The SEC has a clear picture of how this season could shake out.
Voters released the conference’s preseason media poll this week and it places the Razorbacks at the bottom of a crowded 16-team field.
It will be hard to find many Arkansas fans disagreeing with that. They may hope but they really don’t have much of a way to back that up.
Georgia topped the poll with 2,519 points and picked up 88 first-place votes for the SEC title.
Coach Kirby Smart returns quarterback Gunner Stockton and a defense anchored by lineman Elijah Griffin, giving the Bulldogs a strong case to make another playoff run.
Texas sits right behind Georgia with 2,449 points and 57 first-place votes.
Quarterback Arch Manning headlines the Longhorns’ group, joined by transfer receiver Cam Coleman and tackle Trevor Goosby up front.
Rounding out the top five are Ole Miss, Texas A&M and LSU.
Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss chose to stay in Oxford rather than follow former coach Lane Kiffin to Baton Rouge, while Kiffin now builds his own roster around portal addition Sam Leavitt.
Middle tier stacked with rebuilding programs
Several programs sit in transition through the middle of the poll.
Florida hired Jon Sumrall away from Tulane after he led the Green Wave to the playoff, while Auburn brought in Alex Golesh following his run at USF.
Kentucky will play its first season since 2012 without Mark Stoops on the sideline, turning instead to former Oregon coordinator Will Stein.
Mississippi State hopes quarterback KaMario Taylor can build on a strong finish to 2025 under Jeff Lebby.
Hogs land in familiar spot at bottom of poll
Arkansas finished with 262 points, placing the Hogs 16th and last overall.
It’s not a shocking result given the program went 2-10 and 0-8 in SEC play a year ago. They’ve also finished 2-10 a third of the seasons over the last nine of them.
Still, the Razorbacks have somewhere to build from under new coach Ryan Silverfield, who takes over after six seasons at Memphis.
Silverfield brings a 50-25 career coaching record to Fayetteville as he tries to guide Arkansas back toward relevance in the West.
The Hogs haven’t posted a 10-win season since 2011, when they finished 11-2. That drought looms as the clearest marker of progress Silverfield’s staff can chase this fall.
Key takeaways
- Georgia led the SEC preseason poll with 2,519 points and 88 first-place votes.
- Arkansas finished 16th with 262 points after a 2-10 season in 2025.
- New coach Ryan Silverfield brings a 50-25 career record from his time at Memphis.
