The Alabama Crimson Tide and the SEC have points to prove in Week 2. Unlike human polls, computer model rankings rank the Crimson Tide as a top-10 team. Alabama needs to do more than beat the Kentucky Wildcats. The Tide needs to do it in 'top 10' fashion.
In Brian Fremeau's FEI ratings, the Crimson Tide ranks No. 6. Fremeau also combines his ratings with Bill Connelly's SP+ into F+ ratings, in which Alabama ranks No. 8.
The only SEC team Fremeau ranks above Alabama is Georgia at No. 2. His FEI ratings have Texas No. 8, Texas A&M No. 12, Oklahoma No. 13, Ole Miss No. 15, Tennessee No. 16, LSU No. 19, Vanderbilt No. 23, Missouri No. 24, and South Carolina No. 25.
Fremeau's lowest-ranked SEC teams are Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Kentucky, ranked No. 40, No. 41, and No. 43, respectively.
Georgia and Alabama lead the SEC
Using Fremeau's rankings, at this stage of the 2026 season, the SEC is by far the strongest conference. In the FEI top 25, there are 11 SEC teams. The Big Ten has eight; the Big 12 four, and the ACC one.
Dig deeper into Fremeau's FEI and there is more evidence of SEC strength. Compared to the lowest ranked SEC team at No. 43, the lowest ranked Big Ten team is Rutgers at No. 88 and the lowest ranked Big 12 team is Oklahoma State at No. 91. The ACC has four teams ranked in the 80s: Cal No. 80, Syracuse No. 82, Boston College No. 85, and Stanford No. 86.
The SEC can extend its 'Best Conference' bragging rights into Week 2. The SEC has 14 games against non-conference teams in Week 2. The odds of the SEC going undefeated in Week 2 are not good. Arkansas has Utah on the road, and Texas will battle Ohio State in Austin. The SEC has seven locks for wins, and four more games against Power Four teams in which the SEC is favored. In addition, Mississippi State at Minnesota is rated a toss-up. A Week 2 result of 13-3 or 14-2 would again signal that the SEC is college football's top conference.
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