The Southeastern Conference has been even wilder than normal in the 2026 season, with so many teams capable of beating anyone else in the league on a week-to-week basis. With a stunning amount of good teams all over the conference, and the addition of a ninth league game this year, the SEC is beginning to cannibalize itself further and further as each week of the season passes.
Using ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI), we can take a snapshot of the SEC through Week 8 action to see who has played the hardest schedule, and who has played the easiest schedule. Six teams (Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt) haven't had their bye week yet, but that will change in Week 9. Everyone else has already made it through the bye, meaning
those 10 schools have no byes from here on out. No teams will have an open date in November.
Four schools (Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss) still have a FCS team left on the schedule, while four other schools (Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina) still have a rivalry non-conference game against an ACC team left on the schedule. The remaining eight schools are all in SEC play from here on out.
Here are all 16 SEC teams ranked by strength of schedule as we enter Week 9.
1. Oklahoma Sooners (1st overall) Record: 4-3, 2-2
- 13th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (7th-highest in the SEC)
2. Ole Miss Rebels (2nd overall) Record: 5-2, 3-2
- 30th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (15th-highest in the SEC)
3. Auburn Tigers (3rd overall) Record: 4-3, 2-3
- 24th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (12th-highest in the SEC)
4. Texas Longhorns (4th overall) Record: 5-2, 2-2
- 19th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (11th-highest in the SEC)
5. Mississippi State Bulldogs (5th overall) Record: 4-3, 2-3
- 25th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (13th-highest in the SEC)
6. Alabama Crimson Tide (7th overall) Record: 6-2, 4-2
- 39th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (16th-highest in the SEC)
7. Kentucky Wildcats (8th overall) Record: 7-1, 5-1
- 10th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (6th-highest in the SEC)
8. Florida Gators (9th overall) Record: 5-2, 3-2
- 16th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (8th-highest in the SEC)
9. Arkansas Razorbacks (10th overall) Record: 3-4, 1-3
- 4th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (3rd-highest in the SEC)
10. Texas A&M Aggies (14th overall) Record: 4-4, 1-4
- 3rd-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (2nd-highest in the SEC)
11. South Carolina Gamecocks (16th overall) Record: 4-3, 2-3
- 17th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (9th-highest in the SEC)
12. Vanderbilt Commodores (17th overall) Record: 3-5, 0-5
- 6th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (4th-highest in the SEC)
13. Tennessee Volunteers (20th overall) Record: 6-2, 3-2
- 18th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (10th-highest in the SEC)
14. LSU Tigers (22nd overall) Record: 6-2, 3-2
- Highest remaining strength of schedule overall (Highest in the SEC)
15. Missouri Tigers (28th overall) Record: 5-2, 2-2
- 7th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (5th-highest in the SEC)
16. Georgia Bulldogs (33rd overall) Record: 6-1, 4-1
- 26th-highest remaining strength of schedule overall (14th-highest in the SEC)
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Ranking each SEC team by strength of schedule heading into Week 9
