked wideout, along with Pittsburgh linebacker Rasheem Biles and Arizona State running back Raleek Brown.
Manning, now a season into the job full-time, is the engine here, and Ryan Wingo's return (54 catches, 834 yards) gives him a proven security blanket. Texas opens as the outright +280 SEC favorite, with real national championship expectations attached. They unquestionably are the Dawgs' biggest threat.

Georgia

Georgia's 2025 was the definition of good-not-great, a phrase that's followed Kirby Smart's program for three straight Januarys now. The Bulldogs went 12-2, lost their only regular-season game to Alabama, then beat the Tide 28-7 in the SEC Championship to avenge it and claim a second consecutive conference title. A first-round playoff bye followed, and so did another gut-punch: a 39-34 Sugar Bowl loss to Ole Miss, Georgia blowing a nine-point halftime lead before a 47-yard field goal ended the season with six seconds left.

The roster took real hits this offseason. Receiver Zachariah Branch, linebacker CJ Allen, tackle Monroe Freeling, defensive lineman Christen Miller, and cornerback Daylen Everette were all drafted, and five-star quarterback recruit Jared Curtis flipped to Vanderbilt rather than wait behind a returning starter. Smart leaned on the portal more than usual in response, adding Georgia Tech receiver Isiah Canion, Kentucky running back Dante Dowdell, and a clutch of defensive backs, including Clemson's Khalil Barnes and USC's Braylon Conley.

Gunner Stockton is back for his senior year after passing on the draft, where evaluators had him pegged as a Day 3 afterthought, and the Bulldogs believe a full offseason as the unquestioned starter changes that. Georgia's case for a third title in four years rests on continuity at the top, a defense that retools rather than rebuilds, and a quarterback finally playing with nothing to prove.

LSU

LSU entered 2025 with national championship talk and a road win over Clemson to back it up, and then the wheels came off in spectacular fashion. Losses to Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M in a four-game stretch sealed Brian Kelly's fate, and the Tigers fired him the night after a 49-25 home loss to the Aggies. LSU finished 7-6, lost the Texas Bowl to Houston, and closed the book on a four-year Kelly era that never produced an SEC title.

What followed was the most aggressive offseason in the country. LSU lured Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss on a seven-year, $91 million deal and then assembled the No. 1 transfer class in America, headlined by Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt and Colorado tackle Jordan Seaton. Seven Tigers were drafted in April, including cornerback Mansoor Delane at No. 6 overall and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, officially closing out the old roster as nearly 40 new transfers walked in.

Leavitt, who threw for 4,652 career yards and led Arizona State to a Big 12 title before a foot injury cut short his 2025 season, is the centerpiece of Kiffin's rebuild. If he delivers as expected, then the Tigers are most certainly a live +700 underdog.