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re: The New Big 6
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:01 pm to inelishaitrust
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:01 pm to inelishaitrust
The NIL era has proven 2 things:
1. Anyone willing to spend can play with the big boys on any given year.
2. The mass-transfer game is proving what the NFL has always shown, the offense takes far more time to click than a defense, therefore the teams with cohesion at the QB/OC/offensively minded HC have a massive advantage in the new world. The QB market is about to rival HC pay.
Here’s the rankings going into next year:
Deep into the Playoffs or bust:
1. Georgia
2. Texas
3. LSU
4. Bama
Playoffs or hot seat:
5. A&M
6. OU
7. Tenn
8. FL
Teams with a 9 win ceiling in 26:
9. Ole Miss (I love them, but nobody expects immediate playoff run without LK).
10. Auburn
11. Mizzou
12. Vandy (unless Pavila gets his 13th yr)
13. SC
Bowl or hot seat:
14. Miss State
15. Arkansas
16. Kentucky
1. Anyone willing to spend can play with the big boys on any given year.
2. The mass-transfer game is proving what the NFL has always shown, the offense takes far more time to click than a defense, therefore the teams with cohesion at the QB/OC/offensively minded HC have a massive advantage in the new world. The QB market is about to rival HC pay.
Here’s the rankings going into next year:
Deep into the Playoffs or bust:
1. Georgia
2. Texas
3. LSU
4. Bama
Playoffs or hot seat:
5. A&M
6. OU
7. Tenn
8. FL
Teams with a 9 win ceiling in 26:
9. Ole Miss (I love them, but nobody expects immediate playoff run without LK).
10. Auburn
11. Mizzou
12. Vandy (unless Pavila gets his 13th yr)
13. SC
Bowl or hot seat:
14. Miss State
15. Arkansas
16. Kentucky
2
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:03 pm to BurgTiger
quote:
The NIL era has proven 2 things:
1. Anyone willing to spend can play with the big boys on any given year.
That's always been the case, even prior to NIL
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:04 pm to VFL67
Impressive. I had no clue Tn owned L3U to that extent.
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:05 pm to inelishaitrust
For Ole Miss to get back to Big 6 status, they are going to need to string together several more great seasons… there’s a lot of catching up to do.
Excluding the newby expansion teams…
All-Time SEC Win%
.722- Alabama
.634- Georgia
.601- Tennessee
.592- LSU
.575- Florida
.542- Auburn
.491- Ole Miss
At 297-308-15, Ole Miss is still below .500 all-time.
All-Time Weeks in AP Poll
4. Alabama- 906
10. Georgia- 694
11. LSU- 686
12. Tennessee- 649
13. Florida- 648
14. Auburn- 604
21. Arkansas- 432
26. Ole Miss- 366
The gap between the real Big 6 and Ole Miss is absolutely enormous in that stat.
SEC Championships
30- Alabama
16- Georgia
13- Tennessee
12- LSU
8- Auburn
8- Florida
6- Ole Miss
Not too far behind, but still two titles away from Auburn’s and Florida’s totals…. And not having won one since 1963 doesn’t instill much confidence that that gap can be closed anytime soon.
National Titles
13- Alabama
4- LSU
3- Georgia
3- Florida
2- Auburn
2- Tennessee
Zero for Ole Miss… that’s a problem. Two more wins this season and you can notch one though.
Winning % Against the Big 6:
.500- vs. Florida (13-13-1)
.405- vs. LSU (43-64-4)
.315- vs. Tennessee (20-44-1)
.310- vs. Georgia (15-34-1)
.255- vs. Auburn (12-35-0)
.164- vs. Alabama (10-55-2)
—————————————
.320- vs. The Big 6 (113-245-9)
That’s bad. Every current Big 6 member is up over 45% all-time against the other teams in the group. Ole Miss would have to win 66 consecutive games against the Big 6 without losing any just to get to 45%. Not happening.
Here’s the deal…. Ole Miss is fortunate to have an ancient history that won them six titles back before most anyone alive today can remember…. That helps. But a few good seasons (with zero titles of any form so far) aren’t going to make up for a 60-year period that Ole Miss failed to win any championships of any kind and mostly suffered losing seasons.
To join those other six, Ole Miss would at least need to win a couple national titles… a few modern day SEC titles… and would probably need to string together another 10-20 seasons of Top 10 or 15 finishes to get somewhat in the discussion.
Thats the thing about the Big 6… 1, 2, or even 10 seasons doesn’t get you in the club and they also don t cause you to fall out. The status quo was mostly established over a century of time.
Excluding the newby expansion teams…
All-Time SEC Win%
.722- Alabama
.634- Georgia
.601- Tennessee
.592- LSU
.575- Florida
.542- Auburn
.491- Ole Miss
At 297-308-15, Ole Miss is still below .500 all-time.
All-Time Weeks in AP Poll
4. Alabama- 906
10. Georgia- 694
11. LSU- 686
12. Tennessee- 649
13. Florida- 648
14. Auburn- 604
21. Arkansas- 432
26. Ole Miss- 366
The gap between the real Big 6 and Ole Miss is absolutely enormous in that stat.
SEC Championships
30- Alabama
16- Georgia
13- Tennessee
12- LSU
8- Auburn
8- Florida
6- Ole Miss
Not too far behind, but still two titles away from Auburn’s and Florida’s totals…. And not having won one since 1963 doesn’t instill much confidence that that gap can be closed anytime soon.
National Titles
13- Alabama
4- LSU
3- Georgia
3- Florida
2- Auburn
2- Tennessee
Zero for Ole Miss… that’s a problem. Two more wins this season and you can notch one though.
Winning % Against the Big 6:
.500- vs. Florida (13-13-1)
.405- vs. LSU (43-64-4)
.315- vs. Tennessee (20-44-1)
.310- vs. Georgia (15-34-1)
.255- vs. Auburn (12-35-0)
.164- vs. Alabama (10-55-2)
—————————————
.320- vs. The Big 6 (113-245-9)
That’s bad. Every current Big 6 member is up over 45% all-time against the other teams in the group. Ole Miss would have to win 66 consecutive games against the Big 6 without losing any just to get to 45%. Not happening.
Here’s the deal…. Ole Miss is fortunate to have an ancient history that won them six titles back before most anyone alive today can remember…. That helps. But a few good seasons (with zero titles of any form so far) aren’t going to make up for a 60-year period that Ole Miss failed to win any championships of any kind and mostly suffered losing seasons.
To join those other six, Ole Miss would at least need to win a couple national titles… a few modern day SEC titles… and would probably need to string together another 10-20 seasons of Top 10 or 15 finishes to get somewhat in the discussion.
Thats the thing about the Big 6… 1, 2, or even 10 seasons doesn’t get you in the club and they also don t cause you to fall out. The status quo was mostly established over a century of time.
This post was edited on 1/2/26 at 3:30 pm
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:06 pm to BurgTiger
quote:
Deep into the Playoffs or bust: 1. Georgia 2. Texas 3. LSU 4. Bama
LSU should not be in this tier. Kiffin has work to do for 2026.
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:06 pm to VFL67
quote:
4. Texas
5. Tennessee
gtfo
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:07 pm to inelishaitrust
quote:
My question is two part: 1) how would you rank all 16 schools according to program prestige and 2) Which of these programs do you consider elite?
I don’t care enough to go through this exercise. That stated, I acknowledge that I’m probably in the minority. And I’m fine with it.
This post was edited on 1/2/26 at 12:08 pm
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:10 pm to skrayper
quote:
Florida over Auburn.
Auburn has 3x the natty's of Florida but sure pal.
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:23 pm to AUTiger789
Here are my program rankings… mostly based on historical success but weighted to reward recent success more so than past… the formula is not yet updated through this year:
1. Alabama
3. Oklahoma
7. Georgia
8. LSU
9. Texas
14. Florida
16. Tennessee
17. Auburn
22. Texas A&M
25. Arkansas
26. Ole Miss
36. Missouri
52. South Carolina
59. Miss State
63. Kentucky
75. Vanderbilt
This season’s results are not in the model yet, so regardless of what happens from this point Ole Miss will jump ahead of #25 Arkansas and #24 TCU. If Ole Miss were to win a national title, it looks like they’d also jump over #23 Wisconsin, #22 Texas A&M, and #20 Washington….. Oregon currently at #21 is set to gain some points also so with a National Title Ole Miss would be extremely close to landing at #19 along with UCLA and Oregon… those three would be very closely packed together at 19-21.
But that’s only if Ole Miss were to win a natty this year. Lose one more game and the Rebs will be #24 all-time.
The gap between #17 Auburn and #18 Michigan State is so large, Ole Miss could win TWO national titles and they’d still be stuck at #18, behind Auburn. It would take 3 national titles to pass Auburn if you wanted to do it quickly.
1. Alabama
3. Oklahoma
7. Georgia
8. LSU
9. Texas
14. Florida
16. Tennessee
17. Auburn
22. Texas A&M
25. Arkansas
26. Ole Miss
36. Missouri
52. South Carolina
59. Miss State
63. Kentucky
75. Vanderbilt
This season’s results are not in the model yet, so regardless of what happens from this point Ole Miss will jump ahead of #25 Arkansas and #24 TCU. If Ole Miss were to win a national title, it looks like they’d also jump over #23 Wisconsin, #22 Texas A&M, and #20 Washington….. Oregon currently at #21 is set to gain some points also so with a National Title Ole Miss would be extremely close to landing at #19 along with UCLA and Oregon… those three would be very closely packed together at 19-21.
But that’s only if Ole Miss were to win a natty this year. Lose one more game and the Rebs will be #24 all-time.
The gap between #17 Auburn and #18 Michigan State is so large, Ole Miss could win TWO national titles and they’d still be stuck at #18, behind Auburn. It would take 3 national titles to pass Auburn if you wanted to do it quickly.
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:29 pm to RandySavage
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:32 pm to James11111
quote:
Why would you put Tennessee over LSU? Show me the data that supports that.
Can't put us over LSU right now based on the past 20 years.
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:33 pm to Tarpon08
quote:
The Big 6 has been a reference to the 6 schools who have won SEC Championships in the SECCG Era. There is no argument
Not just since the 90s. Since integration.
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:34 pm to inelishaitrust
Ole Miss fans way out over their skis this morning. New Big Six? 
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:36 pm to inelishaitrust
quote:
2) Which of these programs do you consider elite?
Never answerd this part. Here’s how I see it:
True Blue Bloods:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Oklahoma
4. Notre Dame
Elites
5. Michigan
6. USC
7. Georgia
8. LSU
9. Texas
10. Nebraska
11. Florida State
12. Penn State
13. Miami
14. Florida
15. Clemson
16. Tennessee
17. Auburn
There is a giant gap between the Top 17 and everyone else… Clemson used to be outside the group of elites, but two recent national titles and several other Top 5 finishes pushed them well in.
For this next group, one national title would not get them into the Top 17… it would take at least two for any of these to join that group…
The Next in Line
18. Michigan State
19. UCLA
20. Washington
21. Oregon
22. Texas A&M
23. Wisconsin
24. TCU
25. Arkansas
26. Ole Miss
27. Iowa
28. Minnesota
29. Georgia Tech
30. Pittsburgh
As discussed, Ole Miss and Oregonwill both be moving up a notch or two.
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:37 pm to ibldprplgld
Guys thinking having 1 or 2 good years defines it is ridiculous. If thats the case it'd be ever changing. Resources and fan support isn't conething that changes year to year. And it was and still is about SEC titles. Count you teams with the most and there's your 6. EOD
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:38 pm to clamdip
quote:
Ole Miss fans way out over their skis this morning. New Big Six?
I spit coffee
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:43 pm to VolSquatch
College football is over 150 years old. LSU has been a better program for only 20 years of that. As discussed they were a better program from 2000-2020 but no numbers support anything else. Even in the 2020s Tennessee has been better. Recent stuff matters but they arent the only thing. In totality the vols are better and numbers back this up
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:45 pm to AUTiger789
They called Miami a blue blood during the last game....
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:45 pm to VFL67
quote:
College football is over 150 years old. LSU has been a better program for only 20 years of that. As discussed they were a better program from 2000-2020 but no numbers support anything else. Even in the 2020s Tennessee has been better. Recent stuff matters but they arent the only thing. In totality the vols are better and numbers back this up
Sure I would take us historically, but these players haven't even been alive for 20 years.
Posted on 1/2/26 at 12:47 pm to ibldprplgld
quote:
Kiffin has work to do for 2026.
Those days are gone. Every year is a rebuilding year for everybody now.
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