It’s nearly College Football season again and thus it’s time for the customary pre-season predictions and where better to start than with the SEC. Love them or hate them there is no disputing their recent success and it’s likely that the Conference Champion will again be in the National Title playoffs.
You have to go back to 2014-15 to find a Natty that didn’t have an SEC representative, and last year it was another all-SEC affair. Georgia & Alabama fought out the title in 2021-2 and a repeat is by no means impossible this year. Several of their rivals have gotten better coming into this season, however, they still remain the teams to beat in their respective divisions.
In the East, Georgia will have a new look defense as a host of their starters are now in the NFL. Still, we don’t see them falling off a cliff as LSU did after winning the Championship. In fact, if they get past Oregon in their opener we think there is a chance that they go 12-0!
Tennessee may be their closest pursuers in 2022. They have the misfortune of playing both Georgia & Alabama this year, however, there are plenty of winnable games on the schedule. If they can get the better of Florida then a nine – ten wins looks possible.
Florida & Kentucky look like figuring too. The Gators have beaten Tennessee in each of their last five meetings but face them on the road in 2022. They have a tough opening and later on face road trips to Georgia & Texas A&M. Kentucky looks to have an easier time of it and bowl eligibility is their floor. Eight wins plus looks likely.
In the West
Alabama is bringing back Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young and plenty of starters. They look the class of a pretty strong Western division where the race for second looks wide open. a 12-0 regular season finish looks probable.
Texas A&M has had an impressive recruiting campaign and will be many people’s best bet to gate crash the party. For this to happen the freshman class will have to hit the ground running. A tall ask and although they should improve on last year’s (8-4) finish.
This might leave the door open for Ole Miss who despite the loss of QB Matt Corral in the draft, might be even better in 2022. Lane Kiffen has had a couple of seasons with the Rebels now and is shaping the team to his liking. Their schedule starts easy but then gets pretty rough. Still, they should get at least 9 wins and a top 25 final ranking.
Will The Loss of Matt Corral cause the Rebels to take a step back?
Image Debby Wong/Shutterstock.com
The surprise team of the division might just be Mississippi State who are starting to take shape under Mike Leach. They have a number of starters returning and they were arguably better than their 2021 record shows. It took him a few seasons to turn Washington State around and he looks ahead of schedule here.
Our final prediction for the final standings is below…
Southeastern Conference Predicted Finish
SEC EAST
Georgia Bulldogs 11-1
Tennessee Volunteers 9-3
Kentucky Wildcats 9-3
Florida Gators 8-4
Missouri Tigers 6-6
South Carolina Gamecocks 6-6
Vanderbilt Commodores 3-9
SEC WEST
Alabama Crimson Tide 12-0
Texas A&M Aggies 10-2
Ole Miss Rebels 9-3
Mississippi State Bulldogs 7-5
LSU Tigers 7-5
Arkansas Razorbacks 7-5
Auburn Tigers 5-7
SEC Conference Championship
Alabama for us and with it the No 1 seed in the CFP final rankings. We expect Georgia to be on the playoff fringes and the aggies & Rebels are contenders for a NY Six Bowl.
