August is officially here, and the 2025 college football season officially begins three weeks from Saturday with select teams competing in Week 0 beginning Aug. 23. Of course, the real action doesn’t start until the following weekend when the SEC kicks off its season on Thursday, Aug. 28.

Before that, though, CBS Sports pulled out its own crystal ball and provided a glimpse into when each of the SEC’s 16 teams could suffer their first losses of the 2025 season. Given the current parity of college football, especially in the day and age of NIL and the NCAA Transfer Portal, CBS Sports isn’t projecting any SEC team to go undefeated during the regular-season.

So, with that in mind, CBS Sports went through the schedules for all 16 SEC teams and identified where each program could face its first stumbling block of the season. Check out how CBS Sports sees things shaping out for the SEC in 2025 below:

First loss: at Georgia, Sept. 27

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, especially given how difficult the game was a year ago in Tuscaloosa, where Alabama needed a SportsCenter Top 10 play from star freshman WR Ryan Williams just to escape with a victory. Add to the fact that Georgia hasn’t lost in Athens since mid-2019, and this certainly could be the Crimson Tide’s first loss in 2025.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman. Mandatory credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images(Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images)

First loss: at Ole Miss, Sept. 13

The Rebels have won the last two games in this series and the last four games played inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. And while Ole Miss certainly enters the 2025 season with serious question marks, it still has the superior roster in terms of sheer talent compared to the Razorbacks. That said, an 0-1 start to SEC play could signal the beginning of the end for Arkansas’ Sam Pittman.

First loss: at Oklahoma, Sept. 30

CBS Sports predicts Auburn will open 3-0 on the season and be in the Top 25 when it travels to Norman in Week 4. This game will also be the much-anticipated return of former Sooners transfer Jackson Arnold, who is the Tigers’ new QB1 this season. But given Auburn’s struggles in SEC openers under third-year head coach Hugh Freeze, this could be another 0-1 start to SEC play for the Tigers.

First loss: at LSU, Sept. 13

After snapping a five-game losing streak in its series with a 27-16 upset of LSU last season in Gainesville, CBS Sports expects the host Tigers won’t be as forgiving in Baton Rouge this season. The Gators are also just 1-6 in its last seven games in Death Valley, with the lone road win coming in 2016. While the QB battle will be one to watch, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier has the weapons to outduel UF’s DJ Lagway.

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart(Jake Crandall-USA TODAY NETWORK)

First loss: at Auburn, Oct. 11

It’s the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry where anything and everything can happen in this series — just look back at 2013’s “Prayer in Jordan-Hare.” That said, the Bulldogs have completely dominated this series of late, winning eight straight, including in the 2017 SEC Championship game. But given the pressure already building around Freeze, this could be the perfect time for a program-defining upset.

First loss: vs. Ole Miss, Sept. 6

This is a rare Week 2 SEC opener for both teams, and after the Wildcats slapped the host Rebels with a 20-17 upset in Oxford last season, expect Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss to be eager for a little revenge this season in Lexington. The Rebels have actually won their last two games inside Kroger Field and three of the last five on the road dating back to 2001.

First loss: at Clemson, Aug. 30

CBS Sports clearly doesn’t expect the visiting Tigers to come out on top in this season’s much-anticipated Week 1 showdown in the Battle of the Death Valleys. Should this loss come to pass, it’ll be LSU’s sixth consecutive season-opening loss, and fifth straight under head coach Brian Kelly. Of course, the Tigers will have a chance to avenge this loss next season, but that won’t sit well with the growing Kelly critics.

Mississippi State vs. Tennessee(Bryan Lynn-Imagn Images)

First loss: vs. Tennessee, Sept. 27

CBS Sports is clearly higher on Hail State than others, predicting a 4-0 start to the 2025 season, including a Week 2 home win over defending Big 12 champ Arizona State. Should that come to pass, the Volunteers would certainly pose the greatest threat to knocking off Jeff Lebby‘s upstart Bulldogs. Of course, given Tennessee’s own question marks, especially at quarterback, this could be a lot closer than expected.

First loss: vs. Alabama, Oct. 11

Due to a rare scheduling gift, the Tigers don’t leave their home state of Missouri until a mid-October trip to Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. Of course, CBS Sports doesn’t expect Mizzou to leave home unscathed, predicting a loss to a likely Top 10-ranked Crimson Tide in Week 7. Alabama has won the last six straight in the series vs. Missouri, outscoring the Tigers by an average score of 39-12 since 1978.

First loss: vs. Texas, Oct. 11 (Dallas)

The Red River Shootout remains one of the most competitive rivalries in college football, with both teams trading wins each of the past three years. Should the Sooners remain undefeated entering Week 7 as CBS Sports’ predicts, this’ll be another potential Top 10 matchup. No team has won back-to-back games in this rivalry series since OU won three straight (2019-21) and five of six between 2016-21.

lsu-trolls-lane-kiffin-by-digging-up-old-joke-made-about-brian-kelly-dancing-video-rat-poison(Jonathan Bachman-Getty Images)

First loss: vs. LSU, Sept. 27

In what has become a budding rivalry series given its back-and-forth nature with the home team winning the last five meetings. That includes the host Tigers edged out Ole Miss in overtime last season from Baton Rouge. CBS Sports clearly likes LSU to snap that trend with a win in Oxford this season, and if it doesn’t, a road loss at Ole Miss could be the beginning of the end for the Tigers’ Playoff hopes in 2025.

First loss: at Missouri, Sept. 20

The Gamecocks were arguably one of the college football’s hottest teams last season, closing out the regular-season on a six-game win streak. And based on this scenario, CBS Sports expects that roll to carry over with three straight wins to open the 2025 season. But that run could come to an end in the SEC’s OTHER Columbia, where new Mizzou QB Beau Pribula will face his first serious test vs. the Gamecocks.

First loss: vs. Georgia, Sept. 13

This is another one that shouldn’t come as a surprise simply based on recent history, with the Bulldogs and Kirby Smart having won eight straight in the series by a dominating average score of 38-13 since a 41-0 blowout in Knoxville in 2017. CBS Sports clearly expects more of the same in 2025, which will be a full decade since Tennessee last beat Georgia inside Neyland Stadium: a 38-31 win in 2015.

Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M(Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images)

First loss: at Notre Dame, Sept. 13

This is the back-half of a home-and-home series between the two college football bluebloods after the visiting Fighting Irish delivered the Aggies a 23-13 home loss last season in College Station. Notre Dame has established itself as a perennial national title contender after making the CFP national title game last year, and CBS Sports believes the host Irish will simply be too much for the Aggies to handle on the road.

First loss: at Florida, Oct. 4

The Longhorns have never lost to the Gators in four previous matchups, so this might come as a bit of a shock, especially with CBS Sports projecting Texas will open 4-0 and coming off a bye before traveling to Gainesville. Of course, the Swamp is an unforgiving place to play and Gators QB DJ Lagway will likely be amped to outduel ‘Horns QB Arch Manning in a battle between two former No. 1 overall recruits.

First loss: at South Carolina, Sept. 13

The Commodores will have one more season with star QB Diego Pavia, who is already suggesting this year’s Vanderbilt squad has championship potential. That potential will face its first serious test in Columbia, S.C., where the Gamecocks have their own superstar at QB in Heisman Trophy contender LaNorris Sellers. If this is a shootout, South Carolina will likely have the advantage in firepower.