SEC championship race tightens as regular season enters final month

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Less than a month remains of regular-season SEC football, and the standings remain neck-and-neck between the league's top five teams.

As the final stretch plays out, here's a look at who can come out on top.

SEC Standings (top 5)

• Texas A&M 8-0 (5-0)
• Alabama 7-1 (5-0)
• Ole Miss 8-1 (5-1)
• Georgia 7-1 (5-1)
• Texas 7-2 (4-1)

Texas A&M

The Aggies continue to sit atop the SEC, going undefeated through their first eight games this season. Led by one of the conference's top quarterbacks in Marcel Reed, Texas A&M has a chance to finish the regular season undefeated for the first time since 1992.

Though the team finds itself on the right track, it will not have an easy finish to the season. The Aggies are still set to face No. 19 Mizzou and the No. 13 Texas Longhorns. Texas poses the biggest threat, as quarterback Arch Manning and the Longhorns' offense have looked better over the last two games and will host the Aggies in Austin.

Alabama

The Crimson Tide may not be undefeated on the season, but they have yet to drop a game in the SEC so far this year. 5-0 in conference play, Alabama has notable wins over Georgia, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Missouri, all of which were ranked in the top 25 at the time of their matchups. Now, Alabama's most difficult remaining matchup will come against the Oklahoma Sooners in two weeks, but in the meantime, the Crimson Tide will prepare to face a struggling LSU team.

Ole Miss

Lane Kiffin's Rebels stand at 5-1 in SEC play and third in the conference rankings with an 8-1 overall record. The team's lone loss, a 43-35 nailbiter against Georgia in mid-October. Led by quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss has its best record through nine games since 2023 and has serious playoff hopes this season. The Rebels could easily win out the rest of the season, facing FCS team the Citadel Bulldogs this week, as well as Florida and Mississippi State as its final SEC opponents.

Georgia

Georgia matches the Rebels' conference record, also standing at 5-1 in the SEC. The Bulldogs' only loss so far has come against longtime rival Alabama, after the Tide defeated the team 24-21. Similar to Texas A&M, Georgia's toughest remaining opponent looks to be the Texas Longhorns in a few weeks. The Bulldogs will travel to face Mississippi State and No. 16 Georgia Tech to finish the season during rivalry weekend.

Texas

The team that won't quit, the Longhorns, continue to scrape and claw their way through SEC play, performing improbable comebacks and earning top-10 victories. With its most recent win over formerly ranked No. 9 Vanderbilt, Texas' offense seems to have found its identity. The team also boasts one of the nation's top defenses, making plays at all three levels of the field. If they close out SEC play with three straight victories, maybe they can find themselves in play for the SEC Championship game.