ARKANSAS
What to like: Although Bret Bielema had one of the best personalities in the SEC, the Razorbacks never built on his 8-5 record in 2015, slipping to 7-6 and 4-8 in his last two seasons coaching in Fayetteville. Enter Chad Morris, who helped sign and develop quarterback Deshaun Watson as Clemson’s offensive coordinator and improved SMU from 2-10 to 5-7 to 7-5 in his three seasons with the Mustangs. The Razorbacks return 17 of 22 starters, including junior running back Devwah Whaley and the top three receivers from a year ago, with senior guard Hjalte Froholdt among the best in the nation at his position.
Cause for worry: The Razorbacks seem light years away from the traditional elite in the SEC West, having lost to both Alabama and Auburn last year by 32 points and to LSU by 23. Gargantuan 6-foot-7, 263-pound Cole Kelley returns the most experience at quarterback, but the sophomore has not been confused with Watson to this point. To have a chance at a 6-6 record and a bowl game, Arkansas will have to sweep its first three games against Eastern Illinois, Colorado State and North Texas, with the matchup against Mike Bobo’s Rams hardly a given since it takes place at Colorado State.
AUBURN
What to like: There is a bit more stability on the Plains with Jarrett Stidham back for a second season at quarterback and coach Gus Malzahn locked up with a long-term deal. The receiving trio of Ryan Davis, Darius Slayton and Nate Craig-Myers returns but must stay healthy following serious injuries this spring to Eli Stove and Will Hastings. Despite the returning offensive weaponry, the strength of this year’s team should be in the defensive front seven, which returns Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson and Dontavius Russell up front as well as Deshaun Davis and Darrell Williams at linebacker.
Cause for worry: The Tigers were college football’s top team last November, when Stidham’s passing and Kerryon Johnson’s rushing were too much for Georgia and Alabama, but they became one-dimensional after Johnson got hurt late in the Iron Bowl and wound up losing a bowl game for the fourth time in Malzahn’s five seasons. With Johnson and Kamryn Pettway no longer around, 5-10, 193-pound Kam Martin will get the first opportunity at running back, but can he consistently run between the tackles? It’s an even-numbered year, so games with Georgia and Alabama are on the road.
FLORIDA
What to like: The weirdness that was Jim McElwain’s third and final season coaching the Gators is long gone, and successor Dan Mullen knows what it takes to be a part of a winner in Gainesville, because he was the offensive coordinator for Urban Meyer’s national-title teams in 2006 and 2008. A robust 10 starters are back offensively, including tackle Martez Ivey and the rest of the line. There is depth at tailback with Lamical Perine, Malik Davis and with Jordan Scarlett back after missing last season, and the defense should be stout again with Cece Jefferson and Jabari Zuniga setting the tone up front.
Cause for worry: Stop if you’ve heard this one before, but the Gators haven’t enjoyed quality quarterback play since Tim Tebow walked out the door, with the exception of Will Grier’s first several games of the 2015 season before he got suspended. Feleipe Franks, who had a mediocre 9-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio last season, is the returning starter, but will Mullen be tempted to go with heralded early enrollee Emory Jones? Florida also must replace punter Johnny Townsend, who was a beast last year with 47.5 yards an attempt. It’s been a long time the Gators have seemed this far behind Georgia.
KENTUCKY
What to like: Benny Snell. Benny Snell. Benny Snell. Everybody on the planet knew Snell was Kentucky’s primary option last season, yet the 5-11, 223-pounder still racked up 1,333 yards and 5.1 yards per carry. Snell is the SEC’s top returning rusher by a mile and has four of his five offensive linemen back. The defense, which got off to a strong start last season but yielded at least 20 points in each of its last 10 games, has nine starters returning. Mark Stoops is the dean of the SEC East coaches entering his sixth season, though he is just 1-14 against Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.
Cause for worry: Stoops has led the Wildcats to 7-6 records each of the past two seasons, but is that capitalizing enough within a division that mostly has been in turmoil during his tenure with the exception of Georgia’s swift emergence last year? The Wildcats must find a new quarterback following the departure of two-year starter Stephen Johnson. Gunnar Hoak and junior college transfer Terry Wilson are the primary candidates for underrated offensive coordinator Eddie Gran. The September schedule contains tricky league games against Florida, South Carolina and Mississippi State.
LSU
What to like: LSU has a lot of optimism at quarterback this season following the addition of Ohio State graduate transfer Joe Burrow, but there has been plenty of optimism at that position in recent years in Baton Rouge that has gone unfulfilled. The defense has a star at every level, which isn’t out of the ordinary in this program, as junior end Rashard Lawrence, junior linebacker Devin White and sophomore cornerback Greedy Williams lead this year’s unit. Williams is viewed as one of the best corners in the league, if not the best. Everybody across the South and the country seems to be overlooking LSU.
Cause for worry: Coach Ed Orgeron is 15-6 overall and 10-4 in SEC games since replacing Les Miles, with two of those losses to Alabama in hard-fought contests. His record is slightly better than the 19-10 mark Miles compiled during his final two-plus seasons, but there are many questions facing this program. If Burrow or Myles Brennan or another quarterback struggles and a replacement can’t be found for 1,251-yard rusher Derrius Guice, this offense could rank among the worst in the league, which wouldn’t be overly suitable for a schedule containing Miami, Auburn, Georgia and Alabama.
MISSISSIPPI
What to like: There may not be a better receiving trio in the league than A.J. Brown, DaMarkus Lodge and D.K. Metcalf, with each having averaged at least 16.6 yards per reception last season and having scored at least seven touchdowns. Jordan Ta’amu made a seamless transition from backup quarterback to the starter after Shea Patterson sustained a season-ending injury, guiding Ole Miss to three wins in its final four games for a 6-6 record. Greg Little is an outstanding tackle, and credit coach Matt Luke for providing stability amid turbulent NCAA waters and earning the job on a full-time basis.
Cause for worry: The Rebels were torched with regularity on defense last season, and that was with Marquis Haynes and Breeland Speaks up front. During a six-quarter stretch against Alabama and Auburn, they allowed 101 points, and there was a four-game stretch against Vanderbilt, LSU, Arkansas and Kentucky in which they yielded 159. Benito Jones and Josiah Coatney will be expected to lead things up front this year, and the Rebels do return their entire secondary. The opener against Texas Tech in Houston – first one to 80 points wins? – could be a gauge as to whether six wins can be surpassed.
MISSISSIPPI STATE
What to like: The Bulldogs were a Nick Fitzgerald injury away from completing a 9-3 regular season that would have included a 37-7 win over LSU and losses only to Alabama, Auburn and Georgia. Without Fitzgerald for most of the Egg Bowl, the Bulldogs were upset and had little time to sulk once coach Dan Mullen bolted for Florida. Now in control is former Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, who inherits Fitzgerald and 15 other returning starters. MSU should be loaded in the defensive front seven with Jeffery Simmons and Montez Sweat up front and Leo Lewis at linebacker.
Cause for worry: The likable Moorhead is expected to win immediately given all the returning players, but there are September treks to Kansas State and Kentucky before the Bulldogs close the month by hosting Florida in what will be an emotional “Dan Mullen Bowl.” Mississippi State has the potential of being 5-0 entering an early October visit from Auburn, but comparisons will be inevitable to the previous regime. The Bulldogs lost their best offensive lineman from a season ago, with Martinas Rankin having been a third-round pick of the Houston Texans, but there honestly isn’t much to dislike in Starkville.
MISSOURI
What to like: The Tigers turned a 1-5 start into a 7-5 regular season last year with six straight wins, with five coming by at least four touchdowns. Missouri has a superstar on each side of the ball, with senior quarterback Drew Lock having set an SEC single-season record a year ago with 44 touchdown passes and with senior defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr. returning after tallying 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Nine offensive starters are back, and there are more believers in coach Barry Odom compared to this time last year. A quick start should be inevitable with UT-Martin and Wyoming up first.
Cause for worry: Was Missouri’s late-season surge last year due to Missouri or spiraling situations at Florida, Tennessee and Arkansas? The Tigers must replace running back Ish Witter, who had 1,049 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry in providing a complement to Lock, but Damerea Crockett and Larry Roundtree should be up for that task. Missouri’s season will be shaped by games three through six, which include a trip to Purdue, a home game against Georgia and trips to South Carolina and Alabama. Mizzou lost to Purdue, Georgia and South Carolina last year, and Alabama is Alabama.
SOUTH CAROLINA
What to like: Will Muschamp has done well in his second chance as an SEC head coach. After enjoying just one stellar season during his four years at Florida, Muschamp inherited a 3-9 mess and has produced a 15-11 record with two bowl trips, including January’s 26-19 upset of Michigan in the Outback Bowl. Quarterback Jake Bentley returns for his third season as the starter. Running back A.J. Turner averaged 5.4 yards per carry last season, and Deebo Samuel is back from injury after scoring six touchdowns in the first 10 quarters last year. The defense returns six starters.
Cause for worry: South Carolina played six games last season decided by a touchdown or less and went 5-1 in them. What if that stat isn’t as friendly this year? Only three offensive starters must be replaced, but one of the departures was tight end Hayden Hurst, a first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens. Skai Moore was a standout linebacker who will be missed, and three defensive backs must be replaced, although sophomore Jamyest Williams is a rising star. Only Georgia and Clemson seem more formidable against this program with a raised bar. Would another 9-4 season be celebrated?
TEXAS A&M
What to like: First-year coach Jimbo Fisher won the 2013 national championship with Florida State and has the Aggies rolling on the recruiting trail, though the benefits of that may not be felt for another year or two. Texas A&M returns seven offensive starters and eight defensive starters from Kevin Sumlin’s sixth team that extended the trend of starting fast and folding late. Junior Trayveon Williams rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman and added more receptions and special-teams returns to his game last year. The Aggies have seven games in College Station and one in Arlington, Texas.
Cause for worry: Texas A&M returns experience at quarterback with Kellen Mond and Nick Starkel, but will either of those two rise to the level of some of the top-flight quarterbacks within the league? The Aggies never were dominant defensively under Sumlin, and that was certainly the case a year ago, when they yielded 100 points in their final two games against LSU and Wake Forest. Texas A&M opens this year with Northwestern State, but then Clemson comes to town for an immediate measuring stick. Two weeks after Clemson is a trip to Alabama, so a 2-2 start is highly likely this season.
VANDERBILT
What to like: Senior quarterback Kyle Shurmur has been completely overlooked in a league loaded at that position, but the 6-4, 225-pounder from Philadelphia has notched a whopping 30 career starts and is coming off a junior year in which he threw 26 touchdown passes, setting a Vanderbilt single-season record. Shurmur will be working this year behind an offensive line returning five starters headed by senior left tackle Justin Skule. The Commodores allowed 19 sacks last season, 12 fewer than in 2016. There is no Alabama on this year’s schedule, after last year’s 59-0 loss obliterated Vandy’s 3-0 start.
Cause for worry: The Commodores return some talent on defense, with senior outside linebacker Charles Wright having tallied nine sacks last season and senior safety LaDarius Wiley having compiled 88 tackles, but only four starters are back. While Derek Mason is the first Vanderbilt coach in SEC history to record back-to-back wins over rival Tennessee by double digits, he is just 6-26 in league games entering his fifth season. Mason did guide Vandy to the Independence Bowl in 2016 but has to start faring much, much better in an Eastern Division that has been in transition since his arrival.