Greg McElroy Names Team to Beat in SEC Without Hesitation

Greg McElroy Names Team to Beat in SEC Without Hesitation originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

We're roughly a month away from the 2025 college football season and the national media has provided numerous predictions worth discussing.

It appears the Texas Longhorns are the clear-cut favorite to win the SEC title in 2025. Last week, the SEC media poll showed Texas as the most likely team to take home the conference title with 96 first-place votes. The next closest was Georgia with 44 first-place votes.

Some betting sites, such as FanDuel, favors the Longhorns this season as well. ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy notably jumped on the Texas hype train on Monday. "Probably the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference," McElroy said of the Longhorns entering the 2025 season.

Although some are hesitant to name Texas as a contender with inexperienced quarterback Arch Manning under center, others feel he showed enough last season to step up in big moments.

The Longhorns have reached the College Football Playoff semifinal each of the last two seasons and played in the SEC Championship Game (2024) their first year in the conference. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has revamped the culture in Austin and has taken full advantage of the transfer portal each offseason for immediate plug-in players. Is there a true weakness on Sarkisian's roster currently?

It's important to remember that Sarkisian also landed the No. 1 overall recruiting class in the nation in 2025, many of which were early enrollees on campus. It's tough to argue against the high expectations/predictions that Texas is receiving this offseason.

Related: Rece Davis Names a College Football Player Who Will Become a 'Household Name' in 2025

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.