Since the moment that compensating collegiate athletes for their name, image, and likeness was given the stamp of approval from the NCAA, programs have been in a continuous bidding war to reach the apex of the sport.

“Saban retiring, in any era, was going to fundamentally impact the death grip the SEC had on college football,” Pate explained. “Because it wasn’t the SEC that had a death grip, it was Alabama, led by Nick Saban. Ten of the last 11 SEC Championships were either won by Bama or Georgia.”

The 2025 college football season is quickly approaching, starting on August 23 with a series of games for Week 0. The Arkansas Razorbacks are not in action this week but must wait, like most other teams.

Being kept out of the national championship race the last two seasons, some have taken the occasion to suggest the SEC has lost its iron grip on college footbal

Andrew Caley’s SEC preview for 2025, where he breaks down the conference and lets you know who he thinks will win it!

College Football Insider Predicts SEC Powerhouse Will Fire Head Coach and Lose Top Recruit to Rival originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

This year’s college football season hasn’t kicked off yet, but analysts have already started predicting who will claim the 2025 SEC Football Championship title

Florida football had eight players named to the 2025 Preseason Coaches All-SEC Team ahead of the opening kickoff.