The 2025 SEC football season is officially just 100 days away.
Thursday marked 100 days until the first full college football Saturday of the year. With just over 3 months remaining before the start of the 2025 season, we decided to ask 100 questions that will heavily influence the 2025 SEC season.
100 questions to define the 2025 SEC season
This is the second installment of that series, which will be completed in the coming days. You can read Part 1 here.
Without further ado, here are questions No. 75 through No. 51 — along with, in some cases, an attempted answer:
75. Is there a chance Alabama has the best WR room in the SEC?
Alabama had a pretty pedestrian wide receiver room last season beyond Ryan Williams, but that looks to be changing for 2025. The Crimson Tide brought in Isaiah Horton from Miami and should get significant internal development from players like Williams and Germie Bernard. This is a unit that could surprise some folks and be as good as any in the country in 2025.
74. What will Alabama’s offense look like with Ryan Grubb back?
Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb have historically worked magic together. The duo had been together every step of the way until Grubb left for the Seahawks OC job last spring. Now that he’s back, will that change anything for Alabama’s offense? DeBoer is still the primary architect, but I think it might. If nothing else, Grubb’s return should free up DeBoer to focus more on other head coaching responsibilities.
73. Who is the best offensive coordinator in the SEC?
For the purposes of this exercise, I’m limiting this to true offensive coordinators. So no, Steve Sarkisian isn’t eligible even though he calls the plays for Texas. Bobby Petrino at Arkansas certainly deserves consideration after the Razorbacks averaged more than 6.5 yards per play last season. Ben Arbuckle might be the top newcomer after moving from Washington State to Oklahoma this offseason. But given his history of success across a bunch of levels, Ryan Grubb would be a solid pick, too.
72. Who is the best defensive coordinator in the SEC?
Same rules apply as the previous question — no head coaches allowed (sorry, Brent Venables). With that restriction, it would be difficult to highlight anyone other than Texas DC Pete Kwiatkowski. By yards per play, the Longhorns had the best defense in the SEC last season in their first year in the conference. He’s been instrumental in turning that program around.
71. Georgia upgraded its WR room, but how much?
Wide receiver was a massive weakness for Georgia last season. The Bulldogs did something about it in the portal by bringing in Zachariah Branch (USC) and Noah Thomas (Texas A&M). That’s probably the best wide receiver duo anyone added via the transfer portal this offseason. Dillon Bell, Colbie Young and London Humphreys all return as well.
70. How much better can Oklahoma’s offense get in 2025?
It’s difficult to put into words just how miserable Oklahoma’s offense was last season. That’s been well-documented. After the Sooners more or less cleaned house on that side of the ball, how much better can things get in 2025? That will be the question that defines OU’s season. The defense should be good, but what can we really expect from an offense that finished below Stanford and Purdue in yards per play a year ago? Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer should represent massive upgrades over their counterparts from a year ago, but there may be a limit to how much year-to-year improvement OU can reasonably make in one offseason.
69. Mizzou returns a ton on defense. Is there more upside there than it gets credit for?
Much has been made about how much Missouri is losing on offense, and rightfully so. Brady Cook, Luther Burden III and Theo Wease were all multi-year contributors who had careers that will be remembered in Columbia for a long time. But on defense? Mizzou looks like it’s in great shape. The Tigers rank 10th in Bill Connelly’s returning production formula on that side of the ball. Returning production is a bit of a misnomer in this case as it does include numbers from transfers at previous stops, but Missouri looks like it may be in position to improve upon a defense that ranked 20th in defensive SP+ a year ago.
68. What about Mizzou’s wide receivers?
I glossed over it in the previous section, but we should talk about Mizzou’s plan at wide receiver with Burden and Wease no longer with the program. The big addition is Kevin Coleman, who is fresh off of a 932-yard season at Mississippi State. Beyond Coleman, Mizzou will be relying on returners Marquis Johnson and Joshua Manning to step into bigger roles. That’s a bold strategy that may or may not pay off, but the good news is that Mizzou will have a solid Plan B (Beau Pribula in the run game) that it just didn’t have with Brady Cook.
67. Does Garrett Nussmeier have another level?
Garrett Nussmeier returns in 2025 as the undisputed most-accomplished SEC passer. Of course, that’s a relatively low bar. He’s the only returning SEC QB who threw for more than 3,200 yards last year. The question will be if he can cut out the meltdowns that cost LSU last season, particularly against LSU. He had 4 multi-interception games last season and led the SEC in picks — that can’t happen again if LSU is going to reach its goals.
66. How big of a season could Fluff Bothwell have for Mississippi State?
Here’s a fun transfer that went under-the-radar: running back Fluff Bothwell to Mississippi State. Bothwell was one of the best G5 running backs last season by both the surface stats and the advanced numbers. He rushed for 832 yards as a freshman at South Alabama, picking up 7.5 yards a carry. He also scored a conference-best 13 touchdowns. Per GameOnPaper, he averaged 0.33 EPA per rush, which ranked 2nd nationally among running backs with at least 100 carries.
65. If Auburn struggles early, is that is for the Hugh Freeze era?
This is a pivotal year for the future of the Hugh Freeze era on the Plains. I’m somewhat bullish on the Tigers, but it’s worth noting that the schedule is most difficult in September and early October. The Tigers face Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Georgia over that stretch, with the first 3 of those opponents being on the road. If Auburn goes 1-3 or worse in those games, will Freeze be able to recover any momentum for the latter half of the season when the schedule eases up?
64. Can LaNorris Sellers improve as a passer?
LaNorris Sellers was one of the biggest surprises in the SEC last year. He went from a relative unknown to one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the country. But for South Carolina to take the next step, Sellers needs to make a pretty significant leap as a passer. His overall numbers look good, but his volume was relatively low. His game-high for pass attempts was 32 during the regular season. He was under 8 yards per attempt in 8 of 12 games. And the most troublesome: in obvious passing situations (3rd and 4 or longer), Sellers had a passer efficiency rating of just 106.8. That ranked 36th out of 41 power-conference QBs with at least 60 such attempts in 2024.
63. Will South Carolina’s WR production improve enough?
A big factor in Sellers’ potential improvement will be whether or or not South Carolina gets more from its WR room in 2025. That group totaled just 1,752 yards last season, which was ahead of only Oklahoma and Vanderbilt in the SEC. South Carolina didn’t add any transfers at that position this offseason, so the Gamecocks are counting on some significant internal development from Nyck Harbor and Co. in 2025.
62. What kind of ceiling does Joey Aguilar have?
Let’s talk about Joey Aguilar. UCLA thought enough of him to reportedly give him a 7-figure payday to transfer in from App State. Now that he’s in Knoxville, what should the expectation be? Unfortunately for Vols fans, he doesn’t have any positive experience against power-conference opposition. In 2 games vs. Power 4 opponents while at App State, he has a passer efficiency rating of just over 105. That’s not good. But in Josh Heupel’s offense, there’s probably reason to believe he’ll have a higher floor than that history may indicate. The question is: is his ceiling high enough to reasonably expect another CFP season from the Vols?
61. Tennessee’s explosive plays have dried up, will that be better next season?
Josh Heupel has the reputation of one of the best offensive minds in the sport. He’s done it at a number of stops since being fired from Oklahoma more than a decade ago. But in 2024, Tennessee’s offense just wasn’t explosive. Some fans may blame that on Nico Iamaleava (and they might be right!) But regardless of whose fault it is, the Vols have to be better in that area in 2025. Last fall, they ranked in the 13th percentile in explosive play rate per Game On Paper. That’s where they ranked in 2023 with Joe Milton under center, too. That won’t cut it in 2025.
60. Will Arch Manning produce enough to be a Heisman finalist?
Arch Manning is the preseason leader in Heisman Trophy betting odds for 2025. Wire-to-wire Heisman races are rare nowadays, but Manning sure seems like a safe bet to at least be in New York City at the end of the year. What would his numbers have to look like in order to get there? Last season, Dillon Gabriel threw for over 3,500 yards and had 35 touchdowns (28 passing, 7 rushing) and finished third. I’d say that’s probably the blueprint for Manning to get to NYC, but Texas fans will hope there’s even more upside for the former 5-star.
59. Is Ryan Williams a real Heisman contender?
Speaking of Heisman odds, could Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams win it? He certainly has the name recognition and we’ve seen wide receivers (DeVonta Smith and Travis Hunter, sort of) win it in recent years. If Alabama’s offense looks like Washington’s from a couple of years ago from an explosiveness standpoint, Williams seems like a good bet to at least make it to NYC as a finalist. As of now, Williams is +3000 to win the award at most betting apps.
58. What about Texas’s wide receivers?
Back to the Longhorns. What is their plan at wide receiver now that Isaiah Bond and Matthew Golden are in the NFL? Ryan Wingo was good-but-not-great as a freshman last season. There are no significant transfer additions to speak of, so it appears the Longhorns will be heavily reliant on internal development from players like Wingo, Parker Livingstone and De’Andre Moore. Maybe that works out, but it’s certainly a bold move in the portal era. This was a major strength for UT last season but now looks like a significant question mark going into the year.
57. Will Texas have a dominant RB room?
There’s a world where Texas’s running back issues from last season prove to be a blessing in disguise. Tre Wisner was thrust into action due to a couple different injuries last season and he was excellent as the Longhorns played for the SEC Championship. Wisner is back, as are CJ Baxter and Jerrick Gibson. If they can stay healthy, this has the makings of an absolutely dominant running back room.
56. Is this it for Mark Stoops at Kentucky or can he recover?
We talked about Jon Sumrall in Part 1 of this exercise. The Kentucky job would surely be alluring to him considering his history in Lexington. With a Sumrall sweepstakes looming, this seems like a particularly important season for Mark Stoops and the Wildcats. Stoops has worked wonders at Kentucky for more than a decade, but it’s fair to wonder if he would be able to survive 2 consecutive missed postseasons at this stage in his tenure.
55. Vandy has 1 returning starter on the OL, how will that work?
Vanderbilt quietly is set to return just 1 offensive lineman from last year’s team. The Commodores relied heavily on their run game and 3rd-down passing, so that’s potentially problematic. Clark Lea did bring in several grad transfer O-linemen this offseason, so experience won’t be an issue — but continuity might be.
54. Will an SEC program be able to sway Kenny Dillingham in 2025?
Aside from Jon Sumrall, Kenny Dillingham is probably the biggest name to watch for a potential SEC move during the 2025 coaching carousel. It’s tricky because Dillingham is already at his alma mater, Arizona State. The timing might be tough, too, if Dillingham makes another Playoff run with the Sun Devils. But his offensive acumen and analytical approach — not to mention a quick turnaround at ASU — will give SEC programs a lot to think about. He’s worked in the southeast before with ties Auburn and Florida State and also spent a year under Dan Lanning at Oregon. This is a tier 1 SEC head coaching candidate if he’s willing to leave his alma mater.
53. Can the SEC get back to the title game for the first time in 3 years?
Will the SEC snap its title game drought? The league hasn’t been represented in the National Championship Game in either of the past 2 years. Michigan defeated Washington at the end of the 2023 season. Last year it was Ohio State besting Notre Dame. If the SEC gets shut out of the title game for 3 consecutive years, it would be the first time that’s happened since 2000-02.
52. Can Arkansas get to a bowl game?
Arkansas is in an interesting spot in 2025. The Razorbacks have made a bowl game in 3 of the last 4 seasons, which isn’t something that should be taken for granted in Fayetteville. But at the same time, it feels like this program has plateaued a bit under Sam Pittman. They’ve been .500 play in SEC just once in the last 5 years. It’s now been more than a decade since Arkansas last won 5 SEC games in a single campaign. Arkansas returns a successful starting quarterback and invested heavily in the transfer portal, and yet its win total is at to 5.5 at BetMGM.
51. If not, is this the end for Sam Pittman?
As good as Pittman has been, you have to wonder if this will be the end if the Razorbacks fail to make the postseason this year. He’s certainly exceeded expectations overall, pulling Arkansas out of the mess it was in at the end of the Chad Morris era. But retirement rumors have been getting louder in recent years and if the program seems to be backsliding in November, I wonder if this could be the final season for Pittman with the Hogs.
100 questions that will define the 2025 SEC season, Part 2 (75-51) Saturday Down South.
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