Week 1 of the 2024 college football season is here, and in much of the country, the season begins in just a few days. It’s a new era for college football’s premier league, as the SEC welcomes Texas and Oklahoma to an already dominant league.
The SEC has nine ranked teams to start the year, including several playoff contenders and national title favorite Georgia. This is going to be an incredible year for the conference.
But how would we rank each team entering the SEC?
Here are our power rankings for the SEC entering the 2024 season…
1. Georgia Bulldogs
Of course we lead with Georgia. Carson Beck is one of the best quarterbacks in the country and the Dawgs have more talent in the trenches than anyone else. You can take UGA to the playoffs and here they are expected to win it all for the third time in four years.
2. Texas Longhorns
Steve Sarkisian has done it. Texas is back. The Longhorns enter the SEC as one of the league’s favorites. Quinn Ewers will keep the offense on its toes, but the Horns will have to figure out how to replace their dominant DL duo of T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy.
3. Ole Miss Rebels
Can you portal to an SEC title? That’s what we’ll learn from the Rebels this year. Lane Kiffin’s team was already loaded with experience and talent, but now they have real guys in the trenches. That should finally give them a chance to beat the SEC’s elite.
4. Alabama Crimson Tide
Welcome to the post-Saban era in Tuscaloosa. New HC Kalen DeBoer will look to take full advantage of QB Jalen Milroe’s talent. Whether the defense can grow as well as it has over the past 15 years will determine whether or not the Tide can compete for a national title again.
5. Volunteers from Tennessee
Does it feel like ’98? Or maybe ’22? The Vols are well-positioned on the DL with the league’s best pass rusher, James Pearce Jr. But all eyes will be on sensational rookie QB Nico Iamaleava to bring Josh Heupel’s high-powered offense back to life.
6. Missouri Tigers
Coming off an 11-win season and with the return of much of the roster, there is a lot of hype surrounding Mizzou. WR Luther Burden was expected to lead a deadly offense, but this team has suffered some significant losses on defense.
7. Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners actually have a defense now! LB Danny Stutsman and safety Billy Bowman lead a veteran unit, and if QB Jackson Arnold is who the OU coaches think he is, the Sooners could be much better than expected entering the SEC.
8. LSU Tigers
LSU will have to replace the Heisman winner at QB and a pair of first-round WRs, but they may still have enough talent on offense to do it. New DC Blake Baker will have to do some work to get the Tigers back to their level on defense, though.
9. Texas A&M Aggies
New HC Mike Elko has added Purdue transfer DE Nic Scourton to an already elite DL to wreak havoc on opposing SEC offenses, and if QB Conner Weigman stays healthy, this could actually be the year the Aggies make full use of their talent.
10. Auburn Tigers
Auburn looks solid all around in Hugh Freeze’s second year, and with some new offensive weapons, including 5-star freshman wide receiver Cam Coleman, we could see a lot more scoring on the Plains in 2024.
11. Kentucky Wildcats
Mark Stoops has an experienced defense and OL? Then it could be a “good” year for Kentucky in the SEC. If they can develop some passing game with Brock Vandagriff, the Wildcats could be dangerous.
12. Florida Gators
Billy Napier has been a whipping boy this offseason, given his past struggles and Florida’s tough schedule. But the Gators have enough offensive weapons to surprise. Whether or not their defense improves is the bigger question.
13. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Jeff Lebby should make sure the Bulldogs offense scores enough points to be competitive and possibly ruin someone’s season. But will State be able to stop anyone? That will determine whether or not they go bowling.
14. South Carolina Gamecocks
There are many rumors that rookie QB LaNorris Sellers could lead the Gamecocks to a strong year, but until I see improvements in OL and defense, I have my doubts.
15. Arkansas Razorbacks
The Hogs should have one of the better D-lines in the SEC, but otherwise there isn’t much reason for optimism in Fayetteville. We’ll see if Bobby Petrino’s return improves the offense.
16. Vanderbilt Commodores
What is there to say about Vanderbilt? This is the standard bottom-of-the-table team in the league. But Diego Pavia is at least an entertaining quarterback who can lead his team to an upset, so maybe the ‘Dores can hope for that.
