The 2023 Southeastern Conference football season is the 91st season of

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) football, taking place during the

2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season is the 154th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). ...

. The season began on August 26, 2023, and will end with the 2023 SEC Championship Game on December 2, 2023. The SEC is a Power Five conference in the current

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...

system. The season schedule was released on September 20, 2022. This is also expected to be the final year for the conference's divisional structure as

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and Oklahoma will join the SEC in 2024.

Previous season

Georgia defeated LSU 50–30 in the

2022 SEC Championship Game The 2022 SEC Championship Game was a college football game played on December 3, 2022, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the 31st edition of the SEC Championship Game and determined the champion of the Southeastern Conference ...

. The Georgia Bulldogs won their second straight CFP Championship by beating the TCU 65–7 in the 2023 CFP Championship Game in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California.

Preseason

2023 SEC Spring Football and number of signees on signing day: East Division *Georgia – *Florida – *Kentucky – *Missouri – *South Carolina – *Tennessee – *Vanderbilt - West Division *Alabama – *Arkansas – *Auburn – *LSU – *Mississippi State – *Ole Miss – *Texas A&M -

Recruiting classes

Source: Note: ESPN only ranks the top 40 teams.

SEC Media Days

The 2023 SEC Media days were held on July 17–20, 2023 at Grand Hyatt Nashville in downtown

Nashville, TN Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. The Preseason Polls were released in July 2023. Each team had their head coach available to talk to the media at the event. Coverage of the event was televised on

SEC Network The SEC Network is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which holds ...

and

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

. The teams and representatives in respective order were as follows: * SEC Commissioner – Greg Sankey * Monday July 17 ** LSU – Brian Kelly (HC),

Jayden Daniels Jayden Daniels (born December 18, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the LSU Tigers. Daniels previously played for the Arizona State Sun Devils before transferring to LSU in 2022. Early years Daniels was born on December 18, 2000, in ...

(QB), Josh Williams (RB),

Mekhi Wingo Mekhi Wingo (born April 17, 2003) is an American football defensive tackle for the LSU Tigers. He previously played for the Missouri Tigers. High school career Wingo attended De Smet Jesuit High School in Creve Coeur, Missouri. As a senior, he wa ...

(DT) ** Missouri -

Eliah Drinkwitz Eliah Drinkwitz (born April 12, 1983) is an American football coach who is the head coach at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. He previously served as the head coach at Appalachian State University in 2019 and as an assistant co ...

(HC),

Kris Abrams-Draine Kris Abrams-Draine (born October 4, 2001) is an American football cornerback for the Missouri Tigers. High school career Abrams-Draine attended Spanish Fort High School in Spanish Fort, Alabama. He played wide receiver before switching to quarte ...

(DB), Javon Foster (OL), Darius Robinson (DL) ** Texas A&M – Jimbo Fisher (HC), Fadil Diggs (DL), McKinnley Jackson (DL), Ainias Smith (WR) * Tuesday July 18 ** Auburn –

Hugh Freeze Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

(HC), Luke Deal (TE), Elijah McAllister (LB), Kameron Stutts (OL) ** Georgia –

Kirby Smart Kirby Paul Smart (born December 23, 1975) is an American football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, his alma mater. He coached the 2021 Bulldogs to a national championship victory, their f ...

(HC), Brock Bowers (TE), Kamari Lassiter (DB), Sedrick Van Pran (OL) ** Mississippi State – Zach Arnett (HC), Jaden Crumedy (DT), Jo’quavious Marks (RB), Will Rogers (QB) ** Vanderbilt –

Clark Lea Clark Lea (born November 11, 1981) is an American football coach who is currently the head football coach at Vanderbilt. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Notre Dame from 2018 to 2020. Lea began his coaching ...

(HC), Ethan Barr (LB), Jaylen Mahoney (S), Will Sheppard (WR) * Wednesday July 19 ** Alabama –

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

(HC), JC Latham (OL),

Kool-Aid McKinstry Ga'Quincy "Kool-Aid" McKinstry (born September 30, 2002) is an American football cornerback. He was named the 2021 ''USA Today'' High School Football Defensive Player of the Year before playing college football at Alabama, where he was named a ...

(DB), Dallas Turner (LB) ** Arkansas –

Sam Pittman Sam Pittman (born November 28, 1961) is an American football coach who is the head football coach at the University of Arkansas. Prior to being hired at Arkansas, he was the associate head coach and offensive line coach at the University of Georg ...

(HC), Landon Jackson (DE),

KJ Jefferson Kenneth Dewayne "KJ" Jefferson Jr. (born May 20, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the Arkansas Razorbacks. High school career Jefferson attended North Panola High School in Sardis, Mississippi. He finished his high school career wit ...

(QB), Raheim Sanders (RB) ** Florida –

Billy Napier William Hall Napier (born July 21, 1979) is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he served as head coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, amassing a 40–12 rec ...

(HC), Kingsley Eguakun (OL), Jason Marshall Jr. (DB), Ricky Pearsall (WR) ** Kentucky –

Mark Stoops Mark Thomas Stoops (born July 9, 1967) is an American college football coach and former player. He is currently the all time winningest head football coach in the history of the Kentucky Wildcats. Early life Stoops, one of six children born to ...

(HC), Eli Cox (OL), Octavious Oxendine (DL), J.J. Weaver (LB) * Thursday July 20 ** Ole Miss –

Lane Kiffin Lane Monte Kiffin (born May 9, 1975) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. Kiffin formerly was the offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans football team from 2005 to 2006, head coach of the Nati ...

(HC), Cedric Johnson (DE), Quinshon Judkins (RB), Deantre Prince (CB) ** South Carolina –

Shane Beamer Shane Beamer (born March 31, 1977) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at the University of South Carolina. He is the son of former Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechni ...

(HC), Tonka Hemingway (DL), Kai Kroeger (P),

Spencer Rattler Spencer Michael Rattler (born September 28, 2000) is an American football quarterback who plays college football for South Carolina. Rattler began his college career with Oklahoma before transferring to South Carolina in 2021. High school car ...

(QB) ** Tennessee -

Josh Heupel Joshua Kenneth Heupel ( ; born March 22, 1978) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the University of Tennessee. Previously he served as head coach at the University of Central Florida, where he compi ...

(HC), Joe Milton III (QB), Omari Thomas (DL), Jacob Warren (TE)

Preseason media polls

references:

Preseason awards

All−American Teams

''Sources:''

Individual awards

Preseason All-SEC

=Media

= First Team Second Team Third Team

=Coaches

= First Team Second Team Third Team references:

Head coaches

Pre-season changes

Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin was fired after posting a 9–12 record with the school over two years.

Cadillac Williams Carnell Lamar "Cadillac" Williams (born April 21, 1982) is an American football coach and former running back in the National Football League. Williams was the interim head coach of the Auburn Tigers, the first African American to hold the posit ...

was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. On November 28, Auburn announced that they had signed

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

head coach

to take over their head coaching position beginning in 2023. Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach died after suffering a major

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. Mississippi State still elected to play in their bowl game. Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett was named interim head coach during Leach's hospitalization and promoted to permanent head coach after Leach's death.

Coaches

''Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2023 season''

Mid-season changes

Post-season changes

Rankings

Schedules

All times Central time. † denotes Homecoming game Rankings reflect those of the AP poll for weeks 1 through 9. Rankings from Week 10 until the end of the Season reflect those of the College Football Playoff Rankings.

Regular season

The schedule was released on September 20, 2022. The season will begin on August 31, 2023, and will end with the SEC Championship Game on December 2, 2023.

Week Zero

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

Week Six

Week Seven

Week Eight

Week Nine

Week Ten

Week Eleven

Week Twelve

Week Thirteen

SEC Championship Game

Postseason

Bowl games

For the 2020–2025 bowl cycle, The SEC will have annually eight appearances in the following bowls: Sugar Bowl and

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially ...

(unless they are selected for playoffs filled by a SEC and at-large team if champion is in the playoffs), Citrus Bowl,

Duke's Mayo Bowl The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2002. The game currently features a matchup between a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) ...

, Gator Bowl,

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by TransPerfect and is officially known as the ''TransPer ...

ReliaQuest Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 t ...

and

Texas Bowl The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at NRG Stadium, previously known as Reliant Stadium. The bowl replaced ...

. The SEC teams will go to a New Year's Six bowl if a team finishes higher than the champions of

Power Five conferences The Power Five conferences are the five most prominent and highest-earning athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, the highest level of collegiat ...

in the final College Football Playoff rankings. The SEC champion are also eligible for the

if they're among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking. Rankings are from CFP Poll. All times Central Time Zone.

Selection of teams

*Bowl eligible (): *Bowl-ineligible ():

Head to head matchups

''Updated with the results of all games through November 11, 2023.''

SEC vs Power Five matchups

The following games include SEC teams competing against

teams from the (

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

, Notre Dame and Pac-12). All rankings are from the AP Poll at the time of the game. ''Note:† Denotes Neutral Site Game''

SEC vs Group of Five matchups

The following games include SEC teams competing against "Group of Five" teams from the American,

C-USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...

, MAC, Mountain West and Sun Belt. ''Note:† Denotes Neutral Site Game''

SEC vs FBS independents matchups

The following games include SEC teams competing against FBS Independents, which includes

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from ...

and UMass.

SEC vs FCS matchups

The Football Championship Subdivision comprises 13 conferences and two independent programs.

SEC Records against other conferences

2023–24 records against non-conference foes: Regular Season

Awards and honors

Players of the week

Totals per school

All-Americans

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I-FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points.

College Football All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term ''All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Football ...

consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, ''TSN'', and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American.2018 Consensus All-America Team
/ref> ''Sources:''
American Football Coaches Association All-America Team
/small>
AP All-America team
/small>
The Athletic All-America Team
/small>
CBS Sports All-America Team
/small>
Phil Steele's 2022 Postseason All-American Team
/small>
ESPN All-America Team
/small>
FWAA All-America Team
/small>
Sporting News All-America Team
/small>
USA Today All-America Team
/small>
Walter Camp All-America Team
/small>

All-conference teams

The following players earned All-SEC honors. Any teams showing (_) following their name are indicating the number of All-SEC Conference Honors awarded to that university for 1st team and 2nd team respectively. ''Source'': First Team Second Team ''Notes:'' * RS = Return Specialist * AP/ST = All-Purpose/Special Teams Player (not a kicker or returner) * † Two-time first team selection; * ‡ Three-time first team selection Honorable mentions *Alabama: *Arkansas: *Auburn: *Florida: *Georgia: *LSU: *Mississippi State: *Missouri: *Ole Miss: *South Carolina: *Tennessee: *Texas A&M: *Vanderbilt:

All-Academic

First team Second team Honorable mentions *Alabama: *Arkansas: *Auburn: *Florida: *Georgia: *LSU: *Mississippi State: *Missouri: *Ole Miss: *South Carolina: *Tennessee: *Texas A&M: *Vanderbilt:

National award winners

''2023 College Football Award Winners''

Home game attendance

NFL draft

The

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

will be held at

Campus Martius Park Campus Martius Park ( ') is a re-established park in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. After the fire of 1805, Campus Martius (from the Latin for ''Field of Mars'', where Roman heroes walked) was the focal point of Judge Augustus Woodward's plans to ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...