Big Ten teams, which include Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana, have won the last three national titles. So when Brian Kelly was asked which SEC squad could end that run, Lane Kiffin’s LSU did not come up. He pointed to two other powers instead.

“Kirby Smart’s team at Georgia is gonna be deep and talented, experienced at the quarterback position,” Brian Kelly said during his appearance on CBS Sports College Football. “I think they’re gonna play really well on defense.”

Kelly knows LSU from the inside. He coached there, saw the pressure up close, and still chose Georgia and Texas as the bigger threats. But Kelly admitted Georgia still has questions to answer up front on the offensive line, but that wasn’t enough to move the Bulldogs off his shortlist. He then shifted to Texas, arguing the Longhorns may actually have the most complete roster in the conference.

“Last preseason, all of the talk was about Arch Manning,” he added. “It’s less about Arch, and I think that’s a good thing. I think Coach Sarkisian has a really good football team from top to bottom. I think if Arch Manning continues his growth and plays to the level that he knows he’s capable of, I think in year two, he’s a lot more comfortable. I think Texas is a team to beat.”

That opinion lines up with how many around the league see the race entering the season. Georgia edged Texas in the SEC Media Days predicted order of finish, collecting 88 first-place votes to Texas’ 57. The expectation is another collision between the conference’s two biggest powers, even if history says preseason favorites rarely finish the job. 

Brian Kelly’s comments also show how Texas has evolved. The spotlight is no longer just on Arch Manning. Steve Sarkisian added proven pieces like WR Cam Coleman and RBs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown.

The belief is that a deeper roster means Arch Manning doesn’t have to carry every expectation on his shoulders in his second season as the starting QB. Steve Sarkisian knows, however, that one obstacle hasn’t gone away, and it starts with beating Georgia in the SEC title game. 

“If you want to be the champion, you got to beat the champion,” he said. “It’s no more fitting for us. We’ve played Georgia three times. They’ve beaten us.”

Meanwhile, LSU continues to push a very different message. Lane Kiffin has repeatedly described his group as one built to compete immediately, pointing to the program’s recruiting pull, aggressive NIL approach, and the atmosphere at Tiger Stadium.

“You have the branding of LSU, you have the history of LSU, you have the Tiger Stadium, the most iconic place to play college football. The cathedral,” he said. “And then you put that with us, our system, and I don’t like to talk about myself, but whatever you call the Lane Kiffin effect.”

Whether that confidence becomes an SEC title, a national title, or a playoff spot remains to be seen. Kelly did not place LSU alongside Georgia and Texas. In his view, the SEC road still runs through Athens and Austin.