By: David Ware (@Ware)
Last but not least, we have the SEC predictions for Season 21. The SEC has been known to be a blood bath for several seasons. Last year Auburn reinserted themselves into the conversation and had a near-perfect season. The Tigers fell just short in the National Championship game to USC, but they had their best season since Season 6 when they won the championship. The conference realignment did help out the remaining SEC teams as powerhouse LSU left to return to the Big XII. So now the question is, who will win the wild SEC this year?
6th Tennessee
Prediction: 3-5 (1-4)
Tennessee got their first win last year after a very long and heartbreaking losing streak, but this year will be the year that things really start to click for the Volunteers. Bold prediction is that Tennessee will upset the Kentucky Wildcats this year for their only conference win and will add out of conference wins against Notre Dame and Colorado. It will be exciting to see the Volunteers start to get things rolling after many down seasons.
5th Kentucky
Prediction: 5-3 (2-3)
The Wildcats still have an amazing team, even though they only added one recruit this off season. Their dip this year is not a result of them losing talent, it’s just more of how competitive the SEC is going to be. It will be fair to say that even in fifth place, the Wildcats will have a playoff worthy resume with wins against Alabama, Florida, and USC. All three of those opponents should be in the playoffs and it would be hard to keep Kentucky out with wins over them.
4th Georgia
Prediction: 5-3 (2-3)
The Bulldogs find themselves in the middle of a three-way tie in the SEC and their win over Kentucky helped settle the tiebreaker. Georgia has a very solid team, and they have shown that they can compete with some of the best. They should not lose an out of conference game this year as they will beat Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech in some very close games. Georgia was negative points last year in the net column but expect them to score a lot more this year.
3rd Florida
Prediction: 4-4 (2-3)
The Florida Gators will have their work cut out for them as the season starts with games against Penn State and Florida State. These battles will help prep the Gators for the tough conference schedule in which they will beat Georgia and Tennessee this year but fall to Alabama, Auburn, and Kentucky. The Gators will escape non-conference with two wins and a close loss to rival Florida State. Florida has struggled with consistency over that last several seasons and will look to build some rhythm and try to get a vote in spot for the playoffs.
2nd Auburn
Prediction: 6-2 (4-1)
The Auburn Tigers lost several big pieces but did a good job of adding more talent. They will be one of the top teams this season yet again. A tough Week Eight loss to Alabama will put them in second place in the conference and locked in the playoffs primed for another deep run this year. Athletic Director Justin Duke has consistently won games as his time as an AD and this season will not be any different. The only out of conference loss Auburn will take this season will be Michigan.
1st Alabama
Prediction: 6-2 (4-1)
Alabama starts with a grueling schedule with four out of their first five games on the road against top teams such as Miami, Texas, Oregon, and Kentucky. Don’t forget about the Week Eight matchup that will decide who the SEC champion is against Auburn. Texas will be just a little too much for Alabama and Kentucky will get the win at home. Don’t expect Alabama to blow away their opponents as there’s going to be a lot of close games, but when the dust settles in the SEC, the Crimson Tide will be on top.
The SEC is the wild west this season and whoever comes out on top will have earned it without question. Bold prediction is that four teams from the SEC will make the playoffs this season as the teams are just so stacked. It will be fun to watch the SEC battle it out against each other and when it comes to out of conference games, the conference will only lose 4 games against the rival conferences.
