Which SEC teams are trending up and trending down ahead of 2025 season?
We are drawing ever nearer to the 2025 SEC football season, and Aggie fans are hoping it will be a banner year for Texas A&M football. The Aggies have a chance to do something special this year, though it will come against a difficult schedule— A&M has the 10th-toughest slate in the country, per SP+.
The conference slate will be the same for the Aggies, but the home and road splits are swapped. Even with that change considered, though, it doesn't speak to the changes that each individual team will be undergoing from last year to this year.
So how will SEC programs look different next year? Who's arrow is pointing up, and who's arrow is pointing down? Let's take a look.
Trending up: LSU
The Tigers are looking to build from a decent if slightly disappointing year in 2024 into a much better one in 2025. Losing their bread and butter from the previous season— their excellent offensive tackles— will definitely sting, but Kelly and company did a decent job rebuilding through the portal.
The hope for LSU is that the return of Harold Perkins will help bolster a defense that struggled mightily against mobile quarterbacks last year. Marcel Reed and Jalen Milroe both destroyed Blake Baker's scheme in the Tigers' two worst losses of the previous season.
Reloading up front through the portal should help assuage some of the defensive line concerns as well. That's not even to mention bringing in the stud WR Nic Anderson from OU to replace some of the wideout production from last year.
All in all, this will be a disappointing season for Kelly and company if they don't improve. LSU is my pick for A&M's toughest game given where it falls on the schedule, and it will be a real measuring stick for championship expectations.