Hey guys! We made it! It’s officially game week, with the official opening of college football starting on Saturday morning. I hope you all plan on celebrating accordingly.
Now, in recognition of the return of college football, I’m here to provide you with a preseason SEC Power Rankings. It’s just the kind of guy I am. Since only one of these teams has actually played so far, expect some shuffling after this weekend. It’s hard to know who the real deal is before hitting the field. But let’s have a look at how everyone stands going into week one.
1. Alabama – This shouldn’t be surprising. The reigning SEC champions are still the king until they’re not. The Crimson Tide will boast one of the best receiving corps they’ve ever had, and the best in CFB this season. With some questions on defense, especially at the ILB position, the Tide need to stay healthy and play with a chip on their shoulders.
2. Georgia – This one was fairly easy as well. After a disappointing ending to last season, the Bulldogs are poised to break out into a major national title contender. With returning players like Jake Fromm and D’Andre Swift on offense, they should have one of the most dominant offenses in the conference. And after last Saturday night, Florida doesn’t seem to be the threat to Georgia we thought they could be.
3. LSU – The Tigers come in to this season with a little more hype than normal. QB Joe Burrow has certainly proven to be durable and a playmaker. Grant Delpit might be the best defensive player in the country. That week 2 game against Texas will be a huge statement game.
4. Texas A&M – The Aggies are sneaky good this year. With Jimbo Fisher hitting his 2nd season, having a lot of returning playmakers should keep them in the hunt. Kellen Mond has really come into his own as QB, but traveling to Clemson this season is a tall order.
5. Florida – A win is a win, but damn that was ugly. Are the Gators really a Top 10 team? I’m not sure. Granted, they sacked Miami’s QB a hundred times, but still barely squeezed out a win. Feleipe Franks is not an elite SEC QB (not that anyone is arguing that he is.) And, seriously, what is a Dan Mullen team doing with so many penalty yards? This team doesn’t look ready to challenge Georgia in the East after one game.
6. Auburn – The Tigers are a giant question mark this season. Mainly, will the offense improve enough to make a splash in the West? The defense should be stellar this year, but the offense will be helmed by a true freshman and an offensive line that didn’t block anyone last year. Defeating a highly ranked Oregon would be massive.
7. Missouri – The Kelly Bryant era has begun at Missouri. Coming in to replace Drew Lock, the Tigers offense should actually be in good shape this year. The defense, however, is another question entirely. On the plus side, Missouri has a weak schedule and won’t play a currently ranked team until NOVEMBER. Wyoming shouldn’t be much trouble this weekend.
8. Mississippi State – It was already an uphill battle for Joe Moorhead, but starting the season with an academic fraud investigation makes it much worse. We still aren’t 100% sure which players will be impacted by this. QB Tommy Stevens is more than capable, but this season could get out of hand quickly.
9. South Carolina – Holy. Hell. What a schedule the Gamecocks are about to suffer through. Head coach Will Muschamp was asked about the schedule a billion times during Media Days, but the reality is about to hit. Alabama, Georgia, A&M, and Clemson this season for the Gamecocks. I like Jake Bentley, but damn. They HAVE to beat North Carolina on Saturday.
10. Kentucky – This isn’t the same team that won 10 games last season. Benny Snell and Josh Allen are gone, and they’ll be difficult to replace. A schedule that isn’t too terrible could help the Wildcats make a decent bowl game this season, but QB Terry Wilson has to throw the ball better without Snell in the backfield.
11. Vanderbilt – Ok, so that’s a rough draw for your first three games. Georgia, Purdue, and LSU in a row? Not ideal. But the rest of the year doesn’t line up too terribly for the Commodores. With Ke’Shawn Vaughn back at RB, and a few other playmakers scattered around, the Dores could have a nice little season. It won’t start well against Georgia though.
12. Tennessee – The Volunteers have a real chance to be the most improved SEC squad of 2019. Jarrett Guarantano would have shown he’s a capable QB by now if he had the protection he needed on the line. That looks to be different this year since Jeremy Pruitt has been able to recruit some big men for the line of scrimmage. The defense is still a major question, but Pruitt being a former DC should help quite a bit. They’ll get an easy win in week one.
13. Ole Miss – Another brutal schedule has Ole Miss near the bottom of the list. The Rebels a ton of talent at WR to the draft, so it might not even matter who plays QB this season. The defense struggled last season, and Matt Luke doesn’t seem like he’s done enough to fix it. The SEC West is not for the weak at heart, but starting out with a solid Memphis squad might go badly for the Rebels.
14. Arkansas – It has to get better than last season, right? Transfer Ben Hicks will be starting at QB for the Razorbacks and has played some damn fine football at SMU. But with it only being the second season of Chad Morris as head coach, Arkansas has a good chance to finish at the bottom of the SEC West. On the plus side, Arkansas could double the win total from last year in the first four games of this year. The bad side? The rest of their schedule.
Thanks for playing along everyone! Enjoy your opening Saturday! Poppa Bear loves you.
Poppa Bear is the Lead SEC Analyst for the SoBros Network, and serves as our resident expert on the human anatomy, fixin’ stuff, and tomatoes. Follow on Twitter:@SoBroPoppaBear
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