Jul 16 min read

The Best Season From Every SEC School

SEC Team History — © JOSH MORGAN/Staff, The Greenville News via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Southeastern Conference is one of the most storied conferences in college football, and each program has a rich history that dates back decades. That makes picking each team’s best season in school history incredibly difficult. There were some recent seasons in the mix, some just after the start of the 20th century and many in the years between. This is a list of every SEC team’s best season ever.

Editor's note: The best season list for the SEC was compiled prior to Texas and Oklahoma joining the conference on July 1.

Alabama: 2009

There are many years to choose from for the Crimson Tide, but the 2009 team stands above the rest. Coach Nick Saban led Alabama to a perfect 14-0 record in his third season, beating four top-25 ranked teams in the regular season and beating Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators in the SEC championship game.

Then they beat Colt McCoy (and also Garrett Gilbert) and Texas in the national championship game. This team had abundant NFL talent, including 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram.

Arkansas: 1964

Coach Frank Broyles would put together the greatest Arkansas football team ever in 1964, resulting in a perfect 11-0 record and a Southwest Conference title. The Razorbacks closed out the regular season with five straight shutouts and would later defeat Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl 10-7.

SEC Best Seasons — © Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports

Alabama lost to Texas in the Orange Bowl but was recognized as the national champion by the Associated Press, who named their national champion before the bowl games. The Razorbacks finished second.

Auburn: 2010

The 2010 Auburn Tigers posted a 14-0 record, produced Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton, and claimed Auburn's second national championship since 1957, and perhaps more impressively, they did so with only seven NFL Draft picks on the roster. The Tiger's defense finished the season 10th in the nation in run defense led by future first-round pick Nick Fairley.

Yes, they did win six games by seven or fewer points. But they also beat six teams that were ranked in the top 25. Cam Newton became arguably the most dominant player in college football history, finishing that year as the SEC leader in total yards and racking up 51 total touchdowns. The Tigers would close the year by dominantly winning the SEC title and kicking a game-winning field goal against Oregon to win the national championship.

Florida: 2008

Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy and led Florida to a 9-4 record in 2007, but he cemented his college football legacy in 2008.

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford beat out Tebow for the Heisman that year, but Tebow’s Gators had the last laugh, beating the Sooners in the national championship game 24-14. The 13-1 2008 team had 32 players make it to the NFL.

Georgia: 2022

There is an argument for the 2021 Georgia team here, but the impact of the 15-0 2022 squad is superior.

They went a perfect 15-0, won the SEC, and beat TCU in the College Football Playoff National Championship in dominant fashion. The Bulldogs Averaged more than 41 points per game on offense and only gave up 14 points per game on defense.

Kentucky: 1950

Led by legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, the 1950 Kentucky Wildcats finished 11-1 (5-1 SEC), won the SEC title, topped No. 1 Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, and were awarded the national title from Saragin. Their only loss was a 7-0 defeat at Tennessee to close the regular season.

Had it not been for that, the Wildcats would have a legitimate case for the AP and UPI national championships—which were awarded to Oklahoma before the bowl games. The Wildcats only allowed 69 points throughout the entirety of the season, which included five shutouts. The Wildcats produced nine players in the ensuing NFL draft.

LSU: 2019

The 2019 LSU team was on a thrill ride all season long. Led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow and a stable of elite pass-catchers, the Tigers’ offense was the most explosive in the country. The path to the title included a 46-41 win at Alabama—their first win over the Crimson Tide since 2011.

They beat seven teams ranked in the final top 25—including five in the top 10—and won 12 of their 15 games by at least a touchdown. The Tigers defeated four top-10 ranked teams in the regular season alone before taking down Georgia in the SEC Championship game and then marching through the College Football Playoff to finish 15-0. Burrow set the FBS record for touchdown passes in a season with 60 on his way to his Heisman Trophy.

Mississippi: 1962

The Rebels didn’t finish No. 1 in 1962 but only played three one-score games as they handled business comfortably against most of their schedule. The Rebels went a perfect 10-0 and ranked No. 3 in the country.

They likely missed out on the national title because No. 1 USC topped No. 2 Wisconsin—which had one other loss—in the Rose Bowl to finish atop the AP and UPI polls. Despite that, the 1962 Rebels are the only undefeated and untied team in Ole Miss history, which earned it the retroactive national title from Saragin. The Rebels only allowed 53 points in the entire 1962 season. Ole Miss capped off the year with a 17-13 victory over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.

Mississippi State: 2014

Behind the arm and legs of Dak Prescott, this Mississippi State team reeled off nine straight wins to open the season and was the first team to be ranked No. 1 in the College Football Playoff Top 25 before falling at Alabama on Nov. 15.

Prescott threw for 3,449 yards, rushed for 986 and accounted for 42 touchdowns (27 passing, 14 rushing, 1 receiving). They earned a berth in the Orange Bowl for the first time since the 1940 season. Even though they fell to Georgia Tech and lost three of their last four games, the 10-3 season and No. 11 ranking in the final AP Top 25 remains the most magical season in program history.

Missouri: 2013

Coach Gary Pinkel had Missouri in a good spot for most of his tenure, but no time was better for the fans in Columbia, Mo., than the 2013 season when it went 12-2. The Tigers went 5-7 the year prior, but exploded out of the gates and finished 11-1 in the regular season, winning the SEC East.

They lost to Auburn in the conference championship game but defeated Oklahoma State in a Cotton Bowl shootout, 41-31.

South Carolina: 2012

These Gamecocks put together an impressive season under coach Steve Spurrier. One of those two losses was by just two points on the road at No. 9 LSU. Led by quarterback Connor Shaw, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, and running back Marcus Lattimore, they rushed out to a 6-0 record including a 35-7 dismantling of a Georgia team that came within 2 yards of a berth in the BCS Championship Game.

They lost consecutive games to LSU and Florida in the middle of the season before reeling off five straight—including an Outback Bowl win over Michigan—to finish 11-2. Unfortunately, Lattimore was lost for the season after suffering a gruesome knee injury on Oct. 27 vs. Tennessee.

Tennessee: 1998

The Vols may have run the table in 1998, but that championship season wasn’t without its fair share of drama. The Vols opened the regular season with a one-point win over Syracuse and followed that up with a three-point overtime win against Florida. Later that season, the infamous "Stoerner Stumble" against Arkansas kept Tennessee’s title hopes alive, and the Vols would capitalize on that opportunity.

The Vols finished 13-0 with an SEC championship win over Mississippi State and a Fiesta Bowl win over No. 2 Florida State for the national title. Quarterback Tee Martin finished the season with 2,164 passing yards, and 287 rushing yards and didn't seem phased stepping in for living legend Peyton Manning.

Texas A&M: 1939

This season goes way back for the Aggies, but it is still important to the program. Texas A&M went 11-0 in the 1939 season and finished No. 1 in all the polls. The most notable aspect of this Aggies team was a defense that gave up fewer than three points per game but still ranked fourth in the country. This is the only consensus national title in program history and was the third time that the Aggies finished undefeated and untied.

Led by coach Homer Norton and running back John Kimbrough, the Aggies opened the season with a 32-0 win at Oklahoma A&M (later called Oklahoma State), rolled to a Southwest Conference title, and a win over No. 5 Tulane in the Sugar Bowl to claim the top spot in the AP Poll. The defense recorded six regular-season shutouts, including four of their last five games. The only non-shutout over that span was a 6-2 win over SMU.

Vanderbilt: 2012

Vanderbilt football was in quite the rut until coach James Franklin turned around the program overnight. The Commodores went 6-7 with a Liberty Bowl loss in Franklin’s first season in 2011, then emerged as a threat in the SEC in year two going 9-4.