JD PicKells SEC Champion Prediction
SEC football begins in two weeks, and with it comes a lot of excitement as the league expands to include a new crop of programs and positions itself for the new version of the College Football Playoff.
On Friday, ESPN released a preview from Chris Low and Mark Schlabach that took an in-depth look at everything and anything this season in the Southeastern Conference, including ranking the teams from one through sixteen.
This was the score for the conference and state candidates on the list:
The Georgia Bulldogs are once again at the top of a ranking, this time from ESPN. That makes sense, because the Dawgs haven’t lost a single conference game, let alone a regular season game, in nearly four years, and they’ve played in the last three SEC championships.
Kirby Smart has set a standard in the league and in the sport with what they’ve done, especially in Athens in the 2020s, and that will likely continue until what they’re doing again in 2024 just doesn’t work anymore.
Texas has also consistently found itself in second place in its first season as part of the Southeastern Conference. That’s because they refocused at the right time and the Longhorns finally found themselves again last year by winning the Big 12 and reaching the College Football Playoff.
Steve Sarkisian has made step-by-step progress over the past three seasons at The 40 Acres, and now he’s leading the Longhorns into entirely new territory and putting them in the hunt for the SEC.
ESPN, where the former ‘Bama coach is now employed, is excited about the Crimson Tide under his successor, Kalen DeBoer, who will make his debut in Tuscaloosa fresh off a national title and his new program already back in a playoff berth.
Alabama has been the conference’s top team for as long as anyone can remember, as evidenced by their performance under Nick Saban, and they’re looking to keep that standard high in their new era, even if they still have some of the same players under DeBoer.
Ole Miss is coming off one of the best seasons in school history, going 11-2 in 2023. Now, in 2024, they could potentially top that by finishing in the conference and national title standings.
The Rebels return a ton of key players from last season and are also adding some of the best transfer classes from the portal cycles this offseason, setting up a season that will be loaded with expectations in their fifth year under Lane Kiffin.
Missouri was the league’s biggest surprise last year and one of the biggest in the country with a record of 11-2, but they won’t surprise anyone this time as they round out ESPN’s top five.
Mizzou must ask itself if it can repeat last fall’s success from one season to the next. However, the Tigers still have enough going for them to justify another record that could put them in contention both in the conference and nationally.
Tennessee has had success as a team again, going 20-6 the last two seasons under Josh Heupel. They enter this season as another team that expects to play for it all both in the division and potentially in the playoffs.
Of all the factors in the conference, QB Nico Iamaleava may be the most important. With him as the starter in Rocky Top, the Vols, who finished just outside the top five on ESPN, will look to compete in 2024.
Much like the last team on this list, LSU has been successful in its own way over the past two seasons. 20-7 is a great record for most programs, but hasn’t lived up to expectations for the Tigers, even with an appearance at a conference title in 2022, and they don’t have any playoff spots to show for it.
As a team, LSU could be a model to follow as they responded to a top-notch offense and a weak defense last year. How those two units perform will make the difference in how Brian Kelly looks in year three in Baton Rouge.
Many believe that Oklahoma will have a harder time adjusting to the SEC this season than Texas, but the Sooners are still expected to be one of the better teams in the league, ranking eighth on ESPN.
OU has the history to establish itself as one of the best programs and brands in the entire conference. It’s just a matter of how they handle the present and how it sets them up for their future as part of the Southeastern Conference.
Texas A&M never quite achieved what they hoped to in six seasons under Jimbo Fisher. Now, under a new head coach in Mike Elko, they’re looking to try again in 2024.
Considering how costly that reboot and the addition of in-state competition has been, the Aggies will expect a lot from their team in Elko’s first year and beyond. It will be up to him to bring what he did in Durham to College Station.
As unlikely as it may seem, few programs have been as consistent as Kentucky over the past nearly decade in the SEC, which is why Mark Stoops’ performance in Lexington now makes him the longest-tenured coach in the conference.
The Wildcats clearly want to bring more back to the Bluegrass and have a lot more to offer from that era, but even if they don’t make that step up, their record over the last eight years suggests they’re bowl-qualified again this season, if not a game or two better.
No. 11-16
11. Auburn Tigers
12. Florida Gators
13. Arkansas Razorbacks
14. South Carolina
15. Mississippi State Bulldogs
16. Vanderbilt Commodores
