Do Texas and LSU Have What It Takes to Make a Run in 2026?
After a disappointing close to last season, the Texas Longhorns are looking to get back in the saddle as the team everyone in the SEC fears. Texas missed the CFP because it could not close out games or win the ones it needed most. One of those losses was a 25-point defeat to Georgia in Week 10, their third loss of the year and enough for the committee to leave them out. This year, Texas has a similar strength of schedule and an even better roster, giving it a chance to correct those mistakes.
Texas opens Week Two at home against Ohio State, where Arch Manning will look to avenge his poor outing in Columbus last year. The SEC schedule includes five current Top 25 teams, among them Texas A&M and Ole Miss, both CFP teams last season. Steve Sarkisian added 22 transfer portal players this offseason, several of whom should make major impacts. Wide receiver Cam Coleman stayed in the SEC after two productive years at Auburn, a significant pickup after Parker Livingstone and Jaime Ffrench Jr. both left Texas and had been important to the offense. Texas also added former Florida State LB Justin Cryer to help clean up the defense's late-season collapse. Last year, the defense allowed 30+ points in four of its final five regular-season games, and only the offense kept Texas afloat until the trip to Athens, where Georgia overwhelmed it. Even so, Texas enters as the leading favorite to win the SEC, and if the coaches and players stay level-headed, it should be in a strong position to finish on top.
LSU entered 2025 with high hopes, but the season quickly became a disappointment and one of the bigger coaching-hiring mistakes in recent history. LSU was expected to be one of the best teams in the SEC, but that never materialized. The Tigers barely scraped by Louisiana Tech, Garrett Nussmeier underperformed, and fans quickly turned on him. Kelly was fired after eight games, leaving LSU at 5-3. With a CFP berth off the table, the focus shifted to 2026 and the search for a new head coach.
LSU meant business when it selected Lane Kiffin as head coach, and the move immediately sent a firestorm through the SEC. It also showed how willing the program is to reclaim the dominant days of 2019 by any means necessary. LSU then added several Ole Miss players, bringing the total to 41 transfers coming to Baton Rouge via the transfer portal this year. Princewill Umanmielen is one of four Ole Miss transfers headed to Death Valley, and at six-foot-five and 245 pounds, he should make SEC quarterbacks' lives miserable. Former Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt was another strong pickup for this Tiger squad and fits the kind of player Lane Kiffin has dealt with before. LSU has a favorable schedule and a real shot to win the SEC. With the roster it assembled and the new staff it brought in, it belongs in contention. It will not be easy, but with all the money and time invested in this season, they should get at least 11 regular-season wins. As for the CFP, that should be the standard for this program if it stays focused and avoids the usual SEC distractions.
