GLENDALE, ARIZONA – JANUARY 08: Trinidad Chambliss #6 of the Ole Miss Rebels scrambles with the ball out of bounds defended by Jaboree Antoine #16 of the Miami Hurricanes in the fourth quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on January 08, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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For the past three seasons, no Southeastern Conference team has played in the College Football Playoff championship game. It is a sore subject in a league that had previously won four consecutive national titles from 2019 through 2022. This season, the SEC could again have a team playing for the championship, as several top teams have returning quarterbacks.
The SEC had eight quarterbacks in the top 19 of The Athletic’s recent rankings, including six who started for their teams last season in No. 1 Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss), No. 7 Arch Manning (Texas), No. 11 Gunner Stockton (Georgia), No. 13 Marcel Reed (Texas A&M), No. 16 John Mateer (Oklahoma) and No. 18 LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina). The other two highly-ranked SEC quarterbacks are transfers in No. 8 Sam Leavitt (LSU) and No. 19 Byrum Brown (Auburn).
Chambliss is coming off the best season of any SEC quarterback, as he led the Rebels to the CFP semifinals. Although Chambliss wasn’t supposed to start and came from Division II Ferris State, he took over the starting job in September and threw for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns and ran for 527 yards and eight touchdowns. In three CFP games, he completed 67.9% of his passes for 921 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
In February, a Mississippi judge ruled in Chambliss’s favor, granting him a preliminary injunction in a case against the NCAA and giving him another year of eligibility. After finishing eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting last year, he should contend for the award this year. He will be among the most hyped players this season, especially when Ole Miss on Sept. 19 hosts LSU, whose coach, Lane Kiffin, coached at Ole Miss for six seasons before leaving last November before the CFP began.
Ole Miss is also playing Texas on Oct. 24, a matchup between Chambliss and Manning, who has been projected as a star for years. Manning, the No. 1 recruit in the high school class of 2023, was a reserve for two seasons before becoming the starter last season. Manning completed 61.4% of his passes for 3,163 yards, 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions and ran for 399 yards and 10 touchdowns. Still, the Longhorns went 10-3 and failed to make the CFP after entering the season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll.
The Longhorns should again be highly ranked entering this season, thanks to the retention of Manning and other starters and the addition of transfers such as receiver Cam Coleman (Auburn), running backs Hollywood Smothers (North Carolina State) and Raleek Brown (Arizona State) and offensive lineman Melvin Siani (Wake Forest). Texas is projected as among the SEC favorites, although the Longhorns have the nation’s toughest schedule, according to analyst Phil Steele.
Stockton, Reed, Mateer and Sellers are also entering their second years as full-time starters for their programs. Stockton led Georgia to the SEC championship last season, completing 20 of 26 passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-7 victory over Alabama and avenging its only loss of the regular season. The Bulldogs were the No. 3 seed in the CFP and received a bye into the quarterfinals, where they lost to Ole Miss. Stockton completed 69.7% of his passes for 2,894 yards, 24 touchdowns and five interceptions and ran for 462 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Reed also helped his team to the CFP, as Texas A&M won its first 11 games before losing at Texas in the regular season finale. The Aggies then lost in the first round of the CFP to Miami, which ended up advancing to the national title game and losing to Indiana. Reed threw for 3,169 yards and 25 touchdowns and ran for 493 yards and six touchdowns, but he had four interceptions and no touchdowns in the team’s two losses.
Mateer and Sellers, meanwhile, were inconsistent a year ago. Mateer, who transferred from Washington State, shined in his first four games at Oklahoma, throwing for seven touchdowns and running for four scores. After breaking a bone in his right hand in a win over Auburn, Mateer only missed one game, although he was not fully healthy the rest of the way and finished with 14 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.
Sellers, who was projected as a potential first round pick in the NFL draft, completed 60.8% of his passes for 2,437 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. South Carolina went 1-7 in the SEC and lost its final five conference games.
While the SEC has several quarterbacks who are accustomed to the league, it also has Leavitt and Brown, veterans who have plenty of Division I experience. Leavitt started at Arizona State the past two seasons, including leading the Sun Devils to the CFP in 2024, although he only appeared in eight games last season after sustaining a foot injury. And Brown played 35 games at South Florida, including starting 12 games last season when he threw for 3,158 yards and 28 touchdowns and ran for 1,008 yards and 14 touchdowns. Alex Golesh, USF’s coach the past three seasons, is now Auburn’s coach.
This week, the SEC held its media days in Tampa, Fla., a chance for players and coaches to discuss their teams and generate attention heading into the season. SEC play begins on Sept. 12 with Kentucky hosting Alabama and gets into gear a week later with five more in-conference games. As usual, several teams should be in the mix for the CFP, with experienced quarterbacks aiming to get their teams in the playoffs and compete for the national title.