Ranking every SEC football defense by SP+ for 2026 season

Week 1 is less than two weeks away. Next Saturday, SEC teams will take the field to begin their 2026 college football season.

Earlier this week, we took a look at how SP+ viewed each offense in the conference. Today, we'll look at the defensive side of the ball.

SP+ is a rating built by ESPN's Bill Connely. It's meant to be a predictive number, not necessarily a resume ranking. In essence, it's a power rating similar to what Vegas would use to make a betting line.

SP+ is high on LSU's defense. As the Tigers enter year three under defensive coordinator Blake Baker, LSU is projected to have the best defense in the SEC with a SP+ rating of 12.4. That's good enough for LSU to rank No. 3 nationally.

Here's a look at every SEC defense ranked by SP+.

SEC defenses ranked by SP+ for 2026 seasonSEC RkTeamDef. RatingNat'l Def. RkOverall SP+Nat'l Rk1LSU12.4320.4102Georgia12.9526.443Alabama13.0617.6134Oklahoma13.7818.8115Texas14.91022.866Florida15.81215.2207Texas A&M16.41420.998Missouri16.41515.4199Auburn17.31911.52610South Carolina18.12112.62411Ole Miss19.42616.51612Kentucky21.1345.24713Tennessee22.44417.31414Vanderbilt24.2569.82915Mississippi State26.5744.85216Arkansas29.0905.644LSU may have the best defense in the SEC

LSU's defense could be elite this fall. The Tigers arguably have the SEC's best secondary. The cornerback duo of DJ Pickett and PJ Woodland will allow Baker to live in man coverage, and the Tigers have multiple future NFL players in the safety room, including Boise State transfer Ty Benefield.

At linebacker, LSU is deep with Whit Weeks, TJ Dottery, and Dahvon Keys.

But for this projection to pan out, LSU needs its young defensive tackles to be difference makers right away. True freshman Deuce Geralds and Richard Anderson are expected to play early. So is five-star Lamar Brown.

More notes on SEC defenses for the 2026 season

• As usual, Kirby Smart's Georgia defense is projected to be strong. Georgia's defense ranks No. 5 nationally in Connelly's returning production. When UGA has an experienced defense, it contends for a national championship.
• For all of the questions about Alabama entering year three under head coach Kalen DeBoer, the Crimson Tide should have a strong defense. The unit projects to sit No. 3 in the SEC, led by a strong cornerback duo and future NFL players on the defensive line.
• Ole Miss, a year after making the College Football Playoff, doesn't project to have a top-10 defense in the SEC. Pete Golding will be tested as a head coach, but also as a defensive mind in 2026.
• Oklahoma ranks No. 4. The Sooners' defense was elite last year, and it was nearly impossible to run the ball against Brent Venables' unit. A lot of the key pieces from that defense are back.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Ranking every SEC football defense by SP+ for 2026 season