It’s been two years. Two years without playing for a national championship. Two years of watching the B1G win back-to-back national championships. Hell, last year we saw Indiana get selected to be in the playoff over Alabama, Ole Miss, AND South Carolina. For two years, the SEC has failed to live up to its #ItJustMeansMore slogan. This 2025 season is the time for the league to turn the page and to announce its presence with authority. We have five key matchups this week to preview that will help the SEC change the narrative. We’ll preview those games and give you the SEC Week 1 betting lines in just a moment. Here are
- Mississippi State @ Southern Miss: Charles Huff brought most of his Sun Belt Champion roster from Marshall to Hattiesburg. Hail State is 7-6 all-time against the Eagles and lost their last matchup in 2023. Jeff Lebby can ill afford another bad loss after a disappointing start to his tenure in 2024.
- Toledo @ Kentucky: Toledo looks to make it 2-0 on the road in the SEC as they head to Lexington. Kentucky is listing and in danger of sinking under Mark Stoops.
- UTSA @ No. 19 Texas A&M: Mike Elko and the Aggies were 8-5 in 2024. The more things change…They want to avoid being Wylie E. Coyote against the Roadrunners to open the season.
- Georgia State @ No. 21 Ole Miss: The Panthers have knocked off Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and darn near upset Auburn AT Jordan Hare. Atlanta’s college team is not a pushover despite being a heavy underdog.
SEC Week 1 Preview: Ring the Bell
Fanduel SEC Week 1 Betting Lines
The SEC has games Thursday through Sunday. Take note of the varied start times. No longer are teams locked into the noon, 3:30 p.m., and late windows. ESPN is doing an excellent job of varying the times to give us football all Saturday long. Plan accordingly. Rankings are based on the AP media poll. Lines and game totals are courtesy of FanDuel. All games are Eastern Standard Time. Check the links for insights from your favorite Last Word on College Football writers. After the lines, we’ll take a big picture look and predict the five biggest SEC Week 1 matchups on the weekend.
| Matchup | Date | Time | Channel | Line |
| Central Arkansas @ Missouri | 8/28 | 7:30 PM | SEC Network | |
| Auburn @ Baylor | 8/29 | 8:00 PM | Fox | AUB -2.5 |
| No. 1 Texas @ No. 3 Ohio State | 8/30 | Noon | Fox | OSU -1.5 |
| Syracuse vs. No. 24 Tennessee | 8/30 | Noon | ABC | TENN -13.5 |
| Mississippi State @ Southern Miss | 8/30 | Noon | ESPN | MSST -12 |
| Toledo @ Kentucky | 8/30 | 12:45 PM | SEC Network | UK -7.5 |
| Marshall @ Georgia | 8/30 | 3:30 PM | ESPN | UGA -39.5 |
| No. 8 Alabama @ Florida State | 8/30 | 3:30 PM | ABC | BAMA -13.5 |
| Alabama A&M @ Arkansas | 8/30 | 4:15 PM | SEC Network | |
| Illinois State @ No. 18 Oklahoma | 8/30 | 6:00 PM | ESPN+ | |
| Long Island @ No. 15 Florida | 8/30 | 7:00 PM | ESPN+ | |
| UTSA @ No. 19 Texas A&M | 8/30 | 7:00 PM | ESPN | TA&M -22.5 |
| Charleston So. @ Vanderbilt | 8/30 | 7:00 PM | ESPN+ | |
| No. 9 LSU @ No. 4 Clemson | 8/30 | 7:30 PM | ABC | CLEM -4 |
| Georgia State @ No. 21 Ole Miss | 8/30 | 7:45 PM | SEC Network | SIP -38 |
| Virginia Tech vs. No. 13 South Carolina | 8/31 | 3:00 PM | ESPN | SC -8 |
No. 1 Texas @ No. 3 Ohio State
Arch Manning. Two words say it all for the Longhorns and their expectations in 2025. Steve Sarkisian has been building a juggernaut in Austin. The Horns are loaded and primed to go deeper after two straight College Football Semifinal appearances. They will also look to find themselves on the rematch of the CFB Playoff semifinals. They will also look for their third straight road win against a big-time opponent. Texas knocked off Alabama two years ago in Tuscaloosa and spoiled Fox and Michigan’s Big Noon Kickoff last year. The Buckeyes will be a challenge, and the defending national champions are just as talented and also have their sights set on another title.
Pick: #HookEm
No. 9 LSU @ No. 4 Clemson
LSU likes to play big games to open the season. The Tigers are currently riding a five-game losing streak in season openers dating back to 2021. It is baffling and mind-boggling, and given LSU’s talent, unacceptable. Brian Kelly and his staff spent big in the Portal to help the cast around Garrett Nussmeir improve. Little ole Dabo still has a few tricks up his sleeve and one of his most talented rosters. Clemson fans will be looking to celebrate at the Paw on Saturday night and send Kelly and the Tigers to a sixth straight loss.
Pick: Clemson
No. 8 Alabama @ Florida State
Be about it, don’t talk about it. Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos apparently didn’t get the memo. Castellanos has been running his mouth for most of the offseason. He stated that “the Alabama defense wouldn’t be able to stop him because they don’t have Nick Saban to save them”. It’s good to have confidence in your team; it’s another to talk smack about one of the strongest programs in college football. Especially when your current team (FSU) managed only a couple of wins last year, and you (Castellanos) got benched while being the quarterback at Boston College. This reminds me a lot of USC crawling out of the field, before getting molly-whopped by Alabama a few years ago.
Pick: Alabama
Syracuse vs. No. 24 Tennessee
How is Tennessee an almost two-touchdown favorite? What does Vegas know? Because we are all thinking maybe they screwed up. The Vols are spinning their wheels a bit to put it nicely. They are coming off being throttled in Columbus in the opening round of the CFB Playoff. Their star quarterback left Spring ball a day early and is now the starting quarterback in Westwood. Defensive back Boo Carter has also been embroiled in a dispute over money. That just leads to a lot of questions for Josh Heupel and the Vols. Fran Brown is building something in upstate New York. Knocking off the Vols in Atlanta would show that he is serious and means business.
Pick: Cuse
Virginia Tech vs. No. 13 South Carolina
The Gamecocks are coming off a 9-3 season. Just missed the College Football Playoff. They were the media darlings of Netflix’s Any Given Saturday and have one of the top quarterbacks in the game. They come into the opening game in Atlanta against a Hokies team that continues to flounder and could be looking for a new coach if Brent Pry can’t right the ship. Shane Beamer has holes to fill this offseason. With questions lingering on both sides of the ball, many wonder how Beamer and the Gamecocks will handle the spotlight and expectations in 2025.
Pick: SC
Main Image: Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.
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