Alabama tops SEC power rankings
Tide, Playoff finalist Georgia, Auburn likely will factor in national title race, too
USA TODAY is getting you ready for the season by ranking the teams in each of the five major conferences in the Bowl Subdivision.
These rankings end with the Southeastern Conference, home to three teams set to contend for the national championship: Alabama, Georgia and Auburn. FBS coaches will get their say Thursday with the release of the preseason Amway Coaches Poll (noon, ET, ncaaf.usatoday.com.) Here’s guessing that poll, much like this list, will start with the Crimson Tide.
1. Alabama: The most prolific dynasty in college football’s modern era reloads for another title run. There’s likely a new quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, along with the annual remaking of a depth chart dinged by NFL departures. That’s nothing new. The Tide are the best team in the SEC and, depending on how you feel about Clemson, no worse than No. 2 in the entire FBS.
2. Georgia: Georgia should cruise to an East Division title without breaking much of a sweat, which speaks to the Bulldogs’ talent level and says a little something about the competition they’ll face. There are a few big names to replace: Nick Chubb and Sony Michel at running back and Roquan Smith at linebacker. But this remains an elite team with designs on making a return trip to the College Football Playoff.
3. Auburn: Auburn is getting overlooked amid all the talk of the preordained early December matchup between Alabama and Georgia. Didn’t the Tigers win the West last fall? Auburn has a Heisman Trophy contender in quarterback Jarrett Stidham to go with ample talent and depth on both sides of the ball, with the biggest question mark found along a rebuilt offensive front. One more question: Can the Tigers take down Washington in the opener?
4. Mississippi State: First-year coach Joe Moorhead inherits a fantastic situation from his predecessor, Dan Mullen. Now let’s see how quickly the Bulldogs can grasp his offensive style. If healthy at quarterback, MSU should be viewed as the best team in the SEC’s second tier — not up to the same level as the Tide, Bulldogs and Tigers, but more than talented enough to win nine games and secure a solid spot in the Top 25.
5. South Carolina: Like Mississippi State, the Gamecocks are a threat to win nine games and earn a national ranking. On paper, however, South Carolina lags behind Georgia in the East Division. This could still end up being a very good team. Everyone is high on quarterback Jake Bentley, who seems ready to take the next step, and the healthy return of receiver Deebo Samuel will beef up the offense and return game. And who knows? Maybe the Gamecocks knock off Georgia at home on Sept. 8 and ride that tiebreaker to a division title. It’s not a ridiculous scenario.
6. Texas A&M: Dial back the expectations a touch heading into Jimbo Fisher’s first season: A&M is going to be good but not that good, if that makes any sense. It’s tough sledding in the SEC West, where a logjam of teams comes in behind the Tide and Tigers, and the Aggies are firmly among the group battling for eight or more wins behind that top pair. Fisher’s biggest wins in 2018 might come on the recruiting trail, where he continued to add depth and talent to program with goals of one day soon (maybe 2019?) being more than just a September contender.
7. LSU: I’m not alone in thinking a sixwin season for LSU is as likely as a division title. Calling this a make-or-break year for Ed Orgeron seems premature; that lies one year down the road, unless things completely run off the rails in
2018. But it’s hard to ignore the preseason expectations: LSU is pegged as an SEC West afterthought. Maybe that changes with a new offensive coordina- tor and a new quarterback in Ohio State transfer Joe Burrow.
8. Florida: It’s too easy to forget amid last year’s disaster that the 2017 collapse came on the heels of back-to-back East Division titles. In other words, Dan Mullen isn’t taking on some grand rebuilding project, even if it’ll take some time for the new staff to catch up with the rival Bulldogs. This is a clear bowl team with a ceiling as high as second in the East.
9. Missouri: I’m not the only one in wait-and-see mode with Missouri after a 2017 season that ended with a winning record yet included no victories against meaningful competition. On the other hand, I’m not in the group that wonders about the health of Missouri’s offense under new coordinator Derek Dooley, since this offense should be able to run itself.
10. Tennessee: I’m higher on Florida than I am on Tennessee; the Volunteers’ reclamation project will demand a little more elbow grease than the task ahead for Mullen and his staff. Predicting which program will be in better shape in five years is an interesting barroom question. There’s no reason as of yet to wonder about Jeremy Pruitt, who at least represents a drastic change.
11. Kentucky: Much like Missouri, the Wildcats will need to piece together six or more wins against what should be a more competitive East Division. That the conference slate begins with Florida, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Texas A&M is also a little concerning. Kentucky has one of the nation’s most overlooked players in running back Benny Snell.
12. Mississippi: Two things to like: an easy stretch of out-of-conference games and the potential explosiveness of coordinator Phil Longo’s offense. The Rebels will be fun to watch, at least. One thing to really not like: a defense that gave up a hair under 35 points per game in 2017 and doesn’t seem set to do much better this fall.
13. Arkansas: Chad Morris showed at SMU an ability to build a winning culture from scratch. In comparison, doing the same at Arkansas should be easy. Well, maybe not easy, per se. But there are some pieces in place to keep the Razorbacks in the mix for the postseason off a four-win end to Bret Bielema’s tenure, not to mention a friendly non-conference schedule that could have Arkansas within a win of bowl eligibility heading into November.
14. Vanderbilt: The early over-under for Vanderbilt’s win total is at 4.5, which seems fair. The Commodores could surprise and eke out six wins, though that would take three in SEC play.