SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has documentation for the degree of difficulty for the conference schedule.
Sankey provided media members with a seven-page document titled "A Regular Season Gauntlet" to show the strength of that conference. The challenge is dealing with the imbalances in that 16-team schedule moving forward.
Ask Florida. The Gators have the most difficult schedule in the SEC for a second consecutive season. The Gators are among the teams in the conference that will face seven teams that are ranked in the Sporting News Post-Spring Top 25. That's life in a conference that features 10 ranked teams, but a few schools managed to have easier schedules. Missouri has the easiest schedule for the second straight season, according to our schedule formula.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
How does that formula work? Here are the three factors we measure for strength of schedule. It comes down to the tough games.
- Ranked opponents. This is the easiest metric. How many opponents in Sporting News' Preseason Top 25 does each team face? Then we gave points for each opponent in AP Poll style (25 for No. 1, 1 for No. 25). So, Ohio State plays No. 1 Texas in the opener. That's 25 points toward the Buckeyes' strength of schedule.
- Home or road games? We added four points to a school's total for each road game against a ranked opponent. We subtracted four points from that total for a home game against a ranked opponent. Neutral-site games are zero points.
- Totals from hardest to easiest. We totaled those two columns and ranked the 18 Big Ten teams. Teams with the highest point total have the toughest schedules. Teams with the lowest point total have the easiest schedules.
SN QB RANKINGS: Top 25 | Big Ten | SEC | Big 12 | ACC
SEC's toughest schedules in 2025
Florida
Florida had a cumulative score of 112 – slightly lower than 117 from last year. The Gators play at LSU and Miami in September. Texas and Texas A&M are on the October schedule, and Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee are on the November schedule. Those seven teams combined for a .747 winning percentage in 2024. Billy Napier got off the hot seat last season. Can he stay off it in 2025?
Oklahoma
The Sooners have the second-toughest schedule for the second straight year – which is going to be a challenge under Brent Venables. Michigan will be a tough test in Week 2, and three top-10 opponents (Texas, LSU, Alabama) are back on the schedule. Oklahoma was 1-3 in true road games in SEC play last season – with the lone victory against Auburn. Tennessee and South Carolina will be tough road games, too.
Arkansas
This isn't going to help cool the Sam Pittman hot seat. Arkansas plays six ranked teams, and four of those games are on the road against Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and Tennessee. A non-conference game against Notre Dame – which visits Fayetteville for the first time – also is part of the schedule. Perhaps Lou Holtz – who coached at both schools – will be there.
MORE: Ranking 2025 CFB head coaches, from 1-136
SEC's easiest schedules in 2025
Missouri
How did the Tigers get away with it again? Missouri plays Kansas in nonconference play at home, and three of their four matchups against ranked SEC teams also are at Faurot Field. It's an opportunity for Missouri – which is 21-5 the last two years — to have a third consecutive season with double-digit wins under Eli Drinkwitz. The Sept. 20 test against South Carolina will be telling.
Auburn
The Tigers will be ranked in a handful of preseason Top 25 lists, too, and a friendly home schedule should contribute to that ranking. The Tigers play Georgia and Alabama at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The tricky part is the September road schedule – which includes an opener at Baylor and road tests at Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
Tennessee
The Vols have a season opener in Atlanta against Syracuse – a school that could be on the fringe of the top 25. Tennessee gets Georgia and Oklahoma at home, and they face Alabama and Florida on the road. Fifth-year coach Josh Heupel has split with four meetings with the Gators and the Crimson Tide. Can the Vols break an eight-game losing streak to the Bulldogs in 2025?
MORE: Illinois has easiest Big Ten schedule; Wisconsin the toughest
SEC 2025 football schedule rankings
Using that formula, here are the SEC schedule rankings for the 2025 season, which includes a look at those games against ranked opponents. We ranked those scheduled from the hardest to easiest:
| RANK | SCHOOL | LAST YEAR | RANKED OPPONENTS | TOTAL |
| 1 | Florida | 1 | vs. No. 1 Texas, vs. No. 3 Georgia, at No. 9 LSU, at No. 12 Miami, at No. 15 Ole Miss, vs. No. 18 Tennessee, at No. 20 Texas A&M | 112 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 2 | vs. No. 1 Texas, at No. 8 Alabama, vs. No. 9 LSU, at No. 13 South Carolina, vs. No. 15 Ole Miss, vs. No. 16 Michigan, at No. 18 Tennessee | 102 |
| 3 | Arkansas | 4 | at No. 1 Texas, vs. No. 5 Notre Dame, at No. 9 LSU, at No. 15 Ole Miss, at No. 18 Tennessee, vs. No. 20 Texas A&M | 96 |
| 4 | Texas A&M | 10 | at No. 1 Texas, at No. 5 Notre Dame, at No. 9 LSU, vs. No. 11 Florida, vs. No. 13 South Carolina | 95 |
| 5 | Vanderbilt | 8 | at No. 1 Texas, at No. 8 Alabama, vs. No. 9 LSU, at No. 13 South Carolina, at No. 18 Tennessee | 93 |
| 6 | LSU | 14 | at No. 7 Clemson, at No. 8 Alabama, vs. No. 11 Florida, vs. No. 13 South Carolina, at No. 15 Ole Miss, vs. No. 20 Texas A&M, at No. 24 Oklahoma | 88 |
| 7 | Mississippi State | 3 | vs. No. 1 Texas, vs. No. 3 Georgia, at No.11 Florida, vs. No. 14 Arizona State, vs. No. 15 Ole Miss, vs. No. 18 Tennessese, at No. 20 Texas A&M | 85 |
| 8 | Kentucky | 6 | vs. No. 1 Texas, at No. 3 Georgia, at No. 13 South Carolina, vs. No. 15 Ole Miss, vs. No. 18 Tennessee, at No. 23 Louisville | 83 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 5 | vs. No. 7 Clemson, vs. No. 8 Alabama, at No. 9 LSU, at No. 15 Ole Miss, at No. 20 Texas A&M, vs. No. 24 Oklahoma | 73 |
| 10 | Texas | 12(t) | at No. 2 Ohio State, at No. 3 Georgia, at No. 11 Florida, vs. No. 20 Texas A&M, vs. No. 24 Oklahoma | 70 |
| 11 | Georgia | 7 | vs. No. 1 Texas, vs. No. 8 Alabama, vs. No. 11 Florida, vs. No. 15 Ole Miss, at No. 18 Tennessee | 69 |
| 12 | Ole Miss | 15 | at No. 3 Georgia, vs. No. 9 LSU, vs. No. 11 Florida, vs. No. 13 South Carolina, at No. 24 Oklahoma | 68 |
| 13 | Alabama | 9 | at No. 3 Georgia, vs. No. 9 LSU, at No. 13 South Carolina, vs. No. 18 Tennessee, vs. No. 24 Oklahoma | 59 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 12(t) | vs. No. 3 Georgia, at No. 8 Alabama, at No. 11 Florida, vs. No. 24 Oklahoma | 58 |
| 15 | Auburn | 11 | vs. No. 3 Georgia, vs. No. 8 Alabama, at No. 20 Texas A&M, at No. 24 Oklahoma | 49 |
| 16 | Missouri | 16 | vs. No. 8 Alabama, vs. No. 13 South Carolina, vs. No. 20 Texas A&M, at No. 24 Oklahoma | 31 |
Six more SEC schedule takeaways
– Texas' road back to a third straight CFP trip is tougher with road tests at Ohio State, Georgia and Florida. The Buckeyes and Bulldogs have a combined 58-3 record at home since 2020. The Longhorns also face traditional rivals Oklahoma and Texas.
– LSU had the largest year-to-year swing in schedule difficulty. The Tigers also face seven ranked teams, and you could make the case they have the toughest schedule with the opener at Clemson. LSU has not won a season opener since 2019.
– Mississippi State plays five ranked teams at home, including a non-conference matchup against Arizona State – the defending Big 12 champion. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, has four road games against ranked teams, including Texas, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee.
– Georgia plays five ranked teams, and they get Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas at home, Florida on a neutral field and Tennessee on the road. The Bulldogs were 3-2 against those five teams last season. The regular-season finale at Georgia Tech could be tough.
– Alabama's schedule ranking is misleading. The Crimson Tide also takes on Florida State and Wisconsin in non-conference play. Alabama was 1-3 in SEC play on the road last season under Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide faces Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina and Auburn on the road in 2025.
– Eight SEC teams have a game against a ranked non-conference opponent. What are those games? Keep an eye on the SEC's overall record in these games:
| MATCHUP | DATE |
| LSU at Clemson | Aug. 30 |
| Texas at Ohio State | Aug. 30 |
| Mississippi State at Arizona State | Sept. 6 |
| Oklahoma at Michigan | Sept. 6 |
| Texas A&M at Notre Dame | Sept. 13 |
| Florida at Miami | Sept. 20 |
| Notre Dame at Arkansas | Sept. 27 |
| South Carolina at Clemson | Nov. 29 |